I’m surprised you’re up this early,I send back.
I felt your worry and restlessness.
Oh. Sorry.
Don't be. I’m on my way to you.
Okay.A thought hits me.Will Noxlyn let Rauk know?
No, he’s not currently awake. He won’t even know I’m gone, and when he wakes, I can shield my mind so he doesn’t know what we’re doing.
Okay. I'll be outside, waiting,I send. I make my way to the large front door. I debate whether or not I should eat something. In the end, I decide against it; my stomach is too full of knots to be able to eat right now. Worry for my friends and the two kingdoms and honestly, even Rauk’s kingdom fills my mind. I’m glad I have a way to release some of the mental stress. Red lands, and I move towards her quickly and climb onto her back.
Ready?
I tighten my legs around her neck.Yes.She takes a few steps, and we launch into the air. The early morning air is chilly, and it’s hard to see in the haze. But we fly above the city and make our way over the city walls. I settle in against her and let my thoughts roam. Redara lets me have my thoughts. She probablycan sense my worry and frustration, but she doesn’t interrupt me.I think both my friends are pregnant,I finally send to her.
The wolf bonded one is,she returns.
How do you know?I ask curiously.
I can sense the life inside her. It’s only just begun, but it’s present.
And just like that, the worry in my chest increases. I mean I thought Lox was probably right; it seemed to fit with how she’d been acting. But now that it was confirmed, it makes me considerably more worried, especially since I know firsthand that Rysden isn’t at his best. There’s a tightness to my chest, and the need to find these guivres and make them pay burns through me. Things were going so well. Rysden allowed the banished to move back into his kingdom, and then the guivres had to ruin everything. As if they can hear my angry thoughts, something swoops close to us. Redara drops instantly, and I free my knife. But I don’t get a chance to do anything. A burst of dragon fire bursts from her mouth, and the guivre is suddenly no more. I can’t find it in me to feel an ounce of remorse. Two more come at us on our way, but they’re nothing we can’t handle. By the time we get to the portal, we’ve already killed three guivres.Maybe it’s going to be a good day after all,I send to Redara. She snorts and keeps flying. The guards make no move to stop us as we land and start towards the portal. Once we’re through, the guards on the other side step aside.
“Welcome back,” one of them says. “You here to do more damage?” It’s a much friendlier greeting than the one we received yesterday, and I’ll take it.
“Yes.”
Hegrins. “Have at it.”
I return his grin and mount Redara. Moments later, we’re back in the sky. I lean forward, anticipation filling me until I’m nearly bursting with it.Ready?
Yes.
We fly towards where the citizens of the Jaguar Kingdom live, and I’m surprised when we don’t see any guivres.Where are they all?She doesn’t answer right away.Do you think we got them all yesterday?She still doesn’t answer.Redara?
Something's not right.I’m instantly alert. I’ve come to always take her instincts seriously. She’s rarely wrong. I scan the sky and the ground, but I don’t see anything.
What do you sense?I ask.
It's too quiet. The forest should be alive with sound.
I hear it then...the absence of sound. It’s so quiet, it’s deafening.Why do you think?
The only reason the entire forest would be silent is if there were predators nearby...a lot of them.My gut clenches, and I tighten my grip on my dagger.We need to be ready for anything.The words have barely reached me mentally when we hit something. One minute, we’re flying forward. The next, I’m thrown violently backwards as Redara slams into something. I hear a sound I’ve never heard her make before, and my heart slams in my chest as I try to hang on. I’m no longer against her neck; I’ve slid further back and have absolutely nothing to hang on to. I grab at her scales, trying to get a grip.Redara!I shout mentally, but it’s lost to the sound of screeching.A lot of it.I’m slipping as we drop in altitude. I can’t hang on. I scramble trying to grab another scaleas I slide a little further. We hit the ground, and I’m thrown from her back.
I hit the ground hard and roll. The oxygen is sucked from my lungs, and I can’t move for a moment. I stare up at the sky and try not to panic as I wait for my oxygen to come back. I hear a whirring sound and roll out of instinct. An arrow hits the ground where I lay seconds later. I’m up and running, trying to take in my surroundings and still get air into my lungs. I see Redara several yards away. She’s lying on the ground, not moving. Panic slams through me.Redara! Get up!And then blessedly, I hear her voice.
I’m trapped.
I’ll get you out. Hang on; I’m coming.
Don’t!Her order is sharp.They’re waiting for you.
I have no idea whotheyare, but if she thinks I’m leaving her to her fate, she’s got another thing coming to her. I race towards her, weapons drawn. As soon as I’m close, they show themselves. I don’t stop to think. I throw my first knife, and it hits its target. I don’t wait to watch that man fall before I throw my knife at the next one. He evades it at the last second, but I already have another knife in hand. Before I can throw it, fire erupts on the ground in front of me. I jump to the side to avoid running right into it. I feel the searing heat and thank my lucky stars the guivre’s aim was slightly off. I race right back towards Redara and finally see what’s trapped her; it’s a large metal net. My heart sinks because there’s no way I can cut through that.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” somebody shouts.
