Fox was starting to regret asking, but Nesto didn’t seem to notice, simply pointing out one map after another, along with their shortcomings. Perhaps Fox wouldn’t have to worry about what would happen if they found the dragons. Maybe they’d end up lost in the forest forever or go into the mountains and never return, just like every other military operation that had tried before them. Fox knew just a fraction of the creatures that waited for them, lurking in the shadows of the forest. Based on the book Sofia had given him, there were more they hadn’t even run across—creatures that ate the hearts of those who trespassed, lights that led travelers to their deaths if they strayed too far off the path, bats that lived off flesh.
He shuddered.
The wind billowed for a second, sending the maps fluttering. Fox busied himself with helping Nesto hold them down. When it finally calmed, he sat back and let the sound of Nesto’s voice wash over him as he described why the coastline on the smaller map was impossible based on the assumed soil composition.
By the timethe ship landed along the coast near the labor farms, Fox’s eyes were burning and his head aching. He’d managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours, sitting with his back against the barrels, listening to Nesto drone on about sediment and river patterns. He stumbled as he came down the gangplank, half from exhaustion and half from the sudden stillness of the land beneath his feet. Only a day on the ship had left him queasy.
He helped unload a few barrels and crates. They’d have wagons for the path across the farms and into the forest, but after that they’d be relying on the donkeys and soldiers carrying any supplies. Fox was unsure of how far the donkeys would even get them, but he wasn’t about to point that out. He’d let General Luna find that out the hard way.
Perhaps he wouldn’t need to do much at all in the end to sabotage the mission. He would just watch as things fell apart, and they finally gave up, slinking back to Suvi like a wild dog who’d lost a fight.
If only Eha could relay his message to Sofia…
A dozen men carried the cage down the gangplank, the young dragon inside letting out a keening wail. They’d tied a blanket over the bars tightly, hiding the precious cargo from prying eyes.
Zuni let out another yowl, and the cage jerked to one side, the dragon clearly throwing itself against the bars. The men who had been balancing it scrambled to stop the cage from falling as the dragon continued to thrash.
“Shut that thing up!” General Luna snarled, coming down the gangplank.
The men jumped to obey, despite none of them looking especially confident as to how to stop the dragon’s fit.
“If that thing doesn’t stop making that noise, I’ll kill it myself,” Luna said.
Zuni fell silent in an instant, and Fox’s chest tightened. Zuni didn’t appear to be able to speak yet, but he seemed to understand the general’s words perfectly. Fox’s stomach soured at the fear and confusion Zuni must have been feeling.
He may not be spying on the chief commander anymore, but he still had a mission. Protect Eha’s child and ensure this expedition failed.
He was no one’s hero, yet he was the only option they had.
A sharp breeze broke off the ocean, prickling the hair on the back of Fox’s neck. A few strands slipped from his bun, flicking across his face with a sharp sting. It was dark, but his eyes could still make out the dark fields of the labor farms stretching out in front of him, a line of torches along the wall in the distance. They’d make it there in a couple of hours and be in the forest by dawn.
He couldn’t rely on Eha getting a message to Sofia or Ian. He couldn’t rely on them knowing what had happened.
It was up to Fox to make sure they failed in finding the dragons. He didn’t know how. He just knew there wasn’t another choice.
His hands shook as he stuffed them into his pockets and turned toward the farms and the forest beyond.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SOFIA
“Do you know what you’re going to do?” Flor asked.
She and Sofia were sitting at the top rim of the cenote. Water dripped in a steady rhythm from the vines and trees, the continuous rain from Chalia’s presence transforming the forest. The rim of the cenote had become overgrown with plant life, sending a steady stream of water flowing down into the lake below like small waterfalls. They should have headed into the cenote where the others huddled around the fire, hiding from the ever-creeping frost of the cold season.
But Sofia didn’t want warmth. Her body already boiled with hot rage and churning guilt, the icy air doing its part to cool her thoughts.
“I can’t leave the Dragonborn to keep dying. Not if I have a chance to stop it.”
“You’re not prepared to kill Harlow.”
“I’m not,” Sofia acknowledged, nudging a pebble over the edge of the cenote with her finger and watching it fall. “But I need to know who’s alive—what’s happening.”
Sofia’s screams had woken the rest of the cenote, and Lumi had explained to the others about the bombing. In the end, Micael haddecided they should still head to the dragons, but he’d told Sofia it was up to her what she chose to do. She hated having to make that decision.
“I can go and find that information without you.”
Sofia looked over at Flor, her face in shadows. “I won’t make you clean up my mess.”
