Tricked Into Flight

Epilogue

*Epilogue*

*Katerina's POV*

With a smile, I greeted the woman by the well. "Good morning, Aunt Ella."

"Good morning, Katerina," she cheerfully replied. "Is Randel still coming here today?"

"As far as I know."

"Excellent. I've been thinking of getting several goats for some milk and cheese. Do you think Andar would mind carrying three or four goats?"

"You can ask Randel or Andar. He brought a milk cow in last week, so I don't see why not."

"I'll ask Andar. I have three weeks of magic stored up, so I'm sure he'll agree. My oven is going, so I better go check the bread. Take care, dear."

"You too."

I continued walking through the small village, smiling as three children ran past, laughing without restraint. They veered off the path and into one of the thirty-four homes that made up this place. Each one had its own garden, and some had chicken huts or pens by them. Most of the livestock was kept farther away, leaving plenty of room for more houses to be added and keeping any smell at a distance.

Near the tree line, the pale cream of freshly peeled saplings drew my gaze. The gate on the wooden rail pen had Aunt Ella's sunflower sign on it and was noticeably empty. I chuckled at the goat pen she'd already built and prepared. She knew just as well as I did that she would get her goats.

The dragons weren't fond of carrying live animals, but since secrecy wasn't needed here, some of the Wellsprings like Aunt Ella had no problems paying for trades with their magic. If she mentioned trading three weeks' worth of magic for several goats, almost any dragon within hearing range would volunteer, and a dozen dragons had built aeries in the area just so they could take advantage of such trades.

For the Wellsprings who were uneasy around dragons, the riders often acted as the intermediary. Some didn't want their magic touched and arranged traditional trades with physical objects and coins.

Randel was one of the more sought-out riders for those sorts of trades. He had turned out to be an enthusiastic and shrewd tradesperson once he figured out that if he got a better deal, he got a bit of extra money to buy bread and other "good food" in the marketplace.

Between the magical bribery and possibly out of boredom, Andar seemed happy enough to take Randel on all the errands. He had recently started courting a dragoness who was intrigued by the Wellsprings but didn't want a rider herself. They seemed to enjoy the alone time when Randel was occupied in the marketplace.

As I left the village, I waved at two people building a fence to make room for their multiplying sheep herd. They waved back and kept working. I was glad they had trusted me enough to let Rakota bring them out here.

Rakota had even offered to help them build a farm similar to the one the bandits had burned down. It had been enough to tempt them into trying, and the old memories of family get-togethers had been recreated here. To make it even better, such gatherings no longer had to be done cautiously in case of discovery. This place had created a freedom and security none of them had felt before.

Like all the others who had made the trip, it had taken them a few months to get used to the dragons flying overhead – as much as humans ever could – but a level of trust had slowly built up. Some of my relatives were too scared of dragons to simply walk up to one, but others were more than ready to make trades on their behalf. Overall, it worked out well, and they were all safe.

Wind whipped around me as a dark red dragon landed nearby. A few people near the animal pens glanced at the horse-sized fledgling, but they continued working. Even the livestock barely reacted, accustomed to the smaller winged creatures landing close to the buildings.