Leif headed unerringly for a spot at the base of the cliffs, to the left of the waterfall, where a meadow provided a perfect landing place. The dragons wheeled in as a group to land, and as soon as Rayna and Ellukka hit the ground, Anders and Lisabet set to work pulling off their harnesses, so they could transform back to girls without finding themselves tangled up in anything.
It was only once Rayna was free of all the leather straps that Anders had a chance to step back and really look around. And from the ground, the view was even more extraordinary than it had been from the air.
All around the edge of the lake bloomed the most incredible collection of flowers—he saw the usual white, yellow, and red blooms he was used to finding on the rooftops of Holbard, but as he made his way along the water’s edge, he found plant after plant he’d never seen before.
There was a tree with huge, drooping limbs wreathed in purple blossoms, hanging down so low that they dipped in the edge of the water. There were smaller trees with sharp, green, spiky leaves, and red... he supposed they were flowers, though really, they looked like red-bristled scrubbing brushes, bundles of hundreds of red strands protruding from the stems in every direction, each ending with a small, yellow pod the size of a pin’s head.
This must be the genius of the dragonsmith Flic, who had found ways to make this place hospitable for plants from all over the world, using both mechanical creations and cleverly designed artifacts, bringing them warmth or water or whatever else they needed.
When he looked back, some of the class were still in dragon form, basking in the sun on the grass and rebuilding a little strength after the taxing flight. Deep underneath them there must be lava. Other students had already transformed and were digging through their packs in search of lunch.
They all spent the rest of the afternoon doing as they pleased. Anders would have liked to start exploring for the scepter right away, but there was never a chance to do anything without being watched—Krissin or Nico seemed to find a way to be near them more often than not, and whenever he did shake them, someone else would show up. Ferdie, with his infectious smile and easy manner, wanting to check that everyone was having a good time. Patrik, wanting help carrying his art supplies to the place he’d chosen to paint.
Ellukka and Mikkel had stories and history to share, and Anders and Lisabet sat and listened to all of it, allowing themselves a rest, enjoying their friends’ cleverness. It was a welcome reprieve from their constant attempts to solve riddles and stay one step ahead of the looming conflict. It was good to just be friends for an hour or two.
Eventually, before bed, the two of them slipped into wolf form, stretching their legs for a long run across the open meadow around the base of the waterfall.
Just as it had at the Skylake, tearing across the grass felt glorious. They bounded together to the far end of the meadow, matching strides, and when they reached the point where they had to turn around and return, Lisabet leaped on Anders, sending him rolling over and over, then running away before he could retaliate. But even in wolf form he was lankier than her, and he howled as he chased her down to return the favor.
There was a joy in running that he yearned for when he wasn’t doing it, and he reveled in when he could. It was the most perfect way to be, he thought.
But when they returned to the camp, he was abruptly reminded that they were two wolves in the company of eleven dragons. Their friends didn’t seem to notice that they’d transformed, but some of the others—Ferdie, Isabina, Patrik, Bryn—had never seen them transform before, and they were all openly staring. Perhaps they’d never seenanywolf transform before. Nico and Krissin had their arms folded, making their disapproval clear.
Anders pushed himself back into human form, Lisabet a moment behind, and the silence dragged out.
Then Ellukka looked up, rolled her eyes, and stood up. “It’s just a different kind of transformation,” she said, speaking slowly and carefully, as if everyone needed an explanation. “It’s not like you haven’t seen someone change shape before.”
Ferdie’s manners kicked in first, and he shook himself. “Right,” he said, though he was still looking at Anders and Lisabet. “Sorry, of course. Shall we find some wood to make a fire?”
Everyone broke up after that and set to work, but there was a lingering sense of unease that took a long time to dissipate. It was a reminder for Anders that even if he forgot it from time to time, he was still a wolf among dragons, and most of them never lost sight of that even for a moment.
Dinner dragged on, and it seemed to take hours for everyone to finally be ready for bed. The moon was high, and the sky was clear, which meant it was a crisp, cold night. By the time the dragons finally bedded down around the fire, the stars were twinkling overhead.
Most of the class transformed to dragons to sleep—it was warmer and easier than bringing blankets to wrap up in as humans—but Rayna stayed in human shape, curling up under a blanket between Ellukka’s forearms. She wanted to be ready to creep away with Anders and Lisabet, and it would be easier to go unnoticed if she was smaller. Anders and Lisabet changed to their wolf forms under cover of darkness and curled up in furry balls just outside the firelight’s edge.
Eventually, when nobody had said anything for what felt like at least an hour, and Patrik and Leif were both softly snoring, Anders made his move. He whined almost inaudibly to let Lisabet know he was moving and rose silently to his feet. Rayna must have been watching, because as the two wolves padded away from the class, she crawled free of her blanket and stood to hurry quietly after them.
It didn’t take long until they were at the edge of the lake, looking up at the waterfall. The sound of the water crashing on the rock would easily drown out the sound of conversation, and invigorated by the cold of the water, Anders pushed himself back into human form, Lisabet following a moment later.
“It’s freezing,” Rayna said, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Lovely, isn’t it?” said Lisabet, drawing in a lungful of cold air, her head tipped back in pleasure, just like a wolf sniffing the breeze.
“I can think of other words,” Rayna told her. “Right, where do we hunt?”
“I think it’s behind the waterfall,” said Anders.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Are you certain? I’m not sure I can walk through water that cold.”
“The riddle makes it sound that way,” he said. “It says ‘straight through the ice-cold veil,’ that sounds like it’s through the water. And then it says ‘where rót meets rock,’ so perhaps if there are plants with roots behind the waterfall...”
Rayna shivered. “Ugh. This is going to be horrible. The waterfall’s so wide, and there are so many layers leading up. Drifa could have hidden it anywhere.”
“She probably thought you’d know what she knew about the waterfall,” Lisabet said. “Remember, the Sun Scepter isn’t the only artifact the map can locate. It would have taken her a long time to hide all her artifacts around Vallen. Perhaps she sensed a battle was coming, but she must also have done it before...” She trailed off, then continued, soft and apologetic. “Before your father was killed. So she didn’t know yet that she wasn’t going to raise you. She might not even have known you existed yet.”
It was a sad, sobering thought, and all three of them were quiet as they walked in closer to the waterfall.
“I think we should try it in wolf form,” Anders said, making himself sound businesslike. “It’ll be too cold for us if we’re humans, we won’t last very long. And we’ll see better as wolves, anyway.”
