After arranging for furniture to be delivered, Val and Tavras got to do other things, more along the lines of fun. “While you do whatever it is that you wanted to do, I’m heading to the river,” he said. “That will be the best source of healing water, and I want to have a plenty on hand, what with all of the gods and demigods that you will be around soon.”

“Can I come with you?” Val piped up.

“No. Go do your own thing.”

“We used to always spend time together on your Paradise. Remember that nothing has to change between us.”

“Fine,” Tavras snapped. “Follow me. See if I care.” With heavy steps, he strode away without waiting for her to catch up. So much for the apologies that they had said to each other earlier, because Tavras refused to stop being grumpy.

Val sulked after him, trailing far behind while Foofy did the same. From the outskirts of New Gate, they walked past the angry, thrumming walls of Suvier and headed out into a field. They had to walk for a while before the babbling of a river approached.

“Which is better for healing: tide pools or river water?” Val asked.

Indifferent, Tavras gave a rote reply. “River water is far better. All sources of fresh water are superior to salt water for healing.” Without anything else to say, Tavras stooped down to fill a flask with water. They had brought other containers with them which Val now set down next him.

“Where did Foofy go?” she asked as she picked up her head and looked all around.

“I don’t know. Call him. He is a divine beast now, so he will come.”

Before Val could part her lips, a flash of flames started up in the long grass in the distance. Likewise, the burst of fire caused her heart to leap up to her throat, and things only got worse from there.

A dog yelp sounded from the within the blaze. At full speed, Foofy came running to join Val by the river. Burning embers rippled through his short fur which only yielded them more oxygen to burn as he ran like a dart in the wind.

“Foofy, come!” Her voice sounded hoarse from her scream, absolutely panicked that Foofy had been so close to the spontaneous fire that some of its flames had licked him. “Tavras, fire,” she announced with all haste. “Douse Foofy! He’s on fire!”

All the while, the fire trailed after Foofy as he sprinted straight for the river. It roared forth in a swell, almost like an explosion except for the fact that something controlled it.

Jumping up right away, Tavras pulled a great wave to rise up behind him. The slight blue tint of the water sparkled against the orange glint of flames. Water and fire stood off. Then, one section of the wave collapsed over Foofy in a grand splash.

A sopping wet and equally terrified dog was left in the wake of the wave. The rest of it spread out across the fire and seeped into the ground.

“Val!” Tavras gasped. “It’s a dragon sprite. Try to talk with it!”

At those words, the recollection of Urru’s lost dragon sprite came to her. Her eyes searched the plains for a red, winged creature, but nothing with such contrast stuck out against the grass. Val was not color blind, so she should be able to see it easily.

Instead, a green and glowing entity blended in rather unexpectedly. Its flight pattern flowed in erratic undulations, setting everything alight around it.

“What did you do to the dragon sprite, Foofy? Did you try to catch it? We must learn not to bite our friends. Bad Foofy!”

The Dobie shrunk back against the scolding, but more drastically, he shied away from the water that Tavras had gathered. Out of fear of both fire and water, Foofy tried to slink behind Val’s legs. His nub of a tail flattened down against his butt, as if he wished to stick it between his legs.

“I will manage the fire,” Tavras said, “but I will have to keep my distance from the sprite. See if you can calm it down!” No further explanation was provided on what to do, as Tavras ran away with an explosive jump. He landed on the swelling surge of water which arose at his feet and let this carry him away. Farther out in the field, he started to contain the beginnings of a wildfire through the water in which he had drawn from the river.

If Tavras was dealing with the fire, then Val would need to take on the dragon sprite by herself.

Alone, Val had no idea how to connect with a dragon sprite, other than to reach out to it with Keep the Peace. As with all animals, she attempted to touch its mind to her. The moment that the connection had been made. At the same time, fires stopped spreading around the dragon sprite and it hovered in the air.

Then, its body straightened like an arrow and flew straight for Val. Her eyes squeezed shut as braced herself to burn. If trying to reach out to the sprite actually made it more aggressive, Val had no idea what to do from here other than hope that Tavras would douse her off quickly.

Some seconds passed, but no burn of fire nor sting of impact from the dragon sprite came. Val dared to open her eyes. The dragon sprite hovered directly in front of her until she stuck out her hand to offer a perch.

The fires in the field had already been put out. Dripping wet, Tavras watched from a safe distance away.

The dragon sprite settled on her hand, despite its lack of legs in which to support itself. Instead, the dragon sprite entwined its tiny body around her fingers. The four sets of wings rustled while the sprite made itself comfortable. Once its tiny jaws had parted, it started to speak in a language foreign to Val. Each word sounded like the lick of fire and the crackle of burning wood to her ears.

“Tavras?” Val called over to him. “Do you know what it is saying to me?”

Slowly, Val prodded the alien mind to try to discern its emotional state. An overwhelming degree of panic struck her, signaling that whatever Foofy had done to this dragon sprite, he had scared it terribly.

“It speaks the Fire Tongue, so no, I cannot understand a word of it,” Tavras called. Even after he had stopped the fire, he stayed a far distance away.

After some minutes of its language in the sound of fire and darting around her head a few more times, the dragon sprite flew off. In the field, there were only Tavras, Val, Foofy and the scars of the scorched grass around them.

“What was all of that about?” Val turned around to look to Tavras for an explanation.

“That was a dragon sprite. They are rare and flighty creatures, also lonely ones too. Sometimes they bond with people who they like, so I was hoping that it had come to do that with you.”

Everywhere, Val let her eyes search the area as if she could find the dragon sprite yet. “Why would a sprite like me?”

“There have been some in your bloodline who were held in esteem by the dragons,” Tavras said slowly. “Dragons and sprites will naturally take interest in you.”

Within her head, she could feel her eyes dazzling with a new light. “No way!” she said, hopping out of her excitement. This had been the first good thing that she had ever heard about her lineage. Maybe Val’s father was not such a horrible person after all.

This knowledge opened up new possibilities for her. Even in her wildest dreams—where Val would undoubtedly become a powerful demigoddess—she never curried favor with dragons. Now, the irresistible dream of dragons filled her head.

Val could fly via her dragon mount. Even cooler than that, Foofy would look majestic as he rode atop a dragon’s head. From now on, she might have to think about more than just becoming both a powerful goddess, but also having a dragon sprite—if not a dragon at her side.