I shook my head as Benedict snarled, the man under his foot wheezing in pain.
“Stop it!”
I kicked Benedict in the bend of his knee. He stumbled, not expecting the attack. I dove around him as the wild man scrambled to me. My smaller, scaled hands found his large, meaty ones.
“You know Georg, don’t you?”
His brown eyes found mine, and he went very still. Then he repeated the only thing we both understood, the only thing that mattered.
“Georg.”
He touched a weathered, leathery hand to his breast. It was a hand that had not only braved the elements but had survived them. I inhaled sharply, turning back to Benedict.
“You said his parents died.”
Benedict shook out his leg, frowning.
“They did. I saw the bodies myself. Lykos.”
The man spoke slowly, but it was no use; his language meant nothing to any of us. Sensing my frustration, he paused, and again put a fist to his heart.
“Georg.”
I nodded seriously, to show him I understood.
“Well, he clearly knows him. What now?”
The man reached tentatively for my hand, his worried face on Benedict. Benedict growled, and the man moved away. Meruse snorted.
“The mountain men are thought by some to be little more than savages; a once-mighty empire that scattered and hid to escape the fate of the rest of humanity. With their short lifespans, it only took a few generations for a proud race to turn into...this.”
Meruse looked down her nose at the man. Something in me snapped, furious that anyone would pass judgement on how someone else chose to survive. If she thought that poorly of this poor man, what would she think of me? We all did what we had to.
“Tell me how you really feel.”
Meruse pursed her lips, not liking my tone. She sighed and looked away.
“They have survived this long in small groups, so clearly they know how to fight, or at least hide effectively from the hordes.”
Benedict huffed, knowing where this was going.
“Savages and witches: how the Overlord will tremble with fear. The answer is no.”
No one bothered contradicting him. It was no use when he was in this mood. I turned towards the wild man, grabbing his hand and squeezing it as tightly as I could. His long, dirty nails scraped against my skin. He glanced up at me, no fear in his eyes at my wings, my claws, or even my strangely reflective skin. I owed him for that alone.
“I will bring you to Georg.”
Benedict jerked.
“Wren, NO—”
I was already gone, wrapping the shadows around me and the wild man, vanishing back to Lyoness. The air closed around us, and I felt a resistance—a large force that pushed back against me. I grit my teeth and pushed harder, my will to feel the ground of Lyoness under me greater that the foreign force. With a large pop I made it, gasping and falling to my knees. I was vaguely aware of the large forest that surrounded me, even as part of my brain reeled at how much the earth witches had done in the short time I’d been gone. This lush, green land couldn’t be Lyoness, could it?
“Wren? Are you alright?”
Trego, the draken’s name was Trego—dropped the axe he’d been wielding, a stack of precisely cut beams stacked nearby. I looked up at him, but it was hard to see his face as it kept swirling around. He bared his fangs and growled at the wild man, who fell back, afraid.
“No! Leave him… alone. Get Ronan and…Georg.”
The wild man didn’t let go of my hand, even when Trego bared down on him. I gave him a thankful smile and passed out.
Ronan was there when I opened my eyes, concerned but not suffocating me like Kieran or Benedict would have. He held my hand, his eyes furrowed with worry. I sat up quickly and regretted it almost instantly.
“I’m fine, I just...that’s never happened before when I’ve shifted.”
I looked around, taking in the cozy interior of the treehouse I had only spent one other night in. I stood slowly, my feet taking a moment to find purchase on the wooden floor. I stood at the window, inhaling in surprise at the activity going on in the village below. drakens and witches lived and worked side by side, talking, even laughing.
“Turns out most of the drakens prefer the treehouses. Just one of the many commonalities we have found with the witches.”
The wind blew through the trees, the rustling of the leaves a luxury I didn’t know I had missed while living in the mountain.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Soon there will be birds, and then other animals will come. The island will be filled with the sounds of life, again.”
He grasped my hands, his face full of such pure joy it tugged a smile from my tired lips.
“I’m starting to understand why I have three mates.”
He blinked, confused.
“Imagine where we’d be if Benedict oversaw the drakens and the witches. We’d be still sleeping in the ashes, fighting with each other.” I laughed and kissed him.
“You’ve done amazing work here, truly.”
Ronan preened under my praise, then his shoulders drooped.
“I’d much rather be with you.”
I reached up and gave him another kiss, this one lingering. The tension bleeding out of his body as he just held me, savoring the feel of my lips on his. I leaned back, my eyes searching his golden ones.
“You are needed here, just as Kieran and I are needed with Benedict. I swear there was never a more stubborn creature born.”
He smiled, leaning forehead so our heads touched. I could have stayed forever like this, but there was business I needed to attend to. My body ached and twinged with every movement.
“What happened to me? Why do I feel like I’ve been dropped from the mountain?”
Ronan pulled back, his shoulders tightened with worry.
“Despite the
