He remembered how she had pushed Grim to fly Wraith higher and higher into the skies, despite his protests—
How it had nearly killed them all.
She had succeeded in capturing part of the tempest—but she had dropped the ring, in the fall. He told Oro about it now.
“If we found the ring...it would be our piece of the otherworld that is living,” Grim said.
“How are we going to find it?” Oro asked.
“With help,” Grim said.
Wraith hadn’t opened his wings since Isla had left. The dragon knew she was gone and was mourning her loss just as much as Grim was. Hehad been refusing to fly, and so Grim had portaled him back to the stables, along with Isla’s panther.
When Grim portaled himself and Oro there, Lynx leapt and would have bitten Grim’s arm clean off if he hadn’t made himself matterless at the last minute. The cat bared its teeth at him, as if still blaming him for Isla’s disappearance.
He blamed himself too.
When Lynx saw Oro, though, the treacherous creature had the nerve to bend its head. Grim would have been more irritated if he wasn’t so consumed with worry for his wife.
While Oro spoke to Lynx in serious, soft tones, Grim turned to his dragon. It didn’t seem too long ago that he had been a tiny bundle of black scales with a penchant for shredding his pillow.
After Isla left them, after the Centennial, Wraith had cried for hours straight. They both loved Isla. They both missed her, and that shared grief created a bond between them. And that connection...it made the dragon grow exponentially.
Even though the creature was larger than a wing of his castle, in his eyes, he saw that same pain as when he was a baby.
“We’re working on it,” he said, pressing his hand to Wraith’s snout. The dragon bowed into his touch. “We need your help, though. We need...you to fly.”
Wraith tilted his head at Grim, as if questioning his request. “We need you to help us get her back.”
With that, Wraith’s wings began to slowly unfurl. They all followed him out of the stables—where his wings spread wide, nearly crashing into the surrounding buildings.
“There’s my Wraith,” Grim said, filled with pride. They were both willing to do whatever it took to reunite with Isla.
Grim spoke to both the dragon and Isla’s panther now. “We’re looking for a ring that Isla lost. It would have her scent on it.” Grimwould search his lands from the skies, on Wraith. His dragon had excellent eyesight. Oro got on the panther’s back. Lynx had a superior sense of smell.
Both creatures dipped their heads in understanding.
Then they were off.
ORO
Lynx was grieving as much as Oro was. When Oro looked into his eyes, he saw the same bottomless sorrow that he felt. The creature knew exactly what had happened. He had gone through the maze with them to find her before she portaled away. He had seen the blackened circle in the center. He had watched on as he and Grim had pummeled each other into bloody messes.
It had been several days since then, and Oro hated the fact that he had barely made any progress, and hadn’t been able to bring Isla back to Lynx. The events since she left felt like a blur in his mind. Seeking out Cleo. Battling through the underwater prison. Going to the world of curses. He felt bad that he hadn’t involved the panther more. He was her bonded. Of course, he was worried about her.
Lynx seemed grateful for a chance to help. The panther leapt quickly, bounding across land almost as fast as Wraith shot through the skies. His nose was turned toward the ground, tracking Isla’s scent.
They rode through fields of overgrown grass, then reached a stretch of field that had been all but ripped away. Holes puckered the ground. This place had been marked by battle.
And then, the stench hit Oro like a battering ram. The mountainous heads of decaying beasts, the ones they had slayed in the fight against Lark, were strewn across the field. They had dropped from the sky, upturning everything around them.
It was a reminder of everything they had already been through. Oro felt like he’d been fighting nonstop. For his people, against Lark,and now...for Isla. He hadn’t had a chance to process everything that had happened. There’s wasn’t time. He just had to keep moving.
Lynx ran straight through the fields of flesh and blood, dodging creatures that had split apart on impact. Oro worried the smell would make following Isla’s scent harder, but Lynx’s steps did not falter.
The panther suddenly picked up his pace, and Oro leaned forward against the wind. That was when his vision was blotted out.
No. Replaced.
