*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. Sorry to leave, but I have to check the bread in the oven. 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 near 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 Wellspring village but didn't want a rider herself. They seemed to enjoy the quiet 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. It had taken some discussion, but 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 giving the village a try, 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 was slowly building. 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. They all seemed happy, and none had moved away yet, although a few made occasional trips back to visit other relatives.

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 continued working. Even the livestock barely reacted, accustomed to the smaller winged creatures landing close to the buildings.

"Watch your downdraft," I gently told Alise. "In another year or so, it'll blow me off my feet."

The young dragon folded her wings. "Sorry. Are you ready to go back?"

"Thanks, but I can walk. It's a beautiful morning."

"But that will take half a day! And I finally got my harness on! Father said I could fly with you if I mastered the spell," she whined, partially spreading her wings in a pleading motion.

I smiled at her, finally connecting the dots. She had wanted to give me a ride for a long time, but Rakota had restricted her to trotting along the ground, at least until now. "Sorry, he didn't tell me that. Will you remember to land on the main ledge?"

"Yes!" Her wings rose above her back in excitement.

This was a huge moment for the fledging, so I gave her a big grin. "Let's go!"

She quickly shifted her wing out of the way so I could climb into the saddle. If I hadn't felt Rakota quietly listening through the bond, I wouldn't have agreed. I'd never flown with her before, and she still hadn't quite mastered her landings.

I secured the straps and rested my hands on the handle. "Whenever you're ready."

Alise spread her wings and began running to pick up speed, taking off smoothly. She circled the village while gaining altitude, giving me an excellent view of people working below. Most were in the fields or with the animals, but a few were chopping wood from a huge pile into smaller pieces for firewood.

A half-grown dragon was busily tearing down trees and dragging them over to the pile, having been paid with magic to clear another section of forest for a field. Several trees remained standing, purposely left in place to provide shade.

The dragons had figured out that humans were more willing to ask smaller dragons to take on menial tasks, and the lure of easy magic frequently had youngsters swinging by to ask if there were any jobs with magic as payment.

Our flight angled toward the cliffs. Even for a dragon as young as Alise, the trip back only took a couple of minutes instead of four hours on foot. True to her word, she circled down to the main ledge.

I held onto the handle as she pulled up and started to backwing. Her claws skidded across the rock as she misjudged her momentum. She finally came to a stop with splayed legs and spread wings.

I patted her shoulder and began undoing the harness straps. "I think you need to practice backwinging a bit more without me on your back."

She ducked her head sheepishly. "I thought I had it down pat."

"Good attempt," I said as I slid to the ground. "I'm sure you'll have it perfected in a few months."

She folded her wings with several flicks and stared at the saddle. "I think I need Father's help getting this harness off. I don't think I'm forming the sending spell correctly."

With a quick hop, she dove off the ledge to find Rakota. I sighed and stretched, relieved her landing hadn't turned into a summersault like it usually did when she backwinged. I hadn't expected her to try that. Normally she did a running landing. Thankfully, Rakota had been keeping tabs on me through the bond and would have intervened if something went wrong.

A faint chiming sound had me reaching for one of the special communication crystals on my necklace. I touched my finger to the receiving stone. "Hello."

"Hi, Katerina. It's Fred. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. How is your day so far?"

"It's going quite well. Is Rakota busy? I've got a family of three here. The mother is a Wellspring, and the son's abilities are just starting to manifest. The parents want a safe place to raise their family and are willing to try the dragonlands."

While I had known I had many relatives, I hadn't realized how many were Wellsprings, nor how many would be willing to try moving here. Several without the Wellspring ability remained where they were and were acting as contacts so others could get in touch with me.

"I don't think we had any plans today. If we're delayed, I'll let you know. You'll meet us at Olga's farm like usual?"

"We're already out here. The boy can't shield yet, so it's too dangerous to take him into a city or village. They won't trust a dragon without a Wellspring rider, so it has to be Rakota or Virend. We'll wait here as long as needed."

"Give me two minutes to check." Now that I was safely on the ground, Rakota was no longer paying attention to the bond and would be unaware of my conversation unless I called him.

I jogged over to one of many paths leading between the various ledges and ridges. A quick check of the bond let me pick the correct one. I glanced at the empty aerie on a neighboring ridge but neither Brandon or Diondin were visible.

Brandon hadn't mentioned an extended trip, so Diondin would likely return by nightfall. The close proximity of the aeries made it easy to visit the rider whenever he was around.

I followed the path, which came out in front of Rakota and Serepha's aerie. Both of them reclined on the huge ledge. Rakota was patiently helping Alise figure out the sending spell while Serepha kept an eye on the two newly-hatched nestlings wrestling in front of her. As I got closer, the fledgling finally managed the spell, and the harness disappeared.

"Hey, Rakota. There's a family of three wanting to move here. Do we have time to take a trip to the farm outside Dragon's Point?"

"We'll get there and back before nightfall, assuming it doesn't take hours to convince them that they won't fall out of the saddle." He transferred his gaze to a reddish-purple dragon lying nearby. "Do you think you're ready to carry a human for a full flight?"

His eldest son was instantly on his feet. "Yes!" At five years old, he wasn't even a quarter of his father's size, but that difference made him far less intimidating to nervous Wellsprings.

"Did you master the harness fetching spell?"

Within seconds, the air above his scales shimmered as a harness and a proud grin appeared. Rakota bared his teeth in approval and "fetched" his harness as well. He was making sure his children were more integrated with humans so they didn't have as many difficulties as he had during our first year together.

As I came over, Rakota crouched down to let me climb up. My hands easily arranged the harness straps as Rakota watched, still seemingly fascinated even after all these years by the flowing movements that never fumbled. As I grabbed the main shoulder strap, I gave him a mischievous grin, and pointedly put it on top.

He smirked in reply and threw himself skyward as he always did when I secured the harness like that. I laughed as he spun sideways, showing off his aerial prowess.

He straightened his flight as we passed over the village below. Soon, there would be a few more people in this hidden sanctuary. They'd no longer need to hide or constantly check their shields for fear of being discovered. They could be themselves.

Human mages still had no idea Wellsprings existed, and even if they one day figured it out, dragons were formidable guardians. The dragons kept a sharp eye out in case a mage somehow caught a Wellspring, but it hadn't happened yet.

We still went twice a year to check the cliffs Rakota had built and make a few improvements. Only a few naga had ever gotten past it, and those weak points had been reinforced. There hadn't been any leaks for three years. My relatives were safe from the creatures even if they didn't want to move into the hidden villages.

The dragons had kept their word. Wellsprings were welcome to trade their magic for all manner of spells or physical objects. If they wanted to be a rider, they knew they could ask the dragons about it. I hadn't been able to reveal more, but it had been enough to bypass the magic rules and let one woman have a detailed discussion before deciding to become a rider.

Wellsprings finally had a safe refuge, and the dragons were benefitting from the arrangement as well. It was a future so promising I couldn't have imagined it six years ago – and I got to be a part of it.

I was truly happy that I had been tricked into flight.

The end.