And as Caorath soared through the clouds with Thessarian beside us, I realised I had no idea what I’d gotten myself into. Only that Varyth was keeping secrets again, and I was flying through the sky on the back of a dragon with my arms wrapped around a man who thought my terror was the height of entertainment.
The wind was a living thing at this altitude, trying to tear me from Caorath’s back and send me plummeting to the earth far below. I pressed myself closer to Darian’s warmth, my arms locked around his waist like they were the only thing keeping me tethered to existence.
Which, honestly, they probably were.
“You’re doing great,” Darian shouted over the howling air, and I could hear the grin in his voice. “Most people throw up on their first flight.”
“The day is young,” I called back, though my stomach had finally settled into something resembling calm. The initial terror was fading, replaced by a grudging appreciation for the view spreading out below us.
Rolling hills gave way to dense forest, rivers threading through the landscape like silver ribbons. It was beautiful in a way that made my chest tight, wild and untamed, nothing like the cultivated lands of Braerlith.
I lifted my head, squinting against the wind to study the position of the sun. We’d been flying for over an hour now, and unless my sense of direction had been completely scrambled by dragon flight, we were heading...
North.
Not east. North.
Toward the Veil.
Ice slid down my spine that had nothing to do with the altitude.
“Darian,” I called, carefully casual. “How much farther to the eastern border?”
His shoulders tensed beneath my arms. Just slightly, but I felt it.
“Oh, you know,” he said, carrying that same easy confidence. “Distance is relative when you’re flying.”
That wasn’t an answer. That was deflection wrapped in charm and tied with a bow of bullshit.
I shifted behind him, letting one hand drift to his side where I could dig my fingers in if needed. “Darian.”
“Yes, darling?”
“We’re not going to the eastern border, are we?”
A pause. Then, “What makes you think that?”
“Because unless the sun has decided to rise in the south today, we’re heading north.” My voice came laced with suspicion. “Toward the Veil.”
Caorath’s wings beat steadily beneath us, carrying us through a bank of clouds that left moisture clinging to my skin. When we emerged on the other side, I caught sight of Thessarian keeping pace beside us, Varyth’s silver hair streaming behind him like a banner.
“Perceptive,” Darian said finally. “I knew I liked you.”
“That’s not an answer either.”
“No, it’s not.” His tone had shifted, still warm but with an edge of something I couldn’t identify. “And it’s not going to be, so you might as well save your breath.”
I dug my fingers into his ribs hard enough to make him grunt. “Darian.”
“Ow! Violent woman.” But he was laughing, the bastard. “You can torture me all you want, shadow fire. Varyth was very clear about what would happen if I told you where we’re going before we get there.”
“And what exactly would happen?”
“Let’s just say it would involve a lot of pain and possibly some creative use of his mist magic.” Darian’s voice carried a note of genuine wariness now. “Trust me, you don’t want to know the details.”
My pulse quickened. The Veil. We were going back to the fucking Veil. But why? What could possibly be there that Varyth needed to show me?
“Is it dangerous?” I asked, hating the way my throat had gone tight.
