He bowed his head as he approached the Wult king.
“I greet you, King of Wults,” Fan’twar said.
“Welcome to our lands,” Kull said. “I see you’ve brought company.” He motioned toward the other dragons, each with an elven rider atop its back.
One of the elves climbed off the dragon and walked toward us. He was older, with graying hair worn in a long braid down his back. He greeted us with his hand fisted over his heart—a classic elven gesture, although I hadn’t seen an elf use it in quite some time. I wondered if there was any significance to him using it now.
“I am called Wendolun, lord of the outer province. I come with my closest aids. The city of Delestria seeks to assist you.”
“And what of the elven capitol?” Kull asked.
Wendolun paused before speaking. “They were unable to send an envoy, although Queen Euralysia sends us her blessing.”
“I see,” Kull answered. “We welcome your help and are appreciative of your promptness.”
Wendolun eyed me. “We follow the sky king’s ward. Any friends of hers are friends of ours.”
I couldn’t help but detect the hidden meaning in his words. Friends of the sky king, the queen unable to send anyone—was there perhaps some dissension among the usually unified elven nations?
“There is an outpost located at the base of Dragon Spine Mountain,” the sky king said to those gathered around him. “We shall rendezvous there. Do not traverse the mountain alone. If we are to defeat this evil, we must do it together.”
I walked to Fan’twar and climbed atop his back, then clung to his spike as he launched into the air. As he gained height, I couldn’t help but feel this was where I was meant to be—soaring through the skies with the other dragons flying alongside us and wind rushing around us.
I put worry out of my mind and instead focused only on the moment—the feel of the sun warming my face and arms, the sound of beating wings, the calmness that came from being among the clouds.
Below us, we passed over the snow-capped peaks that divided the elven and Wult lands, then traveled south toward the pixie kingdom. From this high up, the light-rails were barely visible, but now and again I was able to spot the glittering strand of light.
Kull was down there somewhere, and I felt relieved to be away from him and have time to gather my thoughts. Thinking clearly when he was around was getting harder to do—especially now that I’d seen the man I’d fallen in love with, even if it had been for a brief time.
Would I ever get him back? And if I did, was I sure I wanted him? There had been a time when I’d thought of him as a kind, selfless soul. While on the exterior he may have appeared selfish and heartless, he also had a kinder side that not everyone saw. But was he still that man? I wasn’t sure. And if he ever sought after my attentions again, he would have to prove he was still worth my time. Chances were, he would never again chase after me, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it any longer.
We took a quick break from flying to eat lunch, but then we returned to the skies. The elves had not complained about the flight, and as I eyed them from my spot on Fan’twar’s back, I felt grateful they’d come.
There were many elves who had earned my distrust lately. The princess, now queen, Euralysia, would always be a villain in my book. Someone capable of causing the extinction of an entire group of people deserved nothing less—and now she was queen of the elves. I hoped it wasn’t my imagination that not all elves thought highly of her. Those making the quest today seemed willing to help, even if the elves of the capitol city couldn’t be bothered with aiding the fairies. Perhaps, in the future, the elves of the outer cities would make allies.
My father, while a magistrate in the main city, hadn’t been in Faythander for months now. What had happened to his position while he was gone? Had someone replaced him? Would he ever return to Faythander?
Both my parents seemed happy never to be bothered with elven politics again, and as long as they remained on Earth, they wouldn’t have to be. After Dad had revealed that my mother wielded black magic and was considered a witch, I understood why her presence in the elven city would never again be tolerated. I would be surprised if Dad returned to Faythander, yet he’d always had such strong ties to the capitol. Political duties had been his life’s work. Would it really be that easy for him to give it all up?
Dusk approached as we finally reached Dragon Spine Mountain. My heart leapt at the sight of the tall peak that seemed to puncture the sky. Somewhere atop that mountain would be the cave we sought, and the bloodthorn wouldn’t be far from it. We were so close, yet as we circled the mountain and descended not to its peak, but to its base, I felt a rising sense of urgency.
A small village, its lights shining from the collection of small wooden buildings, rested along the foothills nestled against the base of Dragon Spine’s peak. Fan’twar landed near the outskirts of the village, and the other dragons did the same.
My muscles, stiff and sore from the daylong flight, protested as I climbed off the dragon’s back. The light-carriages arrived soon after the dragons, and our two parties regrouped around the dragons.
“This is a Wult outpost,” Kull said as he scrutinized the small collection of buildings built in the typical Wult fashion with wood-shingled roofs, broad porches that circled the structures, and brightly colored red
