When she glanced at Talon, the wee monster had disappeared.
“Huh!Ungrateful wretch.”Scarlett stomped to where Ransom slept and tried to get more rest.
When she awoke again, it was whitelight, and she was alone.A pity.She’d hoped to enjoy lazy morning lovemaking.Perhaps she’d suggest it once they—ifthey got out of this jam alive.
She rose and pulled on her clothes.Her arm—she yanked her gaze off the pulsing bumps, not wanting to think about what was going on beneath her skin.Hopefully, they’d come to a stream or lake soon because she wanted a bath.
Scarlett folded the foil blankets, shoved them in her pack, and stalked to where Ransom and Talon sat beside a small fire.
“The volcano is spewing lava,” Ransom said.
“I know.”She lifted her tunic sleeve.“Check out my arm.”
As Ransom bounded to his feet, she studied him.His color was more natural, and the shadows under his eyes weren’t as pronounced.
“They’re moving.”
“Yup.I informed Talon I was going to get a pointy knife and excavate.He snarled and showed his teeth.”
“Haw-haw-haw.”
Scarlett growled at the Trolleris.“Enough with the attitude, buddy.”
“Is your arm painful?”Ransom asked.
“No, I’m hungry, and I want a bath, but apart from that, I’m fine.You?”
“The prince didn’t visit me last blacklight.”
“I woke up, and you were mumbling and tossing and turning.”
“Yeah, I had weird dreams about my family dying.”
“The prince having a tantrum?”
“I don’t know.Before I drifted off to sleep, I built a fence with my dragon outside instead of behind it.”
Scarlett drank the hot soup Ransom had heated before they hoisted their packs on their shoulders and started their trek for the day.Each step took them closer to the volcano.The route they followed twisted and wove through yet more valleys.Talon scampered ahead, moving at a fast clip.
The trail came to an incline, and Scarlett groaned.“I’m so tired of hills and mountains.”
“Me too.I miss being able to fly.”
“Have you tried?”
“Yeah, I hurt my nose on the bad landing.”
“Ouch.I hate not being able to shift,” Scarlett said.“And these throbbing things scare the bejeebers out of me.What do you suppose they are?”
A growl sounded.Talon.
“Where did you come from?”Scarlett muttered.“He’s determined to protect whatever is in my arm.”
She slogged up the incline and paused to catch her breath.“At least my fitness levels are improving.My recovery time is better.”
“Scarlett.Look.”
A substantial rocky mound, so perfect, it screamed artificial and man-made.Massive square blocks of rock sat in a stacked row, some two blocks high and others three.Gigantic stone heads sat at a distance, but it was simple to imagine the carved figures sitting atop the square blocks.
