“What is it? That is not a complete thought!” she says, matching my excitement even though she’s in the dark.
I drop my hands along with my jaw, focusing on her. “We did it. We have everything. As soon as we meet back with Raef and Daegan, we can reunite all of the relics and reverse the damn curse!”
“Yes… that is what you went to the castle for… is it not?” Confusion sparkles across her face. Literally.
“Yes, but… we were so busy getting out of there, it hadn’t sunk in yet. We didn’t have a chance to celebrate! We’ve nearly done it!”
“Yes. Let’s just hope those two buffoons don’t mess up this rendezvous.”
Despair overpowers me again as Rhydra’s face enters my head. We were so close. She almost made it to the end. And we couldn’t have done it without her, without Meela, without Gaethri… A tear slips out, falling slowly down my cheek.
“Rhydra would be honored to go in sacrifice of this.”
I nod slowly, staring at the ground.
“Well,” she chirps when I don’t answer for a while. “We should really get going. Think you can tolerate wearing some damp clothes, princess?”
I stand, feeling oddly empowered. We’re not near any trails. No one civil is going to catch us out here. If anything, it will be another strange beast we have to kill. So I put on my thin undergarments—a bralette and a thin piece of material that’s my underwear—then hang the rest off the back of the horse, secured to some straps. They can finish drying as we ride.
“Ready,” I say with a grin, standing tall as I face her.
She looks—dare I say—proud.
I climb on the horse in just my undergarments and order the horse into motion. My loose, damp brown hair flies through the wind as I ride through the meadow nearly naked.
Chapter 70
I ride most of the day with my dry clothes back on, barely stopping for breaks. Kezra comes and goes, flying beside me or sitting on the horse. My urge to see them is becoming a desperate, burning sensation within me, and I can’t get to Morne fast enough. They’re out there somewhere. I can feel it.
If it weren’t for Kezra, I’d be utterly lost. She scouts ahead, helping me navigate. Her impeccable sense of direction is something I do not possess.
She’s helped me with many things, actually. I’d be dead without her.
I can’t let her down now.
Nightfall is almost upon us once more, and we’re in the middle of the wilds, traveling beside a mountain range. My entire body shivers as snowflakes begin to fall through the veil, scattering all around me in a beautiful display of nature. For a moment, I let them touch my skin, with a few landing on my lashes. But I don’t want to be cold and wet, so I use a small helping of my magic to divert the flakes falling around me. They’re made from water, after all.
“This is colder than a blackthrumb’s heart.” Kezra flies for my bag that I was fortunate enough to acquire at the stables and climbs inside. “Continue that way,” she says, only her arm sticking out of the bag, pointing toward the area along the mountain range straight ahead.
Must be nice. I’m starting to freeze as well, with only a tattered cloth shirt with long sleeves and a lightweight pair of pants. Even my toes are getting cold in my boots.
After riding for a long time, everything starts to go numb. Luckily, I’m very familiar with the feeling, and I keep riding anyway.
I weave in and out of a sparse section of tall trees, staring ahead numbly. I’m about to pull out the new light orb I found in this pack, when something startles me, making me gasp.
An eye among the trees. A very, very, large one. And it’s watching me.
I halt the horse, too curious or too foolish to keep moving. It’s incredibly dark now, so I almost missed it, but it’s giving off a faint glow. A red one.
I gasp again with the realization… could it be? I can’t tell from here.
“Raef?” I say tentatively. I hold my light out toward it, not that it helps much.
At the name, I can tell it’s coming closer. My heart begins to pound as Kezra pokes her head out.
“Raef!” I scream. I immediately scan the area, looking for signs of another dragon, or another person. It’s too hard to see anything right now.
The giant eye disappears into the darkness, a few moments pass, and then I hear the distinct sound of footsteps jogging toward us. I hop off the horse, sprinting to meet him.
