Elowynn reaches for the bird’s neck and then she’s pulling herself and Gallium both onto its back, where they land, their arms entangled.
Concord soars back up into the air, sweeping her wings with powerful beats that carry them back up the cliff face.
I nearly drop to the ground with relief. Then I remember that I’m in a terribly dangerous location.
Already, I can sense the air moving below me, the scent of blood growing, and the rushing sound of a dust storm building once more.
No doubt it will come for us again.
“Tamra!” Thaden shouts from behind me. “We need to move!”
His voice is rapidly coming closer and my attention is suddenly split between him, where he’s running toward me, and my brother, who is safely on Concord’s back and is soaring up toward me.
With awhoosh, Concord flies up and over me, gaining height with every beat of her wings.
I catch Gallium’s shout as they fly higher above me. “Set me down!”
“No!” The fear in Elowynn’s reply hits me hard, clear in her voice, even though I can’t see her face now. “We can’t land. The blight will kill us.”
As the bird circles around, turning toward the west, Gallium leans out to the side, and I catch the flash of fear and tension in his face.
For a moment, it looks like he might choose to leap from Concord’s back, but even with his power, he would break his legs from that height.
As the bird carries him away, it looks like Gallium shouts back to me, but this time, his words are snatched away by the wind.
I can’t hear him. And already, Concord is disappearing along the mountain ridge, soaring higher as she flies into the west.
In the next moment, Thaden’s hand closes around my arm, his snarl sounding in my ears. “She was following us.”
He scans the sky, turning in a slow circle. “If there are others, they’re staying high enough that I can’t sense them.”
“But it’s dangerous up there.”
His eyes narrow at the boiling clouds. “They must be desperate.”
I’m not sorry that Elowynn was following us, given that she saved Gallium, but I don’t understand why they’d risk following us here.
My forehead creases. “What could be so important that they’d risk their lives?”
Thaden’s jaw clenches. He shakes his head. “We need to move. The darkness is building again. Between the blight and the fae, we won’t be safe until we reach my village.”
Now that my heart rate is settling, new fears grow.
My brother is no longer at my side, and I’m not sure if he’ll be able to make his way back to me. It could be incredibly dangerous for him to try.
I can hear the dust storms rebuilding, and I know they could crash up to the edge of the ridge at any moment. I’ve already passed the point in the landscape where I could travel on my own. As much as I’d like to believe I could do it, my chances are better with Thaden.
Maybe.
I want to rage at the uncertainty of my path and all the dangerous choices in front of me.
Concealing my fear is too difficult, so I don’t try as I turn my face up to Thaden’s.
His expression softens, his scaled hand rising to my shoulder as he speaks with conviction. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Tamra. I promise.”
To believe him would be foolhardy, but by the saints, I wish I could trust that he won’t lead me to my death.
I nod, my mouth dry and my voice a whisper. “Let’s go.”
