Page 64 of Escape from the Green

"You're worried?"

"Yes," I admitted without hesitation.

"I'll be right there with you, Amy."

"I know," I agreed, taking a steadying breath.

"But it doesn't make it any easier," he guessed.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. This is my family, they are my people. I have dreamed of seeing them again for longer than I even remember. But that doesn't make going home any easier. I get it. I don't think there is any way to truly prepare for this. But we will have each other's backs. It should help... ease the transition."

"Here we are," Sal's voice called, making me suddenly aware of the pull, like the very air was drawing me forward, reaching out to me, pulling me toward the trees.

Everything was about to change.

I was going to go live with a tribe of dragons.

Whether I was ready for that or not.

Drake's hand closed over mine.

And we walked through the veil.

EIGHT

Drake

She was nervous.

And why shouldn't she be?

I was.

And these were my kin, this would be my land, my ways, my customs.

Even if things had changed over the decades, it wouldn't have changed so much that it wouldn't be recognizable.

It wouldn't be a huge adjustment for me.

There would be long hours of work. My kind had always worked as a community. If someone's roof collapsed, every able-bodied man or woman would be there helping repair it. If you needed help wrangling your children, preparing food for winter, carrying your things to the river for washing, there was always someone to help.

I was used to work.

Harder work.

At the Winters compound.

It would be relaxing, even.

Then there were things we were meant to do as a group. Foraging. Tilling. Planting. Tending. Harvesting.

Everyone benefited, taking home a portion of the food to their family even if you had your own gardens to eat from.

The community aspect would likely be the hardest thing for me to adjust to, having been alone for so long. Even on this journey with Amy, Sal, and Smoky, we mostly kept somewhat to ourselves, no one needing to talk incessantly.

It wouldn't be like that back in my land. Talking, telling stories, that was all part of our tradition.