Sebastian picked up one hoof and then set it down, hesitating. He turned his head, taking in those who remained. Many of them seemed to have derived courage from the fact Eva and Sebastian were alone, Ollie and Jason having drifted back to the herd a while ago. They inched closer, stopping only when Eva or Sebastian looked directly at them.
Before I go, I think a lesson is in order.
"Wait. Don't—" Eva warned.
Her words came too late as Sebastian charged. His wings snapped out, giving him lift as he leapt over the heads of their audience, his hooves nearly clipping their skulls before they ducked.
Shouts came as Sebastian barely missed crashing into a tent before lifting into the sky.
Laughter sounded in Eva's mind.
"Really? That was your plan?"
The Trateri Sebastian nearly decapitated with his hooves picked themselves up off the ground. Since Eva was the only culprit remaining, she became the target of their blame.
"Way to go winning their hearts and changing their minds, Sebastian," Eva growled, stalking toward her tent.
A dozen different methods to teach the Trateri to recognize their limits and he'd chosen the one that left her holding the bag.
If this was what "partners" meant, she would have been better off on her own.
nine
Evafoundherselfwanderingin the dark. Monsters poked their heads out of their hiding spots, their predatory eyes watching her go. A lingering sense that she'd forgotten something important plagued her.
What was it?
It felt crucial, but she couldn't quite remember.
Fog skated across the path in hazy clouds, dispersing as she got close. It thickened in her peripheral vision, turning into soup.
Eva could just make out cliffs on either side, towering high into the sky. The faint shadows of trees loomed at their tops.
Where was she?
Eva didn't know, simply continuing forward as if compelled.
Claws clicked against stone as a fire fox with three tails trotted toward her out of the haze. He sat at her feet with a grin.
"What are you doing here?" Eva asked with a frown.
The fire fox got a crafty expression on his pointed face. A flame flickered to life behind him, fanning into a towering wall that looked like writhing tails.
Eva choked as it became hard to breathe. Like a weight was pressing down on her chest.
The dream shredded as Eva came awake with a jolt. She blinked drowsily up at the shadowy ceiling, the blue-black darkness reminding her of her dream.
Speaking of, she now knew why she'd had so much trouble breathing. Her chest felt heavy because someone was sitting on it.
A cold nose poked Eva's cheek before its owner licked her chin. Eva shoved the fire fox's head away.
"Gross."
Eva propped herself up on her elbow as the fire fox slid onto her lower abdomen. Just as he had in her dream, he gave her a fox-like grin, mischievousness written in his playful expression.
"What are you doing here?" Eva asked, still a little groggy from her abrupt wake up call.
The fire fox's three tails wagged behind him, reminding Eva of the unsettling wall of writhing flames.
