Mellar and the other Ceo San had truly attacked then, distracting and disabling soldiers wherever they could and giving others a chance to get the slaves and their families out. No one knew for sure who had started the fire, but Mellar thought it was a father of one of the slaves. He and many others, both soldier and slave alike, had not made it out. The blaze, overtaking everything in the overcrowded camp, had forced the soldiers to flee and had given the Ceo San band the chance they needed to get away.
Some of them had chosen to stay in Varidian, to join the fight to save more like them, but many of the children were so young that neither Mariah nor Mellar thought that they should fight. Mariah hoped that they would finally find respite across the sea.
She knew that landfall meant new challenges, but at the moment, she felt ready to face them.
Tennedore was the place where she had originally landed when she fled Eaglespire, and it felt right to be returning to it once again. From there, she would visit Wellspring before going south to call on Gwyn and Wakely and let them know that she and Xae were safe and whole. She would also introduce her new friends to her old ones and see the Cadens safe in a new home far from the threat of Rothgar Draydon.
Mariah’s gaze drifted from the port of Tennedore looming before them and west past the peaks of the Vegreset Mountains to the open plains beyond.
Once her business in Wellspring was complete, she would travel to Eseth. There, she would be reunited with her parents, or she would learn their fate once and for all. But Mariah didn’t let the dark possibilities do more than touch her mind just now. There was too much to be grateful for.
Besides, Arrynas had told her to do it, hadn’t he? For once, she was glad he had.
He had told her to go to them and tell them it was time to come home.
The End
Mariah’s story will continue in
RISE OF THE CEO SAN,
Legends of the Ceo San Book 3
About the Author
J. Elizabeth Vincent writes escapist fantasy with characters so real you’ll welcome them into your life and into your heart. Her work includes the first two epic fantasy novels in the Legends of the Ceo San series, Raven Thrall and Revelation of the Dragon, a prequel novella, Healer’s Sacrifice, and various shorter works.
She lives in Virginia with her husband, three kids, two dogs, and two cats.
Read more at J. Elizabeth Vincent’s website.
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Books & Stories by
J. Elizabeth Vincent
Legends of the Ceo San
Raven Thrall
Revelation of the Dragon
Legends of the Ceo San Stories
“A Pillowy Sea”
Flash fiction.
“Fly”
Stand-alone story and prologue to Raven Thrall. In The Best of The Virginia Writers Club: Centennial Anthology 1918-2018, edited by Betsy Ashton.
Healer’s Sacrifice
Short Stories
“Slime and Squirrelly Noises”
Humor/flash fiction.
“Transgression”
Suspense short story. In Skyline 2017: Prose and Poetry by Central Virginia Writers, edited by Olivia Stowe.
“What She Wanted”
Horror/flash fiction.
Contents
MAP
Prologue: Posturing
Chapter One: Blessings
Chapter Two: Old
Chapter Three: News from Grof
Chapter Five: Infiltration
Chapter Six: Ice and Snow
Chapter Seven: Rubble and Ruin
Chapter Eight: Discovery
Chapter Nine: Run
Chapter Ten: Trap
Chapter Eleven: Interrogation
Chapter Twelve: Trust
Chapter Thirteen: Allies
Chapter Fourteen: Leadership
Chapter Fifteen: The Ways of Wolves
Chapter Sixteen: Ambush
Chapter Seventeen: Westward
Chapter Eighteen: Direstrand
Chapter Nineteen: The Sovereign
Chapter Twenty: The Banished One
Chapter Twenty-One: Reunion
Chapter Twenty-Two: Proving
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Council of the Sovereign
Chapter Twenty-Four: Prophecy
Chapter Twenty-Five: Meddlesome
Chapter Twenty-Six: High Chosen
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hawk Rising
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Capital
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Cloistered
Chapter Thirty: Dragon-Etched
Chapter Thirty-One: Betrayer
Chapter Thirty-Two: Redemption
Chapter Thirty-Three: Rothgar Draydon
Chapter Thirty-Four: Surrender
Chapter Thirty-Five: Reversal
Chapter Thirty-Six: A Taste of Freedom
Chapter Thirty-Seven: One More Task
Epilogue: Voyage
About the Author
Books & Stories by J. Elizabeth Vincent