Today was clear, hardly any clouds in the sky as they flew. Brielle flew on their right and Keir on their left as they always did.
Evelina’s mind wandered, her eyes drifting across the forest below in search of rebels—or monsters. There were always rumors of a haunted wood along the edge of Zenovia. Trees that dark creatures hid inside until the sun set. Still, she hadn’t seen anything peculiar during any of their flights.
“What are you thinking about?” Daimon asked softly.
She shivered at the thought. “The haunted wood.”
He chuckled, his chest brushing against her back with the movement. “Why would you be thinking of old legends?” he asked with another laugh. “We’ve been here this long without seeing a single creature they speak of. No monsters to raid our camps or ambush our foot soldiers. If the stories were true, I’m sure we would’ve found out years ago when we first set camp here.”
She shrugged, unconvinced.
“They’re as rumored as the Talven fae still existing,” he continued. “But at least the Talven are fact and not gossip.”
She twisted around to face him, her brows furrowing. “The Talven haven’t been seen by any living fae—who’s to say they aren’t gossip too?”
“But theyhavebeen seen, even if by stories passed down through generations, unlike the creatures of the wood.”
Evelina narrowed her eyes. “What proof is that? The relic that fuels the falls in the palace?” she countered.
“The fragment of Queen Tallia’s crown,” he corrected.
Evelina huffed. “You mean the glacier that anUndinecrystalized, welded into a solid piece of rock, and imbued their Essence into?”
He smiled and shrugged.
Evelina turned back around and muttered, “You’re as bad as Gloriana. She used to tell me stories of the Talven when she was teaching me herbs.”
She heard him hum, a soft sound that vibrated through his chest. “Have you spent a lot of time with her?” he asked.
“Gloriana taught me everything I know about healing,” Evelina explained. “I’m surprised she hasn’t demanded to fly with us yet.”
Daimon laughed, his chest rumbling against her back. “She has. Multiple times.” Evelina twisted around to face him. He raised his hands in surrender. “Keir and I want her to learn defensive tactics before she joins us on patrol,” he said quickly. “But it would be helpful for her to join so you two can watch each other’s backs if we run into rebels.”
She turned back around, mostly satisfied with the answer.Ifthey encountered rebels was more likewhenthey would encounter them. It was only a matter of time.
She tapped her fingers against the sharp scales beneath her. Zephyr shook her head, giving Evelina a look over her shoulder as they glided through the air.
“You know Z can tell how unsettled you are.” Daimon’s gruff voice cut through the wind. The wind was so cold that they often had to huddle together atop Zephyr to keep warm. It was impossible not to with the height’s frigid temperature. “She isn’t usually a fan of the tapping—has hung me upside down in the air when I do it too much.”
“And yet she lets me do it,” Evelina tossed back at him.
She could feel him smile against her shoulder.
Not for the first time, she reached her hand into the air and let the tips of her fingers graze through the vapors of a small cloud as they passed through. Her hands swirled the mist and left a trail in their wake as Zephyr flew by.
Evelina and Daimon had come to an understanding. They weren’t becoming friends in the way they had once been, but she realized they were no longer strangers either. Sometimes they would chat, lightly teasing, sharing stories that never quite ventured into the time they shared before everything changed. And sometimes she needed silence, and he always seemed to know when. He would stay quiet, letting her get lost within the plains of her mind between comfort and chaos.
Daimon leaned forward, the movement causing his thighs to press into Evelina’s hips. She straightened her spine, heat crawling up her neck as his chest pressed into her back. He was patting Zephyr, soothing her, and giving commands over his shoulder to his unit.
Evelina was having a hard time focusing on what he was saying until she noticed Zephyr’s head snap to the left, her eyessearching the forest below. They were always ahead of the ground soldiers patrolling to warn them of danger, which meant there shouldn’t be anything for Zephyr to be picking up.
Unless it wasn’t their soldiers.
Movement on the ground snapped her to attention: small, dark figures scattering through the trees like ants.
“Rebels,” she whispered.
“Brielle, take the lead while I report back to camp,” Daimon ordered. “Evelina isn’t ready yet.”
