“I thought I was alone in the world,” Hayn said quietly. “And now I have the two of you. Anders, Rayna, you two are why I want so badly to prevent another battle between wolves and dragons, which is what will happen if we use the Snowstone for an attack. I have to protect you, and we don’t have much time. Sigrid has me hunting for augmenters, artifacts that can be used to amplify the effects of the Snowstone. I’ve been able to stall so far, but that won’t last forever.”
Anders heard Lisabet draw a shaky breath beside him, and he silently squeezed her hand. Scary as it was to hear of Sigrid’s plans, it must be even worse knowing it was your own mother planning it. He was about to speak again when there was a sudden outcry farther along the docks, voices raised in screams and cries.
He, Lisabet, and Rayna twisted around quickly, peering past Ellukka, who leaned forward, ready to spring to her feet if the attention turned their way.
But nobody was looking at them. A woman came shoving her way through the crowd, sending everyone in her path flying as she pushed them out of the way, her narrow face a mask of panic. She had light-brown skin and distinctive reddish-brown, wavy hair, whipping in the wind as she ran.
In a flash, Anders recognized her. Once he had thought of her as “the woman in the green dress,” a dragon spy who’d followed him around Holbard the day of the fire, showing him Rayna’s hairpin in an attempt to make contact. Perhaps she had been here today to spy as well.
She ran by not ten yards from them, pushing a sailor so hard he stumbled, arms windmilling madly for a moment before he fell into the harbor with a splash. The woman sprinted out along the arm of the pier, and when she was halfway to the end a pack of wolves suddenly burst through the crowd after her.
Snarling, they tore along the pier, and Ellukka let out a cry, then clapped her hand to her mouth, coming to her feet as though she meant to try and help the woman. Lisabet grabbed her by her coat, yanking her back down again with a thump. There was nothing one girl could do against fully grown Wolf Guards.
The dragon was nearly at the end of the pier, and Anders’s heart was in his mouth. She couldn’t possibly dive into the icy waters—the cold might kill her. But at the last possible moment she doubled over, one hand brushing the ground, and vaulted herself into dragon form. She spread her wings, and as the crowd on the docks screamed, she was suddenly aloft, circling out over the harbor to safety.
The guards pulled up at the end of the pier, hurling ice spears after her, so powerful that a thin film of ice spread out across the water around them, and a chill swept through the air around the docks.
But she was gone, a rapidly shrinking shape in the sky, well out to sea and whirling around to head inland, no doubt toward Drekhelm.
The wolves came pacing down the pier, snarling their frustration, and all around the dock were shouts and cries, as those who had seen the chase told those who had missed it everything that had happened. Anders and the others bowed their heads as the wolves passed by, all silent. They were so big, so powerful. If they’d been chasing any of the children, there was no doubt they’d have caught them, as they’d nearly caught the dragon spy.
Hayn was the one who finally spoke. “I can’t avoid finding an augmenter forever,” he said quietly. “We have to do something, before her guards are strong enough to attack Drekhelm itself, and win.”
“We want to stop a battle too,” Anders said softly. He could barely remember how it had felt to worry only about protecting himself, his twin, and his best friend. It wasn’t even just about his wolf and dragon friends, or his uncle, anymore. It was about every person in Holbard, all the innocent people who’d suffer in the cold or the heat, who’d be in danger if another battle came.
“We do,” Rayna said. “But we don’t know how. Isn’t there a way to find the Snowstone? Take it back?”
“I have no idea where Sigrid’s hiding it,” Hayn said. “Believe me, I’ve tried to find out. She’s the only one who knows, and she’s not telling. But I think I have a way to level the playing field. If we can’t get the Snowstone back, maybe we can make her think twice about using it.”
They all leaned in. “How do we do that?” Anders asked.
“Drifa left a map, showing where she hid all her most valuable artifacts,” his uncle replied. “I saw her use it more than once back when we worked together, and she didn’t exactly have time to gather up her things, the day...” He paused there and shook his head. The day his brother—the twins’ father—had died. He cleared his throat, then pressed on. “It’s been useless until now, because like this purse, it’s locked to all but family members. And until today we thought she hadn’t left any of those.”
“But now we can use the map,” Lisabet said slowly. “And you think it can lead us to an artifact that can help?”
“Yes,” said Hayn. “I believe you’ll be able to use the map to find the Sun Scepter. I don’t know much about how it works, but I believe it will counter the Snowstone.”
“We have to find it,” said Anders, Rayna, Lisabet, and Ellukka at exactly the same time.
“Agreed,” Hayn said. “I don’t think it will be easy, but if we can’t find the Snowstone, it’s the best plan I can think of. The map will challenge you—it will require knowledge of both the wolf and dragon worlds, because Drifa would have expected to raise her children learning about the histories of both their mother and their father. And knowing her as I did, I expect it will require daring and intelligence, but I know you have plenty of both.”
Anders wasn’t used to anyone saying anything like that about him, but Lisabet simply reached over and squeezed his hand, as he had hers a minute before.
“I’m going to steal the map from where it’s stored in the library today,” Hayn said. “I’ll meet you with it tonight. I didn’t want to risk it until I was sure my theory about you was right, because I’m being watched. I think perhaps Sigrid knows I’m not working as fast as I could at finding an augmenter. I’m sure she doesn’t know about my connection to you, or she’d never have let me leave Ulfar, but times are tense, and if she’s ever suspected Felix was a traitor...”
“We can hide during the day,” Rayna said. “But it would be better if we could meet you by the western gate to get the map. That way we can get out and on our way more quickly. We’re expected back at Drekhelm.” And, though nobody said it out loud, the closer the children were to a gate they could use to escape, the better.
Anders thought of their curfew with a wince—Mikkel and Theo were in for an interesting time, since the four of them certainly wouldn’t get back by dinnertime. He hoped the boys were up to the challenge.
“I’ll do my best to hurry—I’ll aim to be there an hour before sunset,” Hayn promised. He paused, then reached out, laying one hand on Anders’s, the other on Rayna’s. Looking up at him, Anders found he really could see himself there—Hayn smiled suddenly, and there were his and Rayna’s dimples. He shared Rayna’s jawline, and Anders’s long limbs. “I’m so glad I found you,” said Hayn softly. “I’ll do everything I can to keep both of you safe.”
Anders didn’t know what to say in return, and it seemed that neither did Rayna, for they were both quiet. “We’re glad too,” he said eventually.
Ellukka leaned back to press her shoulder against Rayna’s. “I don’t want to break up the party, but we’ve been out in the open for a while now. I’d be more comfortable back up on the rooftops.”
“Agreed,” said Hayn. “Go. I’ll see you soon.”
They parted ways, and a few minutes later Anders was boosting everyone back up onto the rooftops again. The four of them made their way across the meadows in thoughtful silence, all of them shaken by everything they’d just seen and learned.
