Island of Dragons Read Online Free

previously had, doing his best to work from memory and getting guidance from some of the older Necessaries who had known every inch of Quill.
    By this time, the Wanteds and Necessaries were more than anxious to go back to their familiar-looking, yet slightly more colorful and less ugly world. Dozens of Wanteds and Necessaries moved into their new homes every day as Alex worked long and hard to re-create their world. Most of the recipients knew very little about how to express their thanks for a gift so huge, but some of them managed, which felt like progress to Alex. And a thank you now and then for the hardworking head mage of Artimé was very much appreciated.
    The small group of cranky Wanteds who wanted nothing to do with magic settled in the charcoaled remains just beyond the Ancients Sector, across the island from Artimé. They were so blinded by their opposition to magic that they were willing to sleep in soot and scrounge for food and water just to make a point. Alex wasn’t quite sure what that point was, but he didn’t really care, either, as long as they didn’t bother him.
    And Aaron worked with some of the more reasonable Wanteds and Necessaries to try to make the Ancients Sector into something much more humane than it once was. He pointed out the willingness of the Ancients to help fight Gondoleery, thus proving their usefulness, and suggested the Ancients Sector be a place of respite for the elderly to go to on their own accord, where they could enjoy their last days without fear or chains, and be among friends.
    Needless to say, Alex “forgot” to build the sleep chamber, and no one seemed upset about that.
    As for the palace, Alex decided not to build one at all, and instead put a lighthouse with a lookout tower in its place on the top of the hill. For the time being, he appointed Gunnar Haluki to watch over the new annex, reassign jobs to all the people instead of just the Necessaries, and make sure the farms and animals were being nurtured properly. Gunnar asked Claire Morning to teach the Quillens how to make the most of their new situation, and she began by showing them how to funnel rainwater off their roofs into barrels so they wouldn’t have to travel to the fountain to get it. They’d always have more than enough water to go around for people, plants, and animals.
    With only a little grumbling, the people of Quill settled in to their new Artiméan-made homes, and life returned to almost normal.

Henry Finds a Purpose
    B ack in Artimé, the last of the injured had recovered from the battle against Gondoleery, and the hospital ward stood empty. Henry Haluki had been a permanent fixture there over the past months, and was often regarded as the go-to healer since he was seen there the most, though he still took orders from Ms. Morning and Carina. But just because there was no one for Henry to heal didn’t mean he had nothing to do. He used his free time to work with plants from his greenhouse, experimenting with their medicinal properties and creating new, more potent strains that would make his healing serums more effective. And every day he painstakingly added to his store of proven medicines so they’d never be in short supply again.
    He spent a little time with other people—the nurses sometimes helped him bottle up the medicine—but he was often lost in thought these days. He hadn’t quite forgiven himself for not saving Meghan Ranger. Yet whenever he thought about giving her the glowing seaweed he’d gotten from Ishibashi, which would’ve extended her life indefinitely, he knew that he’d done the only thing he could. He’d obeyed Ishibashi’s command: Never use it on any human without their permission. Meghan had been near death by the time Henry saw her—perhaps she was dead already. But Henry never had the opportunity to ask her, and so he’d stood there, holding the seaweed, looking on helplessly at her still