She didn’t let her muscles relax until she saw Chalia through the trees.
“I don’t know how long they’ll fight,” she said to Micael as she came to a stop in front of them, “but it will take a while to calm the wolfshifters down enough to stop attacking.” She turned to Chalia.“Any news?”
“Nothing yet,”she said.“Jobin is still waiting and has heard nothing either.”
Sofia bounced on the balls of her feet, feeling her anxiety crawling beneath her skin.
Micael watched with a raised eyebrow. He made it less than ten minutes before snapping, “Just go. Keep a good perimeter and tell Chalia the moment you know anything.”
Sofia didn’t wait for him to finish talking, darting into the trees toward the south. She followed his directions, keeping far enough from the camp that a wandering soldier wouldn’t run into her. Amid the chaos, she didn’t bother with stealth, so Javi was practically on top of her by the time she realized she wasn’t alone in the woods. Her own approach seemed to surprise him just asmuch as he skidded to a stop, his dagger pulled before he truly saw her.
Sofia’s stomach dropped, the blood draining from her face.
“What are you doing here? What happened?”
“Fox’s mom wasn’t where she was supposed to be,” Javi said, slightly out of breath. She knew the words were coming before they were out of his mouth, her heart already catching in her chest. “Fox went into the camp looking for Ian.”
She was running again, Javi on her heels.
“Chalia, Fox is in trouble. Something went wrong.”She sent the message between steps, hoping the dragon picked up on the urgency. The roar that echoed through the forest a few seconds later told her that Chalia had heard her fine.
“Shit,” Javi said, looking back over his shoulder. Chalia was already in the air soaring toward them. Sofia grabbed Javi, pulling him back as Chalia twisted down between the trees and flattened her back for them. Javi jumped on her first and she followed, Chalia already pulling up into the air before Sofia had gotten a good grip on her feathers. But she knew she wouldn’t fall. She could sense the movements of the dragon, sense the turns before she made them, allowing her to shift her weight as they sped toward the south of camp.
Sofia didn’t need to tell Chalia where Fox was, she knew already, flying directly toward a thick copse of trees within the camp perimeter.
“I smell blood,”she said, the dragon’s anxiety making Sofia’s fingers vibrate.
The moment the trees broke away into a clearing, Sofia saw the furor of the battle below. Black-clad soldiers surrounding a single head of blond hair, a lone star in the black night. A pool of blood cascaded outward from where he kneeled, and Sofia felt her body go hot and cold.
Chalia let out a roar that climbed up Sofia’s chest.
She didn’t wait for the dragon to land, slipping from her back when she was close enough to the ground to not break anything. She landed with a roll, jumping up with her daggers out and ready.
Her only thought was of getting to Fox.
The appearance of the dragon had done little to calm the turmoil,but it took only a moment for the soldiers to realize there was a second enemy combatant in the clearing, and then they were on her.
She stayed low, ducking under swords as her daggers slashed at legs and stomachs, searching out the breaks in their leather armor. Their distraction hadn’t woken these soldiers from sleep or surprised them; they were dressed and prepared for war. It had been a trap from the start.
Rage coursed through her, burning like fire in her blood. She needed to get to Fox. She wouldn’t let Harlow take someone else she loved. Where was Vato? She stabbed the soldier in front of her, the blade sinking deep into flesh as blood splattered. She saw a flash of Fox’s blond hair for just a moment as the soldier’s body fell, but then there was another man towering over her, sword swinging. Her fingertips thrummed, something cold and powerful humming beneath her skin.
Icy water shot from the sky as Chalia roared, pummeling the man square in the chest. He fell backward, a thick coating of ice melded across his face and chest as he choked for air. Sofia ignored him, pushing forward again. She couldn’t see Fox’s hair anymore. The night was filled with black shadows and screams. Javi was on the ground with her, fighting his own battle.
“Fox!” she screamed as if his name would bring him to her. She had told him—he wasn’t allowed to die. Her mind was spinning, her breaths coming in sharp pants. She screamed again, fighting against the tightness in her chest.
She would not let him die.
She took a slow breath, and her eyes scanned the clearing. She couldn’t find Harlow either.
“Chalia, do you know where Fox is?”she asked, just as a roar cracked through the air.
Her breath caught in her throat as Eha rose above the trees, Harlow balanced on her back. Ice shot forward, crashing across Chalia and sending her careening back against the trees. Branches splintered the air, and Sofia threw herself to the ground, covering her neck.
The ground shook as roars echoed through the trees, and Sofia looked up to see three more dragons descending on Chalia. Then Jobinwas there, Jacinta on his back as he blew a gust that sent two of the larger dragons off course.
The soldiers left on the ground were standing now, watching the war rage in the sky between the living gods. Sofia used their distraction to move, crawling across the ground to where she’d last seen Fox. She needed to get to him—to find him.
Her hands touched wet blood, and she saw Vato lying sprawled across the mud, dark curls covering his face.
