Ryan woke up with a jolt.
He was in his bed.
Grizzly and Eragon stood next to his bed.
Eragon was the first to speak.
"Dude, are you ok?"
His voice was filled with relief.
Even though his throat was dry, he needed to ask a question.
"What happened to her?"
Grizzly sat on the edge of the bed.
"Don't worry about her, Aleksandar took care of it."
Ryan let out a sigh of relief.
She wouldn't be a problem anymore.
Grizzly took a drag.
"Do you know why she came after you?"
Ryan took a deep breath.
"Before that. Water, please."
Eragon scrambled to get his friend a glass.
After a deep drink, Ryan spoke.
"She said that the Amazons put a contract out on me."
Grizzly frowned.
"Why would they do that? You won your fight, fair and square."
Ryan met Eragon's eyes for a moment.
The Draconian shook his head with a worried look on his face.
Ryan sighed.
"After the fight, Eragon and I broke into her hut and healed her. She said that with her voice restored, Reina would kill her. We then got Femur to take her to the Blood Rose."
He looked down and waited for the yelling to start.
What he heard instead was Grizzly chuckling.
"Were you two jokers going to take that story to your grave?"
Ryan was annoyed at the nonchalance the old man was showing.
In rebellion, Ryan replied.
"That was the plan. Are you not angry?"
With a cigarette in his mouth, he shook his head.
"Nah, by the way, she goes by Vivian now, and she is a bartender at Eena's tavern."
Ryan and Eragon were stunned by Grizzly.
Eragon then stepped into the conversation.
"How long did you know?"
He looked up at the Dravonian.
"When the ship was still in the air."
Eragon snorted.
"Why didn't you say anything? Do you like messing with us?"
Grizzly stood up and slapped Eragon hard on the back.
"I kept my mouth shut because I was proud of you two. Someone needed help, and you stepped up."
Ryan saw Eragon's features soften.
"We were pretty cool."
This caused Ryan to laugh.
"We were everything except cool. At one point, I had to cover her face with a pillow. Her screams became too loud."
They told Grizzly the story, and the old man had a smile the entire time.
After they were done, the old man spoke.
"Ryan. Eragon. I would prefer that we keep what happened quiet from Eena and Bell until we speak with Aleksandar."
The two young men nodded.
As Grizzly opened the door, he left them with a final word.
"We leave in five days, and we don't know what is waiting for us at home. Enjoy yourselves."
As he left, Ryan got out of bed and turned to his friend.
"How long was I out?"
Eragon shrugged.
"It was a few hours. Why? Did you miss your girlfriend?"
Ryan had a sudden pang in his heart.
"Eragon. After I went to Angelica, I was sure she would kill me."
Eragon nodded.
"That was weird. Why did you go back?"
Ryan couldn't speak.
He handed Eragon the letter Angelica had written.
"This is evil and trash. 'She who laughs at your tears', is she eleven?"
Eragon's words made him chuckle.
"It was either Bell or me, would you keep that secret?"
Eragon nodded while Ryan asked another question.
"How did you know where I was?"
Eragon sighed.
"I didn't. Aleksandar called me and told me you were in trouble. I don't know how he knew, but you being alive is more important."
Ryan nodded.
"What happened to her?"
Eragon shook his head.
"No idea. Aleksandar picked her up as I brought you back. He probably sucked her blood or something."
Ryan shrugged.
If anyone could stop her, it would be a Vampire Baron.
He smiled as he took off his torn clothes and put on new ones.
As he cleaned himself up, Eragon was busy playing his games.
He walked past his friend and slapped him on his back.
"I can't give you anything for saving my life."
Eragon snorted.
"You don't have to, buddy."
He looked back at his game, and Ryan left their hut.
The sun shone on his face, and the wind tousled his hair.
He took a deep breath.
He was happy to be alive for the first time.
Bell was sitting next to Eena at the embers that made up the bonfire.
He walked toward them.
As he came closer, he saw a blush on her face.
He sat down next to them and gave them greetings.
"Good morning, Eena. Good morning, Isabelle."
Eena gave him a warm smile, and Bell smiled while looking down.
For a moment, he was confused.
"Is there something wrong?"
Eena chuckled.
"She is embarrassed about last night."
Ryan frowned.
"Was it the kiss? I enjoyed that very much."
Eena roared with laughter as Bell held her face in her hands.
His gaze darted between the two women.
Did she regret the kiss?
Just before he could fall into despair, Bell grabbed him by his collar and whispered into his ear.
"I enjoyed it too."
A big rule many young men are not taught: don't kiss and tell.
Eena stood up.
"I'll leave you, kids, to each other. I need to find an old man."
The look on her face told Ryan that Grizzly was going to be occupied for the next few hours.
With Eena gone, Ryan felt very awkward.
"Sorry for blurting out what happened."
Bell smiled and hugged him.
"It isn't a big deal. Did you get some sleep?"
Ryan swallowed.
"Not really."
She looked at him with concern.
"Why?"
Thinking quickly, he whispered into her ear.
"I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss."
She buried her face in his shoulder.
"Stop it."
He didn't lie; part of the reason he was walking around was that kiss.
He leaned his head on hers.
"We have five days of free time. What do you want to do?"
Without changing her position, he could feel her shrug.
"I just want to hang out with you and Eragon."
He smiled.
"I can arrange that."
He stood up and held out his hand.
She took it and followed him to his hut.
The days before their departure flew by.
Days were spent playing games, going hunting with the Orcs and laughing.
Nights were spent around bonfires, drinking and, in Ryan and Bell's case, more kissing.
When they embarked on the ship, they were met with waves and laughter.
Ryan was a bit sad when the skeleton that piloted the ship wasn't Femur.
The skeleton always gave him good advice; he wanted to share the news.
A silent pilot was what they got.
The trip itself was uneventful; he spent time with Bell and Eragon until they docked at the Blood Rose.
He was surprised when they docked on top of the castle.
Grizzly gathered the crew together.
"Aleksandar wants to talk to us before we turn in."
Ryan nodded.
He was nervous. Why were they meeting so late?
He followed Grizzly to the office he was in before.
When the door opened, he saw Aleksander behind his desk and a familiar skeleton next to him.
There were five chairs in front of the desk.
Aleksandar stood up and bowed to the party.
"Good evening. I apologise for keeping you this late."
They took their seats, and Femur served them all tea.
As soon as he was done, Aleksandar spoke.
"I have a few things to discuss, and then you may leave. Firstly, Ryan, you exceeded all my expectations. You fought for your team multiple times, without asking for help or reward."
He walked around his desk and bowed to Ryan.
"After the others leave, I wish to have a short conversation."
He stood in front of Eragon.
"I have researched your vision. What I found was worrying. I do not know their names, but two elder gods were summoned over a hundred years ago."
He took a deep breath and sat at his desk.
"They were accidentally summoned by a group that, through mysticism, thought they could win a great war. The entities fought, and that caused the fabric of reality to bend and ultimately break."
Ryan could see the concern on the ancient Vampire's face.
"Fortunately, the victorious god was benevolent and used the defeated god's power to reconstruct reality. That god's corpse was formed into this floating island, and if it crosses the portal..."
He stayed quiet.
Ryan knew what he meant, and Eragon finished his thought out loud.
"We all die."
The rest of the crew was stunned.
Aleksandar nodded.
"I have no idea what we are supposed to do, but if we could capture those who opened the portal, we might have a chance."
Everyone sat in silence for a moment until Aleksander broke that silence.
"Because you were there from the beginning, it was your right to know. If you have any ideas, you may bring them to me tomorrow."
He bowed, and four of the crew were led outside.
Ryan kept his seat as Aleksandar took his place behind his desk.
"I have another thing to tell you, Ryan. Do not be upset."
Ryan swallowed hard and nodded.
"I brought Angelica here."
Ryan shot up.
"What? She tried to kill me!"
Aleksandar rose and didn't raise his voice.
"She did show different symptoms, but she was just as much a victim as you."
Ryan scowled.
"Do you know how many she killed? How much she liked it?"
His hands were balled into fists.
"Ryan, I don't know her past, but just like I gave you a chance. I would like to extend that same chance to Angelica."
Ryan started pacing.
"You don't know anything about her. How could you just do this?"
Aleksandar smiled.
"I did what you did for Sombra. You not only healed her, but you gave her a second chance."
Ryan froze.
"What if she fails? What if she hurts someone?"
Aleksandar refilled Ryan's cup.
"If she squanders her chance, she will be punished harshly. I only ask that you respect that chance."
Ryan sighed.
"Fine, but she is not my friend."
Aleksandar nodded.
"Understood, but I do ask one favour. Could you keep your past a secret? The others may not treat her with kindness if they knew."
Ryan nodded.
He then turned and went to his room.