She watched the dragon circling overhead, wondering if he'd spotted any trace of Mau, or of the dragon whose scent he'd allegedly picked up after their battle. He remained aloft for quite a long time, surveying the forest for miles around, while she busied herself on the ground in search of clues. There were none, however. Wherever Mau had gone, she hadn't left a trace. Something wasn't adding up. Minx slumped against a tree, kneading her brow. Panic set in as the day's struggles hit her one after another.
Her best friend had vanished, and with every passing moment the trail was getting colder.
Her people were relying on her to secure a dragon's hide for use in protecting Pandling Grounds and Heilo Lake—and she couldn't bear to let them down. Already the shielding spell was weakening. If she didn't get the elders the hide they needed, Pan and her people would be defenseless. And that wasn't all. Though she hadn't considered it earlier, the ritual in question was a two-day affair. If she wanted to ensure the spell was cast within a week, she had to deliver the hide to the elders in just five days, rather than a full seven. The job was difficult enough without the time crunch; the narrower the window for delivery, the more daunting it all became.
And then there was Valry and her army. There was no telling how her mother and the other hostages were faring, or whether the vicious Wuffs would honor their part of the deal if Minx could somehow deliver them a second hide. It was possible that her mother and the rest were already dead, or that they would be subjected to cruel tortures. The longer it took Minx to act, the likelier it was that the hostages would suffer greatly at Valry's hands. She pictured her mother being dragged off in chains and felt a tremor of fear in her breast.
Minx plodded through the forest, her heart heavy. When her father had tasked her early that day with her first dragon hunt, she'd been naive and excited. Now, after everything that had come to pass, she was tumbling into despair. Finding no trace of Mau, she returned to the glade, where Kaleb awaited her in his human form.
“Any luck?” asked the dragon shifter.
Minx only shook her head.
“Ah, well, I'm sure she'll turn up,” continued Kaleb, attempting to sound comforting. “She can't possibly have gone too far.”
The Fae huntress could barely hold it together. Gritting her teeth, she adjusted the quiver of arrows on her back and looked up at the dimming sky. Night would soon be upon them. “I'm not sure what to do,” she admitted. “My mother and other Fae leaders have been kidnapped by Valry and her army. They want a dragon's hide. And my people need one, too, to protect our lands. And now Mau is missing. I've never been separated from her in this way. We've been together since I was a girl.” She felt silly, spilling her guts to this young dragon, but there was no one else around to listen.
“They took your mother?” asked Kaleb, approaching her. His fiery eyes, usually so fierce, had softened somewhat. If he was faking concern, he was doing an incredible job. “That's pretty underhanded. And they're demanding a dragon's hide for her life, huh?”
Minx nodded. “I have a week to deliver it, else she and the others will be killed.”
The youth combed a lock of black hair behind his ear and took note of the darkening sky. “Tell you what. If we work together, I'm sure we can find your pal Mau before too long. And when we've found her, we can look for some way to handle these Wuffs. How does that sound?”
She looked up at him with wide eyes, stunned at his willingness to help. “You'll... you'll help me save my mother?”
“Sure,” he offered. Then, grinning, he added, “If Valry gets her way, some poor dragon will lose his hide in the deal, and for all I know, it'll be mine.”
This time, she couldn't deny him words of thanks. It stung her pride to accept this stranger's help, especially after he'd bested her in battle, but she lowered her gaze and uttered a brief, “Thank you, Kaleb”.
“No problem,” said the young dragon, pointing up at the sky. “It's getting dark. We should prepare for the long night ahead. Want to help me set up a simple camp?”
There was nothing to do but work together. “All right,” said Minx, setting down her bow and quiver.
Chapter 7
Night had fallen oppressively over the land, and the unlikely duo of dragon and Fae eyed each other suspiciously in the glow of their modest campfire. They had taken up refuge in the glade where their battle had taken place in the hopes that Mau would wander back there and meet them. The night passed with no sign of the Faelyr, however.
Minx stirred the embers with a long stick, sending sparks swirling through the air. With everything on her plate, she knew there was nothing to be done but to take her ordeals one at a time. First, she would need to find Mau. Then, when they'd been reunited, she could focus completely on the other pressing matters ahead.
“This friend of yours, Mau, doesn't have a habit of running off, I take it?” asked Kaleb, seated by the fire's edge and peering up at the stars. “I wonder where
