The Only

I wonder, Byx," said Khara, "amid all the comfort and ease you have now, do you ever miss the days when we were racing from here to there, in constant danger, running for our lives?" "No," I said. "Not at all." Tobble shook his head. "I sure don't." "Me neither," Renzo agreed. "Nor do I," said Khara. It didn't take a dairne to know that all four of us had lied.

Like I told Maxyn, courage is not the absence of fear. We were all afraid. We just weren't going to let fear stop us.

We'd won. I wondered if defeat could feel any worse than victory.

I don't think you can stop being scared. I don't think that's what it means to be brave. I think being brave means being afraid and still doing what you must do.

Not so long ago, I was just a silly pup. The runt of my litter. Self-involved, naive, impatient to see the world. Well, I'd certainly gotten my wish. I'd seen far too much of the world. I'd seen enough pain and danger and death to last several lifetimes. I was no longer Byx, the innocent daydreamer, curious and carefree. The pup who could gaze for hours at a swarm of rainbow-winged butterbats dancing on the wind. The old Byx didn't gallop into battle to kill eshwins, yelling in triumph like a fool as they fell. Perhaps Tobble was right that better times awaited us. Perhaps the old Byx was hiding somewhere deep in my heart. Perhaps. But for now I had to go wash the blood from my fur.

See that vine?" I said to Tobble. "My siblings and I used to swing out from it, then land in the lake." I gave a small laugh. "Well, they did anyway. I was too afraid." "You? Afraid?" "Always and forever," I said. "I'm beginning to think that's how life works." "Are we stopping here?" Tobble asked. "The horses are well watered." "Yes, but I'm not. Do you know what I need, Tobble? I need a swim." I checked the icy water with a long stick to be sure it was as deep as I recalled. Two silver fish darted past. As I clambered to a low-hanging branch, I felt a familiar shiver of anticipation and dread, and for a moment, I was the old Byx, with all her hopes and fears and longings. Then I kicked off as hard as I could, swung far out over the pond, and let go.

I cannot, will not, tell the full story of my next few hours. I'll only say that I found what I knew I must: the sun-bleached bones of everyone I'd once loved. Even knowing what I would find, I was unprepared for the knife of pain that cut through me. I half fell, half dismounted, from my pony. Kneeling on the ground, I gave in to the grief I'd held at bay for so long. I howled like an animal. I beat my fists against my chest. I wept. I don't know how long it went on. Time disappears, I suppose, when you need it to.

Wobbyks have a saying, 'Grow tall as a sapling, not tall as a weed. One is watered, the other cut down.' It means that you can set yourself greater than others, but only if you're a tree that gives shade. Not if you're a useless plant that must be cut down.

The weak and frightened long to kill, The blood of innocents to spill. 'Tis ever easier to hate, Than learn to love, or to create.

I don't know what lies ahead, but we are on the precipice of war, and war changes people. I want you to stay true to what you believe. Whatever comes, remember who you are.

I might fail Khara. I might disappoint myself and my loyal friends. So much could go wrong, so quickly, on this mission of mine. But I promised myself I would cherish the gift of that sunrise no matter what happened. How the earth can surprise us if we let it!

—(…) No hay criatura inútil, Byx. Cada una es una pieza de un rompecabezas tan vasto que nadie puede verlo en su totalidad. Clavé la vista en el suelo, disgustada.

Tobble’s eyes grew so large his face almost disappeared. “Your Majesty, you are too kind.

I don't know, Tobble. Will you return to Bossyp? To be with other wobbyks?" "I always thought I would." Tobble shrugged. "But it doesn't seem quite as important anymore. You know?" "I do," I said softly. "I do know.

His look of shock confirmed, as did the red blood flowing, that I had cut him. But it wasn't yet fatal. He wouldn't die of the cut I'd inflicted. No. He'd die when I felt, coursing through me, all the pain and rage of finding my family slaughtered because of this evil man. He'd die when I looked into his wide, horrified eyes and cried, "For the dairnes!" I grabbed the hilt firmly in both hands, and I plunged the Light of Nedarra through his heart.

Fear's the little fairy sitting on your shoulder whispering 'take care' into your ear. Courage isn't fearlessness. Fear's your faithful friend, Byx, so long as you don't make one great mistake... Never let yourself be afraid of being afraid.

Your horse's name is Victory," the general told Khara. "Good name," she said as she tightened the girth on her saddle. "Let's hope it's not ironic.

I was afraid. So afraid. I tried to remember my wise words of advice to Maxyn about overcoming fear. But they were just words. Empty syllables.

Now get some sleep. You are about to go on an adventure." "A dangerous adventure," I murmured. "Byx, my friend. Is there any other kind?

Every rational part of me agreed with Gambler: it was time to flee. But Gambler was my friend. More than that, he was family. I drew my little sword and urged Havoc forward.

assured me. Still, I saw nothing. “Ambassador! Ambassador Delgaroth!” she called. The water parted with barely a ripple as he rose to the surface. Delgaroth was the deep blue of the sky just before night, with dazzling green markings on his flanks and face. His eyes were large for a natite, with dark blue irises surrounded by soft turquoise. When he blinked, it was with one or both of his two sets of eyelids. The first set was opaque, the second translucent. I’d been told that the clear eyelids allowed natites to see beneath the water. “Good morning to you, Ambassador,” said Khara with a nod. “And to you, Lady Kharassande of the Donatis,” Delgaroth said.