Kvistr, Melissa Nichols [red white royal blue txt] 📗

can't get from her usual diet. She was able to eat it only because she had reasoned with herself that she'd have more energy to put into the gemstones and to fuel spells, and her muscles would be stronger so if any Ra'zac came her way she would be better prepared to fight them off.After dinner, she went back to the kitchens and bartered with the chefs. She came away from the kitchens with four cow's stomachs filled with the most nutritious parts of an animal, already prepped and ready to be eaten. One stomach held beef, one held chicken, one held pork, and the other one had sheep. To keep the meat fresh, she froze the stomach and its contents with a freezing spell.She then spent the next few hours practicing her swordsmanship before she went out to Faolan. She loved sleeping under his wing. His belly was warm and with his wing covering her she felt protected.Before she slept, however, she transferred as much energy as she dared into the gemstone that held the least amount of energy. She wanted both to be evenly filled so if she lost one, then she'd have the other with the same amount of energy.The next morning, Alanna woke at dawn. For her, she could get an hour of sleep and still be fully rested when she woke.At breakfast the morning of departure, she cleaned the plates of every protein she could. Eggs, bacon, chicken, and beef. She grabbed several pieces of fruit to eat during the flight, but she wanted her major meals to consist of pure protein.After breakfast, she went back to her bedroom and grabbed Faolan's saddle and saddlebags, then went back outside to Faolan.After his saddle was on, Alanna stepped into the saddle and waited for the other Riders. Their saddles were all larger than Faolan's were, so it took a bit longer, but eventually all saddles were on, Riders were in those saddles, and the dragons were in the air.With her stomach full, Alanna took a nap after she transferred energy into the gem in Delois' pommel. That's essentially how the rest of the day happened. Alanna would eat her fill of the proteins and fruits, transfer energy into Delois' amethyst, and then she'd nap and restart the cycle. At dinner that night, after the group had set up camp a league outside of Teirm, she shared her meat and fruit with the other Riders, there being so much left to go around. Chapter 14

The morning light found Alanna situated by the Woadark River, at a point where the water was at its most shallow. Faolan was not with her, having been reassigned to directing the citizens from the city gates to Alanna's position, leaving his Rider on her own. Because she had to remain alert, she didn't continue the cycle from yesterday, eating as much as she could before she transferred energy to the two gemstones and then sleeping. Instead, she calmly chewed on the meats, wanting to be well-fed if she needed to fight.Two hours after the siege began, Alanna finally saw the first of a long line of citizens. She rushed to them and assured them they were safe and she was a Rider before she healed any major wounds. Then, she directed them across the river and helped the elderly and young with the journey across. On the other bank was a large grove of wild orange trees. The people sat in the shade to eat and wait, while Alanna went back to the other bank to wait for the next group.The morning passed slowly. The line of people seemed to never end, and Alanna repeated the cycle with each group of citizens. The elderly, severely weak and very young children crossed the river on a raft Alanna had put together, while everyone else had to wade across.By noon, the line had thickened and the crossing had slowed as citizens from all four corners of the city converged. Alanna didn't care. She assured, healed and herded, all of the while keeping an eye on the area she could see. From Faolan, she could hear the older Riders and dragons communicate, while she searched her area for any stray Ra'zac that had noticed the mass exodus.By the time the sun had neared the horizon, Alanna was close to passing out from the sheer exhaustion, and she slipped into her waking dreams between groups of stragglers.No sooner than the last group had successfully made it across the river than she received word that the siege was at an end, and the older Riders and Faolan would fly over to her to help her herd the survivors back to the city. She quickly informed the citizens and did her best to control the chaos that ensued. She ordered those that needed the raft to hang back while the stronger ones crossed the river and made the journey back to Teirm.When the dragons finally arrived, their Riders spread themselves along the distance to the city, the raft was used to carry the weak and elderly to the city via flying dragon while the children happily climbed onto the dragon's backs wherever they could fit. Faolan couldn't fly with the load of children so he simply walked back to the city.When the sun had disappeared, the four Riders had balls of light illuminate the path back to the city.At last, just the sun was beginning to peak over the mountains, all of the citizens were back in the port city.Alanna wanted to help rebuild the city, but Eragon wouldn't hear of it and sent her and Faolan both back to the river to sleep. After being verbally slammed back into her place as a fledgling Rider and apprentice, Alanna did as she was told. She didn't even bother with unrolling her blankets once Faolan's saddle was removed. She simply slipped under his wing and fell into her dreams, cuddled against Faolan's side.

Chapter 15

The Rider troop remained in Teirm for three days, each day dedicated to a different section of rebuilding the city. The first day after the siege, the older Riders focused on rebuilding those buildings damaged or destroyed during the Ra'zac occupancy. It irritated Alanna that all three pairs refused to explain how they had managed that feat.The second day was spent burying the dead and using magic to create a gust of wind strong enough to blow away the ashes of the Ra'zac. The third day, the Riders strolled the streets, settling disputes and generally doing their jobs as Riders to boost morale. They couldn't do much about restoring livestock, but they placed a spell of fertility on the surviving herds and sung all of the plants back to health. Alanna wanted to do more, like replacing lost goods, but she understood they could only do so much and that particular task would have been too much. They couldn't create those lost goods from thin air and it would have upset the economy of the city if they could procure those lost goods.The four Riders left on the fourth morning and arrived at Ilirea at sunset. Once the saddles were removed from the dragons' backs, the Riders ate dinner, Eragon, Arya and Alanna went back to their usual diet, and then they turned in. But Alanna didn't immediately fall asleep. Instead, she talked with Faolan about the events of the last week, figuring out what both of them had done and what they could have done better. After all, a mission wasn't just about protecting the innocent and keeping the peace; it was also a test.As Eragon had demonstrated, a Rider not only had to be strong in magic, knowledgeable about everything and deadly in battle, but he also had to think like a military commander, lead huge battalions into a battle, and defeat the enemy quickly with minimal losses.This is what the test was about, learning how to do battle on a grand scale. It would be foolish for Alanna to not better herself and Faolan when they had such an opportunity to do so. One day, it would be Alanna and Faolan teaching new Riders and dragons, risking many lives in battle that she is duty-bound to protect. She had to study, learn and better herself now, while she was a student herself, so she can do her best in every aspect of being a Rider in the future.She also realized that, even though she had shared the minds of the animals she later ate, it would be advantageous for her to start adding meat to her diet. She fell asleep thinking about it, wrestling with abandoning that part of her culture.

Chapter 16

Seven days after returning to Ilirea, Alanna found herself in a very crowded classroom. With four student claiming four desks, the small hut felt more cramped than usual, causing Alanna to feel claustrophobic for the first time in her life.Due to the changing circumstances, Eragon had to adapt his teaching methods in order to better suit his students.Jut as he had with Arya, Eragon determined how much Murtagh knew and started him off with a higher level scroll. Being so observant, Eragon noticed Alanna’s nervousness, and so he let her take the scrolls she couldn’t finish that day home, so she could read them that night. He also let her stay outside when she started getting antsy and he often saw her doing the Rimgar, or practicing her swordsmanship or magic.Vegz was turning out to be a hardworking student, though he couldn’t grasp the material as well as the others. It wasn’t uncommon for Eragon to hand Vegz the same stack of scrolls daily. Eragon had also taken to testing Vegz, asking him questions about the topics from