The ranger waited a moment. His eyes crossed them all before resting on Reyna. “Not this time,” he replied resolutely. He returned to his normal height and took a breath. “Well. What are you still doing here? Go. We can defend the doorway if needed.”
Gideon looked at Galanör and Aenwyn with a question in his eyes. They both nodded, informing him that they were ready to take flight.
“What will you tell the others?” Gideon enquired of Reyna and Asher.
“The truth,” Reyna answered. “You have gone to retrieve a great weapon that will end the war.”
Gideon could see the hope that now lived in her, no matter how much she tried to hide it behind a narrative. Judging by the way Asher looked at her, he too could see the fire ignited within her soul.
He hoped he didn’t break her heart.
Soon after, Gideon was ascending Ilargo, taking his place in front of Galanör and Aenwyn. Many eyes were turned to their departure, most of which looked concerned. The old master trusted the reason for their absence to spread quickly.
He looked down at Reyna and Asher while Avandriell jumped about beneath Ilargo’s head. “Protect that doorway,” he said.
“Save my son,” Reyna replied quietly.
Gideon maintained eye contact with the queen, his old friend.
Asher glanced at her with concerns of his own pinching the muscles on his brow. “Go,” he urged, looking back up at Gideon.
The old master turned back to his companion, catching one of his blue eyes. Take us home, Ilargo.
The green dragon walked away from Avandriell and the others before bursting into a run. Once he was away from everyone, Ilargo beat his wings and soared high, leaving the world behind. Avandriell flew after them but the younger dragon soon banked in a bid to return to her companion, her bronze scales disappearing into the mass of the camp below.
Gideon looked down at the pit as one opened inside his stomach. Now it was he who dared to hope. Hope that Adan succeeded and saved the tree. Hope that their journey to Ayda bore fruit. Hope that they would return to a world of magic where he could watch Avandriell mature.
He feared he too was destined for heartbreak.
Not if I have anything to say about it, Ilargo declared with determination.
It brought a warm smile to the old master’s face and not just because his companion was so fierce. He enjoyed the fact that, while their bond had been irrevocably altered, they could still dwell in each other’s thoughts with ease.
In his despair, it would have been easy to shut Ilargo out and keep his thoughts to himself. In all his years, however, Gideon had found no better place to be.
36
Messenger
Every second in the sky was a gut-wrenching moment for Kassian Kantaris. His body was tensed from head to toe, braced between Athis’s spinal horns. The muscles in his thighs, back, and arms ached, begging him to relax. He dared not, just as he dared not look at anything other than Adan’s back. He caught glimpses of Inara’s red cloak, flapping in the wind, but he never shifted his focus from a particular stain on the Drake’s robes.
Thankfully, it was a straight flight north from the camp to Vangarth. Had Athis needed to bank left or right or ascend over mountains, Kassian would have ruined the dragon’s exquisite red scales with the contents of his stomach.
Up ahead, Inara turned her head over her shoulder to face them. “We’re nearly there!” she called over the wind.
Kassian didn’t even bother to nod his head. Instead, he hunkered down and adjusted his grip on the spike in front of him, preparing for the change in altitude. Adan, on the other hand, felt very differently about their flight, his arms outstretched as he embraced the thrill of it.
It wasn’t long before Athis angled his head down and his body followed after it. The tall pines of The Evermoore, coated in snow, were there to greet them, stretching far into every corner of the land. As the ground rushed up towards them, Kassian instinctively turned his head away and settled his sight on the western horizon. Only then did he realise the sun’s final light was upon the realm, tinting everything a glorious orange.
The beauty of it all was immediately lost on him when his stomach lurched, threatening to jump up into his throat. Kassian closed his eyes, shutting them so tight it hurt. He felt all four of the dragon’s claws impact the ground and he heard the trees and snow react to his mighty wings. Still, he didn’t open his eyes until he heard Inara’s voice as she climbed down from her companion.
“The town is just north of here,” she told them.
Kassian peeled himself off Athis and happily followed Adan’Karth down to the ground. The snow made a satisfying crunch when his feet touched down. He had never been so grateful to have the earth beneath him.
Inara strapped one bag of supplies over her shoulder before giving them each their own. “I will go into Vangarth,” she continued. “If I can, I will persuade the governor to send any supplies they can spare to the camp. We’re going to need everything we can if we’re to make the journey to The Black Wood when the time comes.”
“We will accompany you,” Adan began. “Vangarth is too vast to go around and my people will have sought refuge deeper into the woods.”
“Can’t you just speak to the trees here?” Inara queried, clearly hesitant to have them accompany her.
“Yes,” the Drake agreed. “But the closer I am to them, the less they have to travel. They will be more likely to seek me out this way.”
Inara nodded along but she harboured reservations. “Fine. But I will enter Vangarth separately. Two strangers walking into town after sunset is less likely to draw unwanted attention than three strangers.”
“Are you
