“And if I do not?”
I shudder. Just thinking of us splitting apart sends terrible jabs of pain through me. But I can’t stay here, and neither can he. I have to convince him. I peer up at him and inhale.
“You will,” I say, keeping my voice level. “Because I need you and I need this. It’s not only about our survival. Now that you’re better, I need to return to my tribe, I need that more than anything, and to do so, I need you to come with me.”
I watch him studying my face. Finally, he asks, “Why? What is out there that you need more than… than this—us?”
“Haime’s my ward,” I start, though my chest squeezes. “But there’s more to it than that. She’s like a daughter to me and…”
“And what?”
It hurts to say it, to even think of voicing this. As if speaking it might make it true. “And I don’t know if she got out in time.” I wrench my eyes tightly shut. “That’s why I need to leave, and I still would, even if you provided everything you say and more. I’ll never rest not knowing if I failed. If I failed her.”
There, I said it.
And I still don’t know if Haime survived or not. I twitch, fearing what I’ve said, praying there aren’t larger forces at work. Ones that aren’t on my side.
Drazak sighs. My eyes snap open when his brow comes down to rest on mine. “You madden me.”
“I know.”
“We will leave.”
I exhale. “Thank you.”
“Do not thank me, Milaye, Warden of Haime. I will not be good company under the sun.”
I embrace him and burrow my face into his chest. His arms and tails wrap around me. “Thank you,” I tell him again. After a moment, I pull out of his embrace, there is work to do.
He lifts me and pushes me onto the ledge like I weigh nothing. I rock on my feet, steadying myself as he climbs up behind me. Peering down, I notice the ration and my feather are gone.
“Well, human,” he says, rising next to me. “If this is what you need, I will give it to you. I will always give it to you. But you must give me what I need as well.”
I know what he needs. “Of course.”
I take his hand and lead him into the tunnels.
15
The Way Out
I show him the cave-in—the old entrance where I came in however many days ago—pointing to the dirt and rocks blocking our path.
He sniffs the air thoroughly and tells me there’s no blood, old or new, in the air.
It’s enough to give me hope.
We don’t stay long, backtracking a little to find the other path. The clams have been shifted, some are broken, but I pick up the good ones that remain and stuff them into my fire moss pouch. Together we continue, though he takes the lead.
It is his cave after all. But unlike me, he has to remain hunched over most of the time so his horns don’t scrape the ceiling.
“There has to be a way out,” I murmur a while later. The tunnel goes on and on. “Maybe we should head back and try digging our way through the old path,” I suggest. “It might be our best chance of freedom.”
Drazak hums. “I will make us a way out if there is not one. Nothing can hold a dragon, not even the terra of Venys—” He sniffs, harshly. “I smell salty air.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
I go quiet as we walk. When I sniff the air, I notice nothing but the musk of soil. I trust him though and do my part to protect our backs.
My instincts as a huntress become essential as the territory around us grows unfamiliar. Our trek is increasingly treacherous, with rocks and steep ledges we could stumble over. At one point we’re on our hands and knees crawling so long my skin is scraped up. Drazak stops to lick my wounds when the path opens back up.
Then I hear the wind.
It’s faint at first, no more than a whispering whistle. But with each step it grows louder, unmistakable. My heart pounds when the whistle grows increasingly sharp. Like it’s caught gusting through a small hole. Excitement causes my steps to quicken, my gaze searching for the source, but Drazak stops me.
“There’s an opening. There has to be,” I tell him when he doesn’t budge. “If there’s an opening, there may be a way out. Why have we stopped?”
“I smell the naga.”
I still at his words. It makes sense. I saw the boy slip into the tunnels, and so far, there’s been no other path but the blocked one. And I’m positive we haven’t missed any holes in the rocks or crevices where he could have hidden.
“He is up ahead,” Drazak murmurs, peering down the corridor. Following his gaze, I see the path breaks into a mass of stones that leads upward. It’s steep. The shrieking wind calms for a moment, and I hear the scuttle of falling stones. They keep falling until a single pebble rolls its way to our feet.
Drazak tenses beside me. And this time, when he steps forward, I stall him. “Don’t hurt him.”
His face turns to me with a sneer. “Why?”
“He’s just a boy. He’s harmless.”
Drazak’s nostrils flare. “You care about him? Another male?”
“A child. One who’s all alone and possibly stuck here like us.”
“Human, those snake beasts are no less monstrous than a dragon. They make fine food, but their jagged spearheads and poison are wicked at puncturing a wing, and in our case, exposed flesh. If he wanted to survive, he should have never made his home in a dragon’s den.”
“Drazak,” I warn. “We aren’t hurting him. You aren’t hurting him. Even if he attacks us, we’ll subdue him but bring him no harm.”
He scowls.
I scowl back. “We do not hurt children.”
Drazak growls and shakes off my hand. He grumps and scowls at me again. My eyes are narrowed, my lips flat, I’m
