He’s just doing his job,I remind myself.He is only protecting me so I can sing the song to get Fury off this prison island.The information is humbling, but does not dissuade the feelings this wolf attracts throughout my body in close proximity.
Reaching forward, I rub the hardened scarlet scales of Saff’s back. “I’m ready if you are, my friend.”
Saff’s leathered wings expand, and she pushes off the ashen ground.
As we begin our climb towards the murky sky above, Gideon shifts one of his hands to bind around my waist, pushing us further together, one of his large hands still covering both of mine on the reins.
“I take my charges seriously, Songbird, and your safety is my priority now,” the sound of his gruff voice scrapes against my ear.
“I…” the next words fall away as my mind goes blank.What do I even say to that? Thanks, but no thanks, Gideon. I can take care of myself. We both know that’s not true. Not where we are going anyway. Into uncharted lands.
I have no idea what to expect from this journey beyond Haven. Somehow, I’ve managed to make it to Terra unscathed, having foundmyself hitching a solo ride on a dragon. The old Dove would have blanched at the possibility of this new reality. Too scared to leave the confines of mysafetemple, she would have cowered at the face of this life.
The girl in the temple is stronger than I once believed. Yes, the wolf sitting behind me ripped me from the safety of my lies, but not once has he made me feel unsafe in his company. He’s only ever given me resolute, unwavering strength. The kind that fills me with fire and brimstone. The kind that fills me with such intensity that I can no longer go back to the status quo of my old existence.
Fury, through his own fucked up way of protecting me, has completely altered the course of my life, and I am no longer mad about it. I am wary of this new unknown, of the challenges I will face, but I don’t have to face them alone anymore. I have the strength of an immortal dyre wolf behind me, a bonded God feeding me an unimaginable force and a golden thread that will not quit.
Since leaving Terra, I tried to ignore the golden ache, but through every sentence, every thought, every breath, it makes itself recognised.
Violet eyes swim in my vision, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
Our first stop will be those violet eyes, and I have no idea what we will find. The pain I felt through the bond that propelled me into blacking out was the worst kind of agony. I never want to feel it again.
I know Rivern is alive. Our bond is still strong, though hurting at our distance.
I have no clue what I will find at our reunion. I still question if he even wants me.
Regardless of the bond, he was my first. He is the first person I let my walls down for, my first kiss and the first person I wanted to experience more with. That has to count for something.
Approaching the void, my body tenses. The large crack in the land stretches from mountains to sea, and Gideon narrates the different land masses to me.
Saff also soothes my worry at the gaping black hole in the land as she flies overhead. “We have not seen the creatures from the void for centuries. They are not land people. They thrive in the water and the cooler temperatures below.”
This information intrigues me.There are people that thrive in water.
“We are getting close.” I hear Gideon flare his nostrils behind me. He has been our compass with his hunting abilities and greater understanding of the land below. Apparently, I am slathered in Rivern’s scent, and he is our first target.
We originally headed back towards Terra, and I was more than happy to head to a familiar land first and potentially see the people we left to make their way to the underground mountain city, but that’s not where Gideon scented Rivern.
Instead, we are headed for the Silver Sands, a completely unknown territory to me except for the one time Saff brought me here. Apparently, Rivern’s aroma is the strongest in this new direction.
The Silver Sands are exactly as their name describes: grey-toned, almost white, shimmering fine sand as far as the eye can see. It is different from the sand I have witnessed at the beaches surrounding Haven, which is almost yellow in its creamy complexion.
Where the hot wind blows, I can see the sand being picked up and whisked away in multiple directions, it is so fine.
Saff glides us over the cliff face of the void, and we are officially in Silver Sands territory. Beyond the rolling, sandy dunes shimmering in the distance, a kingdom emerges.
Gideon confirms the rocky forms are our destination, and Saff confirms the same kingdom as her old home in the sands. The place where she was imprisoned until she struck a deal of her own.
I lose my breath at the new imposing spectacle. The possibilities of our deaths grow closer with the unknown of these people. Both Saff and Gideon explained on our trip that these people are different from what I am used to. They are small people with almost translucent scales, and they do not grow hair. They are also known as fighters and live and breathe combat—in a way, the opposite of the fae.
Though they do not have much to fight these turns, their culture demands respect through physical strength and ingenuity.
The wolf behind me holds firm in his grip around my waist as we grow closer and closer to the stone rising from the sand. From my vantage point on top of Saff, the kingdom looks like a large circle surrounded by white stone walls. I have never seen a stone so white in colourbefore.
Squinting my eyes, I can see the movement of material covering the tops of the buildings within the larger circle, understanding the need for open ventilation as the suns’ rays beat down on us from above. I have experienced hot weather in Haven, but because of the shimmering sands, the suns on this side of the lands are a new level of hot.
Approaching closer, I notice my dragon is not pulling back to land. “Saff, we need to land.”
