The man's face broke out into a grin as they approached. "Micah. Joanna. I didn't think I would ever see you two again, especially up here."

"That's probably because we never planned to return, but it's nice to see you, Xander." Josh's mom smiled back, and it seemed genuine despite the tension in her shoulders. The curly-haired woman gave a faint huff, and his mom chuckled. "It's nice to see you, too, Ioana."

Ioana nodded her approval. "Much better."

"Sorry for the late-night arrival," Cale said, drawing Xander's and Ioana's attention to him. "How did you know we had returned?"

The light in Xander's expression dimmed. "Jodas contacted us saying you were under attack."

"Who's Jodas?" Josh asked. Cale had said something about contacting the guy earlier, and if he had gone through the trouble of waking Xander and Ioana, he figured Jodas would be there, but he didn't see anyone else.

Jodas isn't some guy, Boomer snickered.

So Jodas is a girl?

That's not quite what I meant.

At the same time Boomer spoke, Ioana said, "Jodas is the Elder Dragon stationed here."

"The what now?" he asked. "I thought there were only Mighty Dragons and Phoenix Dragons?"

"We didn't get to explain everything," Cale cut in, directing his words to Xander. He twitched when the man looked at him, but his face remained impassive. "Things didn't go as planned."

"I would expect not if you were attacked," Xander said. "I'm just glad everyone is okay." He examined each of them in turn, his eyes finally resting on Josh and Eli. "Hello, by the way. My name is Xander. I'm the leader of the Paladins. And this is my wife, Ioana."

Ioana flicked her wrist in a small wave. "Welcome to the Paladins. I'm also the one who chucks you off a cliff if you get too annoying."

"She's kidding," Josh told Eli, who had flinched at her words. At least, he hoped she was kidding.

Ioana grinned. "Don't worry. The threat is only for those sixteen and older."

Josh chuckled, though the innocent smile unnerved him. Boomer, she's joking, right?

I'll catch you before you splat on the ground, Boomer replied.

Josh had a feeling Boomer was trying to mess with him, but the words sparked a wave of excitement. Maybe falling from—well, being thrown off—a cliff wasn't ideal, but he would get saved by a real dragon.

"Well, we're awake now, and I'm sure your family could use some time to unwind, so how about we go talk about everything in the courtyard?" Xander offered.

"And get some food. I don't know about you guys, but I could use a storytime snack," Ioana added in.

At the mention of food, Josh's stomach grumbled. Eli's hand drifted to his own stomach.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," his mom said.

"Follow me then," Xander said. He and Ioana proceeded into the castle first, Cale right behind them.

Mara glanced at Cale then shot Josh a smile. "Ready to see Sanctuary?"

He smiled back. "You bet I am." He started forward, but Eli didn't budge. "What's wrong?"

Eli looked at their parents with a frown. Josh followed his gaze. His mom stared up at the castle, pain and sadness tainting her features.

His dad reached out and squeezed her hand. Her free hand drifted to her chest as she nodded to some unspoken question.

After their parents walked toward the castle entrance, Eli finally let Josh move. He stared at his parents' interlocked hands as they walked, painfully aware of the secret hanging over them.

Gulping past his dozen or so questions, Josh examined the castle's inside. Bluish-silver metal panels made up the walls. A pale glow emanated from them, lighting the corridor. Despite the fancy metal, the floor felt like a normal stone.

They passed a few branching corridors lined with doors, all dimly lit by their walls' faint glow.

"How do you guys turn these walls off?" Josh asked after they passed the second branching corridor. "I haven't seen any switches."

Mara chuckled as she locked her hands behind her. "The panels light up when they sense motion. It amazed me when I first saw them."

"When was that?" he asked.

"About six years ago," she replied after a moment of thought. "I was only twelve at the time, and I arrived during the day. When it got dark out and the wall suddenly lit up, I was sure it was magic."

After everything he had seen that day, he wouldn't have been surprised if the walls were magical.

Just as the straight walk started to grow dull—even mystical lighting panels could lose their effect—they seemed to step out of the castle and into a park. Their walkway and three others from each direction cut the grassy area into four different sections. Each section had a handful of picnic tables and a small tree or two. A small platform made a circle where the paths met in the middle. In the center of the circle arose a fountain of a giant, crystalline dragon, water pouring from its roaring snout. When they stepped from the corridor, a bright light shone from somewhere within the dragon, replacing the panels as their light source.

"Whoa," Josh breathed. He couldn't look away from the dragon. It stood as tall as him while being about three of him wide, though the wings spread out on its back made it look larger. Spikes jutted from its head and along its spine. Along with the almost jagged quality of its scales, the dragon looked like it wore armor.

He should have been terrified of it, even if amazed. Instead, the dragon felt like an avenging protector.

"That's Elohim," Mara explained.

"He looks absolutely epic," Josh said, still staring even as they veered toward one of the tables.

Just wait until you see a real dragon, Boomer grumbled.

That finally snapped Josh's attention away, but all he had to look at was the rest of the group as they stopped at a table. No real dragon in sight. And when would that be?

Nothing. Boomer had just teased seeing a living dragon then vanished. Well, not entirely vanished. Josh could still feel him there, a thrum of excitement that he couldn't understand.

Cale leaned on a nearby table while Josh, his dad, Mara, and Xander all took a seat at another. Ioana, his mom, and Eli went off to get some food. His dad and Xander made small talk until the others returned with a plate of sandwiches, a pitcher of lemonade, and plastic cups.

"Alright then," Xander began when the others started to munch on the food. He rested his chin in his interlocked hands, glancing between Mara and Cale. "What happened?"

"It all started normal," Cale said. He managed to sound strained and monotonous at the same time. "We watched from afar. No Shadow Knight activity, no signs his soul may be rejecting the bond, nothing. Everything was by-the-textbook perfect. Well, until..."

"Until it wasn't?" Ioana helpfully supplied. She held a half-eaten sandwich in her hand, and she took a swig of lemonade after speaking.

"Right," Cale said. "Josh and his family went to the store. Samara and I decided to split up. She watched over the brothers while I watched over the parents. I felt a barrier being put up at the same time Eli came running to his parents."

He paused for a moment, and Mara took it as her cue to speak. "There was no warning. Sure, I saw people leaving the toy section, but everything seemed normal until I felt a flicker of darkness around the same time I saw Eli running away."

Josh shuddered. He could still see the gauntlet of darkness so clearly, like light left imprinted after staring for too long.

"When I went to investigate, I found Josh being attacked—"

"And rushed in without waiting for back-up," Cale cut in dryly.

Mara bristled and glowered at him. "Yes, I rushed in. He was about to kill Josh."

"So, instead, you almost got both of you killed."

She gave an exasperated sigh that made Josh think this hadn't been their first discussion on the topic.

"Everyone is alive despite an unexpected Shadow Knight attack," Xander said before either of the younger Paladins could speak again. "That's what matters."

Mara grimaced as she shifted in her spot. "About that... It wasn't a Shadow Knight that attacked Josh at the store."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"He..." She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "He was possessed."

The night air grew tense and thick as the color drained from Xander's face. Ioana muttered something in another language, her complexion paler as well.

"You're absolutely sure?" Xander asked.

Mara nodded. "The darkness within him was too subdued to be a Shadow Knight, and when Josh blasted him with pure light, it faded from the boy entirely."

"I don't know much about how a dragon can possess someone, but that wasn't Darren," Josh added. "I go to school with the guy, and he doesn't act like how the Darren at the store does."

It occurred to him that he had no idea what happened to Darren after the fight, but before he could ask, Xander spoke up. "Some non-bonded Phoenix Dragon have a strong enough soul to forcefully take control of a human's body. But they must be from the other realm..."

"Other realm?" Josh echoed.

Xander didn't expand. His attention had turned inward. After a moment, he blinked and rubbed his forehead.

"Is it possible it's just an exceptionally strong Phoenix Dragon?" Josh's mom asked.

"It's possible," Xander said, still rubbing his hand across his face. "Either way, it's a complicated situation for us. Possession hasn't happened for centuries. I had hoped that was a form of combat long behind us." He sighed, then made a rolling hand gesture at Mara. "Please, continue with what happened."

So she did. She told the rest of the events at the store, and when she arrived at the events after, she let Cale take over. By the time they finished, Xander looked like he had aged a few years.

"I'm glad everyone is okay. You guys have had quite the hectic day." He directed this part to Josh and his family, a small smile on his face. "I'm sure you're exhausted."

Josh glanced at the plate of sandwiches as his family and Xander discussed where they'd be staying. They had only eaten a few sandwiches from the stack. He was too strung up to eat despite his grumbling stomach. How would he ever sleep?

Despite his worries, when they arrived at their new dwellings, he fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes. The familiar dream of flying over the ocean greeted him, but this time, a little ice dragon flew next to him.

Fun fact: Xander used to be named Steven, but after insistent teasing from my brother (in which he kept using the epic voice over guy's voice to go "Steven. What kind of name is Steven?"), I changed it to Xander. Ioana is a name I stole from one of my friends *waves at Wim*

Even executing it better, I still hate the middle. So much information to get out ;-; I hope it's all making sense. I'm trying to gradually release the info, but there's just so much to get out that doesn't really fit later.

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!