Khazmuda lowered his head farther to regard Callum, his piercing eyes taking him in with hostility. His nostrils flared, and he released a plume of smoke before he issued a low growl.
“Khazmuda.” This time, it was my father who spoke from behind me.
He walked forward past Callum and then me, reaching Khazmuda’s snout and pressing his palm to his snout with affection. The wind moved through the courtyard and blew my father’s cape slightly, his presence regal even from behind. And he was so tender as he touched Khazmuda, gliding his ungloved hand over the soft scales of his face and making Khazmuda’s eyes close.
I knew they spoke in private, their thoughts hidden from everyone else because of the intimacy of their bond. The conversation seemed to last a while, and Khazmuda kept his eyes closed as their discussion continued.
We didn’t have time for this, but I didn’t interrupt them in case my father was making a breakthrough.
Khazmuda eventually opened his eyes again and stepped back slightly. Zehemoth suddenly rose from the cliffs to join us, like he’d been waiting nearby for his father’s call. He glided and came in for a landing, and then Aunt Eldinar’s dragon joined.
“Hawk, you’re with me,” Dad said. “Let’s go.”
My eyes turned to Khazmuda, wanting to know what was said but knowing I couldn’t ask.
My father walked to my mother, the only one of us who would remain behind, and he cupped both of her cheeks and kissed her in front of everyone.
She leaned her forehead to his as her hands cupped his neck. “Come home—and make sure you bring our children with you.”
He nodded then stepped away.
Hawk and I said goodbye to our mother, and then we started to mount our dragons. Viper rode Scion alone, and Callum and I shared Zehemoth. Aunt Eldinar and Uncle Ezra rode Macabre, the biggest dragon of the bunch. One by one, the dragons launched into the sky, and we made our way to the dead island—hopefully for the last time.
We arrived nearly a day later, the dragons landing on the eastern beach. We made our way to the center of the island but stopped in a clearing of dead trees, an ominous fog hovering low to the ground.
Riviana’s fiery red hair was like a beacon of light, and her presence immediately vanquished the mist toward the trees that circled us. She stared at each of us before her gaze focused on my father. “He knows I’m here. We don’t have much time. Are you prepared?”
My father stepped forward. “Yes.”
“You will have but a moment,” she said as her hair floated weightlessly around her head. “Do not delay.” She disappearedlike a ghost, just the way Callum had instantaneously faded from my life.
Callum took the lead, choosing a distinct path through the trees, away from the open spaces, heading toward the north side where the rear of the skull rock was located. We wordlessly moved along the path, silent except for the war drums that thudded in our hearts.
When we broke through the clearing, Riviana appeared in the line of torches. They lit immediately and Leviathan appeared in front of her, but the fires weren’t bright in this morning light.
Callum continued forward, heading for the skull rock behind Leviathan. We didn’t have time to move as slowly as possible to avoid making noise, so he walked swiftly, hand on the rocky outcropping for balance as he moved around the side and then inside the mouth.
I was the one behind him, so I mirrored his footwork exactly and followed him to the closed door made of bones.
He opened it and stepped to the side, ushering each one of us inside. The last one to enter was Viper, before Callum moved behind him and shut the door.
The second we stood in the underworld, I was reminded of the eternal darkness that was so thick you could breathe into your lungs. The stale humidity felt like we occupied a cave located under a river.
Callum moved forward and grabbed a branch from the ground before he quickly wrapped dead grass around the endand secured it with a long leaf. Then he lit it with a match he carried, the light illuminating all of our faces.
My father addressed Callum. “Do you know?—”
A slow, roaring boom filled the underworld, like the sound of enormous gears grinding as they worked to open a massive gate. It was loud and echoed with a cacophony before it finally went quiet once more.
My father looked to Callum for explanation.
“The barrier,” Callum said. “It grows thin.”
“Then we really don’t have much time,” Dad said.
“But they’ll be at their weakest,” Aunt Eldinar said. “And they’ll be surprised and overwhelmed by the seven of us.”
Callum lifted the torch and led the way. “Leviathan may report his conversation to the Covenant, but he’ll return to the castle afterward. That’s probably where he’ll be by the time we’ve made it down the mountain and through the forest. It’d be best if we don’t speak from this point onward.”
