Still balanced on Chalia’s back, Lumi removed their tunic and pants without preamble, their skin barely lit by the moons above. Sofia took their clothes, stuffing them in her own pack. They needed to solve problem two before climbing up into the city. The three of them needed tokens to explain why they were in the upper city after dark. The tokens wouldn’t help them if they were asked for their full papers, but it was the best they could do.
Once Lumi’s clothes were packed, they twisted into the air, disappearing in a streak of feathers as they arched into the sky and up over the cliff above.
“I guess we should be glad they came,” Sofia said, eyes still on the horizon, as if the shapeshifter might come back immediately with the supplies they needed.
Flor gave a small grunt. “We’ll see if they can actually get the tokens.”
“They’ve been nothing but helpful so far.” Sofia kept her face towardthe sky, but she eyed Flor’s face as she spoke. The other woman’s face was firmly set in a blank expression, but a soft blush rose in her cheeks. “They’re kind of cute, too.”
Flor’s eyes snapped to Sofia, catching her gaze.
“I thought you were madly in love with the major. Now you’re chasing after shapeshifters?”
Sofia’s own cheeks went hot, and she turned to Flor with narrowed eyes. “I’m not madly in love with anyone. And I don’t have any interest in Lumi. I was just pointing out facts.”
“So, you’re not looking forward to seeing Fox again if we pull this off?”
“I’mexcited to see Pale Scales,” Chalia said.
Sofia ignored the dragon. Just like she ignored the tightness in her chest every time she thought of Fox. What would she do when she saw him again? She squeezed her hand into a fist at the sudden urge to touch her lips. She swallowed. “I’m looking forward to hearing directly from him what’s happening with the chief commander and why he didn’t warn us about the bomb.”
“Just make sure to ask him before he sticks his tongue down your throat,” Flor said.
Sofia’s mind flashed with the taste of his lips, and she bit her tongue to push the memory away. Chalia gave a small chuckle in the back of her mind.
“Don’t,”she said to the dragon. She turned to Flor. “Chalia speaks to you, right?”
Flor gave her a flat stare. “Nice change of subject. But yeah, obviously.”
“But do youfeelher in your mind? Even when she isn’t talking?”
She raised an eyebrow. “No—it’s just her speaking when she needs to. Doyoufeel her in your mind—like all the time?”
Sofia opened her mouth to reply, but a rustle of feathers interrupted her thoughts. Lumi was suddenly between them, naked and spitting out a small pile of coins from their mouth.
“I got three tokens.”
“You found the people coming out of the Garcia and Hill households?” Sofia said, guilt heavy in her chest. She was trying not to get people in trouble on her own behalf anymore. She’d directed Lumi to some households that she knew treated their workers the best—households that would hopefully not punish them for losing their tokens.
“They were from three maids entering the green stone house on the canal. These tokens expire at dawn, though, so we need to hurry.”
Sofia handed Lumi their clothes, and they dressed quickly, balanced precariously on Chalia’s back.
Once they were dressed, Sofia patted Chalia’s head. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,”she said, wings shuddering in preparation.“Just hold on. I’ve never flown like this before.”
Sofia passed on the warning to the others, and then they were rising, awkwardly, Chalia’s wings unintentionally batting against the cliffs twice, sending stones tumbling down into the sea below. Thankfully, the squalls obscured the splashes, and the low positioning of the moons left the dragon’s form in shadows. Sofia could only hope it would take a keen eye to notice them along the dark cliffs.
When they were less than fifty feet from the top, Sofia told Chalia to slow down.
“Any farther up and we risk being seen or heard,” she said, out loud so the others could hear. “Are you both ready?”
“If I fall, I’ll just fly up,” Lumi said, shrugging. “You two need to be careful. I can’t catch you.”
“I’ll stay below until you tell me you’re safe,”Chalia said.
“Chalia will save us if we fall. But let’s hope we don’t need that.”
