“I see...” Minx rubbed one of Mau's ears between her fingertips. “Do you think they'll agree to help us?”
“I'm not going to make any promises,” he replied. “I'll do everything in my power, call in whatever favors I can, to make this happen, though. Just as long as you don't mess everything up by murdering one of my kind, I think things will work out fine.”
“How did you know where to find me?” chanced Minx. “I heard a noise in the woods and was alerted to the presence of a dragon by the glow of the bracelets. You looked like you were sleeping peacefully, though. Did we wake you?”
Kaleb laughed to himself. “I picked up that dragon's scent well before you heard him wandering around out there. No way I could sleep through that. Next thing I know, you and Mau are missing. I put two and two together and realized what you were up to pretty quickly.” He rolled over onto his side. “Never mind all that. Do me a favor and get some sleep. I don't know when he'll be back with our reply, but it's going to be a long day tomorrow. We all need some rest.”
For some hours, the trio dozed by the fire, doing their best to put aside the trials of the previous day and their fears about what lay ahead. The sun greeted them with a side of light rain, which pelted the trees all around them in an almost musical fashion. Waking in the cool, damp morning, Minx found Kaleb sitting beside her, feeding a bit of bark to the dying fire.
“Finally up, I see.” The dragon shifter had evidently been awake awhile, ever the early riser, and had some news to share. “While you were sleeping, we got a reply.”
“From the Talon Range guard?” asked Minx, sitting upright. “What'd they say? Did they agree? Will they help us?”
Kaleb nodded. “They've agreed to hear us out...”
The Fae huntress brightened at this, and threw her arms around Kaleb in a joyful embrace. “Really? That's incredible!” She stirred Mau awake. The dragons might be willing to help us! It looks like this plan wasn't so wild after all! They might join us in fighting against the Wuffs!
Kaleb hadn't finished, though. He clicked his tongue and wagged a finger at her. “Now, hold on. Though I can't say what they'll be with certainty, there are going to be conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“There always are,” continued the dragon shifter. “Did you expect them to do it for free? The problems between dragons and Fae have existed for a long, long time. They aren't going to get on board unless there's something in it for them.”
This tempered Minx's mood considerably. “Well, what could they want?”
“Turns out they want a dragon's hide, of all things,” he began with a wink.
“No, seriously!”
Kaleb continued. “They might ask for a new, revised treaty. Perhaps they'll want to draw up new boundaries, get a better deal. Things like that.”
Minx considered this. She wasn't in a leadership position and so couldn't ensure such accommodations. But the more she thought about the threats facing her people, the more confident she became that they'd be willing to negotiate in exchange for military aid. To resist the demands of the dragons would be to doom themselves to defeat at Valry's hands. The High Council would surely be willing to draft a new agreement with the dragons if it meant staving off this invasion.
“And, you know, they might try and request access to Heilo Lake,” added the dragon shifter.
Here, Minx leaned forward, her lips folding into a grimace. “What?”
“Access to the lake,” he reiterated. “I could see them asking for something like that. Would it be a problem?”
Her mother's voice sounded in her mind as she sat there. No one is allowed access to the lake. No one. The Council would budge on many things, would make any number of concessions, but this was not one she could envision them honoring. Heilo Lake was an important place for her people—protected by the Fae against the meddling of outsiders.
“I don't think that's going to work,” she admitted. “My people will never allow dragons to access the lake. It's the way things have always been. I can't promise them that in exchange for their help.”
“Even if it means the dragons sit this out and your people get wiped out?”
Minx stood, pacing feverishly about the camp. “What do you want from me? It isn't my decision to make! The High Council is never going to allow it, though. I can guarantee that.”
“Then I guess the High Council can have fun fighting against Valry's army by themselves. I don't see what the big deal is. In the meantime, let's get out of here. The weather's turning sour and I'd rather not sit around getting drenched.” He rotated his shoulders and stretched each of his limbs in turn. “I feel well enough to fly. No telling how far I'll be able to go, but I think I can get us to Pandling Grounds without too much trouble. Are you ready?”
Nothing appealed to her more than returning home. The possibility that they would arrive too late, finding the territory in ruins, certainly occurred to her, but as Kaleb took on his dragon form and invited her and Mau to climb on, she was determined to face things however she found them. If the army was at the gates of Pandling Grounds, she would give her all to turn them back—dragons or no dragons at her side. If the city had already been razed, she would work as long as necessary
