Chapter Four
“Shit,” Florian whispered, an icy shiver running down his spine. “Shit. Fuck! Koji, hurry, we have to find the Arrow!”
Koji still snarled, obviously as unhappy with Rune’s decision as Florian was, but finding the Arrow was all they could do now. He whipped around and rocketed toward the islands, making Florian’s eyes water as he clung hard to Koji’s mane. It made him miss Kade, wishing the wolf shifter was there to have tied him down more securely. It was much harder to do when it was just him.
Koji slowed as they approached the islands. There were about ten of them in a cluster, the largest no more than maybe thirty square feet. Some were sandy, but most looked to be some sort of dry igneous rock, and none of them seemed to have the Arrow on them.
But Florian could feel the latent magic in the air—it had to be close. He only prayed it wasn’t underwater.
“Let’s split up a bit,” Florian said, trying to quell the panic rising in his throat. “I’ll shift, and we can both fly over. Okay?”
Koji nodded, his gleaming eyes already scanning the surface down below. Florian untied himself from Koji and shifted, pushing himself away from the other dragon as his body elongated into his now-familiar draconic form.
His vision wasn’t as clear as a dragon, but he could feel the magic of the Arrow more acutely now—the resonance of it vibrated against his scales, as if trying to attune to him. What felt like a static cling in his normal form was a constant, silent sound wave against his skin now. Koji seemed unaware of it, still scanning with his eyes; but immediately Florian went by feeling alone, following the vibration in the air.
Follow me, he tried to tell Koji, knowing they couldn’t go far from each other without breaking the shroud. Koji hesitated, then Florian felt him draw nearer. Together they moved in quick, undulating movements. He could feel the air shift as Koji flew, distinctly different from the magic prickling on his skin. The vibrations grew more powerful as he circled until they reached an intensity that he couldn’t imagine getting any stronger. He snapped his eyes open—
But it was only rocks and sand beneath him. Hissing with disappointment, he dropped lower; the vibrations intensified against his scales, so he knew this had to be the right place, but where was the Arrow? Maybe it was buried under the sand; the thought made his heart freeze over. Could he dig it out of a century or more’s worth of sand in enough time to help Rune? But where else could it be? This was a smaller island near the center of the cluster; a few tall, dark volcanic rocks bunched together to create a small natural tidepool, but the rest of it was just sand, no more than twenty feet across. There was nowhere else it could be but below him.
It’s here,he projected to Koji, who was still circling uncertainly above him.Help me!He dug his claws into the sand and started digging frantically. After a beat, Koji dropped to the sand near him and began to dig as well.
It didn’t feel like he was getting any closer—even digging as fast as he could, he wasn’t making much headway. The sand became cool and wet between his claws as he dug. The rest of him felt clammy with panic, too—where was the Arrow? Where was Rune? Was she still alive? The thought of her dying alone in the water made him dig even faster. Without her, he was sure they wouldn’t be welcome to return to the kraken kingdom—they’d be stuck with no way to get the sixth Arrow; and everything would have been in vain; and Kade would be so unfathomably disappointed in him. They needed to find the Arrow and get out of there. Where was it? Why couldn’t he find it?
Look!Koji burst out, and Florian whipped his head to look over at where Koji was digging. But Koji wasn’t looking at the ground—he was looking toward the cluster of rocks on one side of the little island. Confused, Florian looked between him and the rocks and back again. On his second look, though, there was a faint glimmer of something in the light near the base.It’s there!
Florian launched himself up out of the hole that he’d dug and toward the rocks. Peering down into the space between two of the larger rocks, he could just barely make out a soft golden glow—the Arrow! It was wedged deeply in between both rocks, the space impossibly tight, as if the rocks had grown around it.
Frantically, Florian threw his weight against the larger of the two rocks, trying to shove it aside. It barely budged—the base of the rock must have been deep in the sand. In an instant, Koji was next to him, trying to pull the rocks apart, too. Between the two of them, the formation began to crumble—little shards andpebbles at first, then larger chunks, until the length of the rock cracked under their combined onslaught. The tiny gap between them was widening bit by bit as they shoved the rocks apart.
I see it, Florian panted, as the crack widened. Rubble was caught between them, blocking out some of its glow, but the golden glint was unmistakable.Pull!
Koji dug his claws around the base of one rock, growling with exertion as he pulled it away from the other. The gap between them widened enough that Florian could shove his claw in, first brushing against the fletched end of the Arrow, before he could wedge the claw at the right angle to grasp it.
Magic pulsed through him as his claws closed around it, and he yanked hard—but his closed fist was now too wide to pass back through, and the broken, jagged edges of the rock formation dug painfully into his claw. He snarled, freezing—hehadto get it out. With the deep reservoir of magic flooding into him from the Arrow now, he was sure he could destroy both rocks. He looked at Koji, snapping.
Get back!he exclaimed. Somehow, Koji’s draconic face looked bewildered, but he obeyed quickly, releasing his hold on the rock and flying about ten feet away. Florian yelped again as the pressure around his closed fist increased now that Koji wasn’t helping him pry it open; but he focused all the magic in his fist and imagined it blasting outward, shoving the rock away.
He underestimated how much magic he was using as both rocks promptly exploded outward, pain bursting from his claws and body as chunks of stone struck him in the arm and abdomen like shrapnel. But he was free now, and he could still fly—he would worry about his injuries later, thinking of Rune.
Come on!he called, despite Koji’s noises of alarm as he approached again. He rocketed off back over the ocean, trying to find where they left Rune. There was no sign of the churning mass of fish monsters that had been swarming around her.
Rune! Rune, come back!he projected. Immediately, Florian was struck with the realization that he had no idea if she could communicate with him like this—she’d spoken into his head when she was shifted, but their communication to her had been verbal. So far, it seemed that the basic telepathy dragons had only extended to other dragons. Maybe she had no idea they were there.
But then the water began to ripple and churn again. She was further away than Florian would have hoped, but close enough for him to notice and immediately fly in that direction, Koji right behind.
“I’m here,” Rune’s voice came in his head, making him shudder with relief. “Hurry!”
In seconds, he was right above the water that was swirling with monsters—a few of the strange dolphin-like creatures leapt up out of the water at him, but none were able to get close enough to harm him. But how would he get to Rune? There was no shroud protecting Rune from the Blight. He would have to drop down to her.
Get away from her!he snarled. Somehow, even though he was sure the creatures couldn’t hear him, magic exploded from the Arrow again; and the mass of Blighted monsters scattered, the water rippling in a wide radius as they fled all at once.
Then he looked back at Koji.Grab on to me, he thought. Koji surged forward and grabbed onto his tail, his claws digging in painfully. Florian ignored them, plunging down into the ocean below, reaching his free claw out. The salt water, burning hot at the surface, immediately made all the scrapes and lacerations on his body scream out in stinging pain; but he grit his sharp teeth and swam deeper.
Rune, grab on!he thought wildly. He couldn’t see her in the choppy water, still swarming with bubbles in the aftermath ofthe monsters fleeing. But she had to be there, he just had to reach her.
The water grew cool around his outstretched claw, then he felt it: her tentacle wrapped tightly around his wrist. Koji’s claws still dug into his tail, hovering just above the surface of the water now—with a pained cry, he teleported them away, magic bursting through him from the Arrow once more.
They blinked back into existence on the small rocky beach where he and Rune had been practicing, sending a huge wave up onto the shore as Rune dropped down into the water. Florian dropped his magic all at once, gasping with exertion. The shroud faded, and he shrunk back down to his usual form, falling into the ocean with a splash. But Rune still held onto him, dragging him through the water as she used her tentacles to pull herself onto the beach, before starting to glow and shrink.
