Free Dragon Frost by S. J. Wist Page B

there is something amiss, you may be able to spot it in time from him."
    "Alright."
    "Is Xirel going to be okay?" Ubi asked in concern.
    "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he is," Sybl assured Ubi. "But I need your help as well. I can't affect the physical realm right now because there is no leaving Aragmoth's inner Threads alone until he has fully healed."
    Ubi nodded. "Maybe my power can help, even if it only messes up their shifts."
    "I'm sure it will," Sybl encouraged her. "Nafury," she said and then looked at him again, "please look after her for me. As long as there is a living Fay on Aster, and a human one for that matter, Hino's power is limited."
    "You know I will. I just hope we can find out what happened to Cirrus, lest our enemies have him. If I find him and he turns out to be controlled like Simera, I don't know what I will do."
    "If there is a way to cut the puppeteers strings, then Cirrus may lead you to the answer on how it can be done. I will search for him and the answers we need as well."
    Nafury nodded and then rubbed his side as it felt like someone kicked him.
    Sybl smiled. "Wake up now, as Xirel is about to have a fit with how lazy you are both being."
    I will miss you, sister. Nafury thought as her image vanished on his waking. He had been woken up from being kicked in the side. He let the haze fade from his eyes for a moment, before looking to his shoulder that Ubi had fallen asleep on. He dared to look up at Xirel at that.
    "So it wasn't just a dread feeling triggered by the past I was feeling," Xirel said.
    "You saw her too?" Nafury asked as his surroundings came into focus.
    "A little. With how your thoughts have suddenly included a great deal of my well-being, I can only guess what she said to you. I have felt something wrong since before I left to Earth, but I wasn't sure what it was."
    "Then you're staying here with Loki. Me and Ubi can handle the dragons."
    "No, you will need an Awl to ground any other dragons that try to swarm you. Even with the power of a Fay, more than a few dragons will prove too much to handle," Xirel replied.
    "I don't want you to get hurt," Ubi pleaded as she woke up and caught Xirel's hand in her own. "Please stay with the ship."
    Xirel looked at Ubi for a moment, then turned away and closed his eyes. "Do you remember the day they took you from me? When I was still a Sentry?"
    "Yes," Ubi replied. She lowered her eyes to the floor from the weight of the sad memory.
    "I was strong enough to break free of Hino's control then and come to Aster, where I was able to live free. I fought at your mother's side the Sentry who had joined sides with Daath and defeated them. I made it to Earth and found you again, and there were no Sentry who were powerful enough to get in my way of that. Even Simera could only wound me. Whatever Hino has conjured up against us now, I will not underestimate it. Nor will I let either of you face it alone."
    "But my mother said it's dangerous!" Ubi pleaded. "You said it yourself--that she was always right!"
    Xirel set his other hand on the side of her face. "You worry too much for me. I can hold my own. Simera was a challenge, but they don't come stronger than him." He looked at Nafury. "Perhaps your shift will be of great use, after all. I seriously doubt there is anything that can control Alexia aside from you."
    "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I feel sorry for the idiot who tries just that," Nafury said as he went up onto the deck. He looked out across the water to the Torian Beach, as the ship dropped anchor. There was a single, dark blue dragon lying casually in the sand, watching them with orange eyes. Derel. "That one has gotten bigger in the last ten years," he said when Xirel and Ubi caught up to him. "With some luck, he's still the passive type." Nafury pulled the Threads of the air around him, and pulled Ubi onto his back. He lifted them off of the deck and then shifted. Making more distance from the