They kept on in this manner for hours, Kaleb becoming increasingly concerned about the Fae huntress' behavior. He kept his mouth shut for fear of starting a fight, and even slowed his pace to accommodate her. Finally, by midday, they had ceased their aimless wanderings and had found themselves on a proper road with legible markings.
But for Minx, the strain of the night before proved too much.
Shuffling behind Kaleb with a pounding head and heavy eyes, her limbs felt like lead. The young dragon remarked on the road, on the lands ahead, but she couldn't muster the energy to give him more than one or two words in reply.
They had only made it a few miles down the secluded road when she collapsed.
Chapter 8
Kaleb felt the Fae stirring in his grasp. Oh, guess she's finally rested...
He watched as Minx opened her eyes, a delicious breeze teasing her hair. She stretched a bit, her sore limbs having relaxed and her head no longer so heavy. Her entire body seemed filled with that wonderful feeling of floating that sometimes visits those walking the line between sleep and wakefulness.
When the bleariness in her eyes cleared and she took a good look around, she discovered she was floating, high, high up in the sky. Rather than a cloud, she was reclining within Kaleb's massive talons. “W-What am I doing up here? Where are you taking me?” she demanded.
Come on, I didn't drop you! he thought. I guess this is the thanks I get for hauling you across the path, huh? Kaleb glided lower, coasting across a vast plain and eventually touching down in a large field near a wide dirt road. With great care, he released Minx and shifted back into his human form. “I see you're finally awake,” he said.
Minx knelt on the ground. Her legs looked to be shaking too hard for her to stand. “W-What were you thinking? You could have dropped me! I never asked you to do that—to carry me around!” She gulped, raking a hand through her windswept hair. “You could have killed me, you know that?”
“Maybe, but I didn't really feel like it,” he quipped. “If I'd wanted you dead, I wouldn't have waited for you to wake up.”
She dissected him with a sharp gaze, lips pursed.
“Sorry, you looked like you needed the rest,” he said. “You passed out back there—face-planted on the trail. Remember?” He grinned. “For a bit there, you were sleeping like a baby. Have any good dreams?”
She looked like she wanted to spit at him. “As if I'd tell you,” she said, her cheeks flushed with color.
Try as he might, he couldn't resist the girl's charm. She was a handful, combative and dismissive to a fault, but she wasn't hard on the eyes. She'd been looking rough earlier on the road, but now, with some sleep in the tank, she looked fresh and vital. She hurriedly put her dark hair up into a manageable style, her sharp eyes lowered in embarrassment. He could see how her constant assertiveness might grate, but under the circumstances found her attempts at projecting authority endearing. Still, he tempered his expectations. She's cute, but she's a Fae. You can't trust them. They've been poisoned against your kind from the very start.
“What happened while I was asleep?” she demanded. “Any sign of Mau?” She looked around, took a few steps up the path. “Where are we, anyway?”
“No sign of the Faelyr, unfortunately,” replied Kaleb. “We flew further east. I thought we'd be better off checking out the eastern reaches of the borderland forest. There's a city up ahead, Karn. It's the largest of the human cities. Have you ever heard of it?”
“Of course I've heard of it,” snapped the Fae. Then, more quietly, she added, “Though, I've never been there.”
“For a city built by humankind, it's all right. I thought we might pass through and search for your friend there. Perhaps we'll run into someone who can set us on the right path.” Kaleb led the way. “And maybe we can get a bite to eat, while we're at it.”
Minx fell into step behind him. “So... there's really been no sign of Mau?” she asked, voice lilting as if she secretly hoped he'd withheld information.
Unfortunately, he had nothing to report. Their progress that day had been easygoing and uneventful, and though he'd kept his eyes to the ground he'd neither seen nor heard any sign of the missing Faelyr. Whether the city of Karn would give them fresh leads remained to be seen, but as one of the larger settlements in the region, it seemed as good a place to poke around as any. “No,” he finally admitted, “I really haven't seen any sign of her. But we're going to find her, trust me. It'll just take a bit of doing, that's all. If this Faelyr is as stubborn as you, she's going to play hard to get, though.”
The Fae looked over at him narrowly, her lack of trust evident in her stony gaze.
Aw, come on, don't look at me like that. It's a Faelyr! How far could it have possibly gone? He signaled toward the shape of the large city in the distance, the horizon crowded with towering buildings. Travelers were entering into view now, coming and going from the city gate with heavy packs and weapons. A loaded wagon rolled by as well, along with a
