“She’s so—” Aradella began.
Mekos gave her a look to stop and stepped forward to greet the man. They exchanged names, then, like all men seemed able to do, they began talking like they’d known each other forever.
“You know this man, Qip?”
“Yes. Smart man. Very interesting. Worked in Empyrea for years. Short guy.”
“Think he’ll be willing to help us?”
“Sure. You get anything to eat?”
“Not much, what about you?”
Aradella thought they might go on like that forever. “Are weallriding on Perus?” she asked loudly.
“Reena sent something,” Tam said.
“And here it is.” Zeon was looking up at the sky. The beautiful creature, half bird, half four-legged animal, quietly landed near Perus. The dragon looked startled, as though he’d never seen such a being.
Mekos’s face softened to love. For all that he was a Lely, his order dealt with birds. “I know you,” he said to the eagle head.
It bowed to him. Mekos rubbed his face on the feathers, then spoke to it in the deep-throated language only his order knew.
Through all this, Aradella and Bree stood apart, on opposite sides of the circle of men and beasts. They were enemies sizing each other up.
It was the first time Bree had openly seen Aradella in clothes that fit her. When Bree looked her up and down, Aradella stood straighter. She was feeling every moment of Hale’s training. When Bree got back up to Aradella’s face, she gave a nod of acknowledgment, as though to say,Welldone!
Aradella returned the nod.
The men had trained for battle, so they recognized the women’s rigid stance and their face-off nods.
Mekos looked at Tam. “It won’t be easy. I fear that Aradella might harm her.”
Tam gave a snort. “She can try.”
Mekos looked at him in question, but Tam wasn’t betraying secrets. “You’ve met her father?”
Mekos smiled. “Sojee. Oh yes. A great man.”
“She is his daughter,” Tam said pointedly, as though he was sending a message. Turning away, he went to check the saddle on the eagle-beast.
“Again, with her being Sojee’s daughter,” Mekos mumbled, then he also checked the harness. A good soldier never trusted anyone else to do his job.
Zeon went to Aradella. “The death I foresaw?” he asked quietly.
She gave him her full attention.
“It’s a wrongful death and it has to do with you and Princess Bree. Both of you. Together.”
Aradella’s face showed her skepticism. “I can’t imagine that she and I will do anything with each other.”
“That’s what I thought, but in this you need to be together. You two—” They saw Mekos glance in their direction and they knew he was listening. “Remember this, that’s all I ask. It will take both of you to stop the death.”
It was hours later when the big animals finally slowed down and began their descent. They were approaching an island. It didn’t look very big and like the islands they knew, it had been formed by a volcano. In the distance, they could see a steep-sided mountain with a thin line of steam coming out of the top.
“Like the Lair,” Aradella said to Mekos and he nodded. For the whole long trip, she’d had her arms around him, her head against his back.
Tam and Bree, on their eagle creature, had stayed close by, but they didn’t ride with Bree’s arms around him.
