Hmmm.I’m not really sure about all this, but I trust Redara.
Thank you,she responds smugly.
You weren’t supposed to hear that,I send right back.
I know.
We let the connection fade, and I stare up at the sky. Before I realize what’s happening, there’s suddenly a purple spirit dragon sitting on the roof next to us. “That’s Lumira,” Elowen says. I watch as he lifts off and soars through the sky.
I watch the sky. “Lumira just joined the spirit animals already in the sky. He’s purple with shiny scales and pointed ears. He’s got a long neck and a really long tail.”
“He sounds beautiful,” Auri says.
I turn to look at Auri, and her wide-eyed gaze is glued to the sky, even though she can’t see them. “There’s a yellow one right over there,” I point to the sky. “And an orange one right behindit. Over there is a blue one.” I watch the sky. “Oh, and a pink one just joined them.” I take it all in; it really is beautiful. There is nothing I’ve ever seen that could compare to this. Another thought hits me. “Elowen.” I keep my voice low.
“Yes, Dear?”
“Could spirit dragons fight and win against a guivre in the sky?”
She’s quiet a long moment, and that doesn’t bode well for me. I’ve thought all along that they could, but now I wonder. What if it’s not possible? What if Rauk isn’t just holding out because he doesn’t want to get involved but that even if he chose to, it wouldn’t work? I swallow hard. “I don’t know,” she finally says. It feels like lead settles in my stomach. “They can fight; I know that. And they can do some serious damage, but I don’t know against something like that. I just...I really don’t know.”
“What’s a guivre?” Auri, who’s always listening, asks.
“They’re just nasty creatures that are really annoying,” I tell her, playing it off. If she really knew what they were, she wouldn’t sleep peacefully tonight. Elowen stays quiet, but I don’t ask what she’s thinking. I don’t want to risk Auri overhearing. None of us say anything after that. We simply watch the spirit dragons play in the clouds, and I continue to give updates to Auri until it gets too dark to see them anymore. Lumira lands back on the roof and then disappears inside Elowen. “That’s amazing,” I breathe.
“What?” Auri asks.
“The way Lumira just disappeared inside Elowen.”
It takes us a little while to get back down, and when we do, we’re all tired. Elowen makes us hot peppermint tea while I helpAuri get settled in front of the fire. Over cups of steaming tea, I continue my stories of the Wolf Kingdom and Jaguar Kingdom. I tell Auri about the houses being completely surrounded by water in the Jaguar Kingdom and the city walls that surround the Wolf Kingdom. I tell her about how Farrah came from a human community that doesn’t know anything about the three Spirit Kingdoms, and how she was so brave to leave her family behind.
After a while, I notice her eyes starting to droop. I stand to my feet. “All right. That’s enough for tonight. We need to get sleep for our big day tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Auri asks, a little more awake now.
“Oh, I have plans,” I tell her.
“What kind of plans?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
“Harper,” she says in a disgruntled tone.
“Auri,” I return in that same tone.
It takes a little bit to get Auri in bed, but when she’s finally settled for the night, I wave at her from the door. “Harper,” she calls out before I can leave.
“Yeah, Kiddo?”
“Thank you.”
She doesn’t say anything more than that, and she doesn’t have to. It’s enough. “You’re welcome. Get some sleep.”
I head back out to the huge main room, and Elowen follows me. I grab the pile of everything I got at the market today and drag it over in front of the fire. “What is all that?” Elowen asks, eyeing my pile.
“My supplies.”
“I’m almost scared to ask, especially about the axe.”
