The four of us stand and face Xikarius the Elder.
The enormous white-black dragonbody hydra towers overhead, bigger than any titanic dragon by orders of magnitude. He's seated on all fours, resting comfortably in the Lighthouse's center, with each of his nine snake-like thintails coiled around nine feather quills and scratching away at nine giant sheets of parchment arranged in a nonagon around him. The moment Umbra speaks his name, all nine tails stop writing, and the Elder freezes in place.
"Assertion. It… cannot be…" Xikarius stirs, curling his nine necks to bring all his heads down to this ground level. Eighteen white slitted eyes gape at Graves, and nine black tongues flicker out then back in. "Query. Who are you to speak our name?"
"Answer. I am precisely who you suspect me to be." She plucks me out of her shadow, then Zip, then Penny. Keeping hold of me by the hip under her arm, she approaches closer with an amused smirk. "Statement. You haven't aged a day, you old salt-and-pepper bookkeeper."
"Query." One of his heads is fixated on me and two others are inspecting Zip and Penny as well, but another asks Umbra, "How is this possible?"
"Opportunity and finesse, Xikarius." She kisses my head, holding me to her side. "And a little electric inspiration. My gambit paid off. And I owe it all to this one, right here. My little Crimsy. Such expertise and excellence. I couldn't be more proud. I'm so very pleased with her."
My heart skips multiple beats and my stomach flutters.
She's proud of me? She's pleased with me?
Xikarius the Elder hums in thought. "Query. Is this the end of it at last?"
"The end of it all, yes."
"Statement. Today is the day. Hundreds of thousands of years… And today… It ends." Xikarius uses one tail to set out one fresh parchment, and one tail to write the date and the year. "All this time… At last. At last, we are released. From this endless toil and strife. Liberation. How sacred the word…"
His tail writes it out on the page. Liberation.
"I told you, old friend," Umbra whispers. "I told you the day would inevitably come that I would return for you. For Serenity. For Ulyana. For the eggs in the Lifespring. For the fledglings in the Hatchery. For every draconid scorned underneath her infernal sun. I have returned. And I will end Aurora's brutal regime with death, fire, and blood. This is the day that I rip my younger sister off her gilded throne and bury her beneath the dirt. This is the day dracokind is set free. This is the day she dies. Or well enough near it."
I cling to Graves, gazing up at her.
My Goddess truly is awe inspiring.
Never could I have imagined Xikarius was loyal to her.
"And this, the day…" He draws in a deep breath and sighs, laying down his quills. "History will be falsified no longer. May it never again be violated by such unscrupulous tempers."
"You did what was needed to survive, Xikarius. Not a soul can condemn you for that. I've kept your legacy alive and intact, just as promised. You'll find no misrepresentations in my library."
"Such grace I hardly believe I deserve." The snake head closest to me turns closer. "And you, Crimson, I needed to deceive. A pact, I had made. Never would I betray my sanctified image, unless it was Umbra who did dispel it."
I'm lost for words until one arrives. "Slipstream…"
"Definition. A modern slang term used to express understanding and comprehension."
"Credit that to us racers," Zip snickers with her charmingly cocky and delightfully stoned half grin. "We said it first, drac."
"Who else could have? You, I am not familiar with."
"Books aren't my thing. I'd rather fly."
"Then I encourage you to fly. And you, Expert Scribe Penelope. Little did I expect you to be present here, alongside our Queen."
She points at me. "Alongside Crim-Crim first. Then Miss Umbra."
Zip points a thumb at me too. "It really is all Crim's fault we apostated. Is that a word?"
Xikarius writes it down with the time and date, quotes Radiant Fable Zip, and adds the definition. "It is now."
"Wings up! I have a whole lot more new words for you–"
"We're here for a reason," Penny reminds us.
"Indeed we are," Umbra confirms. "Xikarius. My sword."
"I began to wonder if it was a coincidence I had it…"
All nine of his tails go upward to pull on seemingly random candle sconces in rapid succession for at least half a minute. Finally, something knocks in the wall, and one of the bookshelves near us slides back then to the side, revealing a secret chamber.
Zip huffs, "Now this is the craziest shit I've ever gotten myself into."
Penny mutters, "Just like in Tabletop Dungeons."
"Your parts are done," Umbra tells them both. "Penelope, go with Zip, find her crew, and get behind our lines to safety."
"Yes, Miss Umbra." Before she goes, Penny throws herself into my arms. "Be safe. Please. We'll be waiting for you."
I kiss her cheek and sigh. "I will. See you afterwards."
"You'd better come back in one piece."
"Penny, I'm immortal now, remember?"
"Still."
"Right. I will. Promise."
She stands on her toes to kiss me.
While we're getting some last minute love in, Zip asks Umbra, "Are you sure you won't need any speedwings? Messengers? Couriers? Anything like that?"
"I have them right here." She indicates my wings. "Neither of you are adequately trained for this kind of warfare, and I would never risk the lives of my Crimsy's friends in battle. Your assistance was invaluable, and I thank you both, but now you will retreat. Go. Quickly."
"Slipstream." Zip grabs one of my horns and kisses me as well, keeping hold of it to fiercely demand, "Don't you fucking dare get clipped, jackdaw. I'll kill your wyvern ass. Try me."
"But Zip, I'd already be dead–"
"And I'd kill you a fucking second time!"
"Sl–Slipstream. I bite. I won't die!"
"Fucking better not. Let's go, Peps."
"Bye, Crim-Crim."
I lift a hand in farewell as Zip shifts forms and tosses Penny onto her back before bolting toward the ceiling. They're gone out the doors at the very top in mere seconds, and I exhale a sigh of relief. I hadn't considered what they would be doing during this fight. I'm beyond grateful Umbra told them to get to safety.
With a nod up to Xikarius, Graves slips into the small chamber behind it and pulls me in with her. My tension spikes and a bolt of fear cuts through me. Graves, Umbra, and I are about to be alone. Though my poor sorry heart is dying for a moment with Umbra, I am still terrified and appalled by the prospect of telling her what happened.
It hurts keeping this secret. It's killing me.
I have to tell her. I have to tell her very soon.
Trembling from horn to talon, I follow her into the dark.