Moros isn’t saving the realm; he’s damning it.
“We’re here,” Willow shouts, jolting me from my thoughts.
We step through the trees, and a cacophony of noises bombards my senses all at once. Birds cawing, people cheering, wyverns screeching, and waves crashing. Salty air hits my nose as I breathe in, snapping my attention to the present.
The first thing I notice is how the trees abruptly end. This piece of land is like a hook that juts off the side of the island, a cliff that stretches out and curls in a loop at the end.
I hadn’t noticed the gain in elevation as we walked with Willow and Aster, but now that we’re up here, I realize just how high up we are. The sea is thousands of paces below, the birds flying above the waves so small they look like ants, though the crashing waves echo all the way up to us, sounding as if we were right beside them.
But I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from the skies.
Wyverns of all colors, shapes, and sizes soar through the open air. A burst of giddiness rises within my chest, sending an unexpected wave of awe sweeping through my body.
Fae of every kind are seated atop them, their smiles wide as they swoop high and low.
The cliff in front of us is filled with more beasts, their wings relaxed as they dance along the edge.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen—a freedom so different from the rigid training in Penyth. As if they aren’t preparing for war, but simply…living.
“Lu!” Sidra’s light voice calls out to me from my left. “Calix!”
My eyes widen when I find her, sitting crisscross and waving her arms at me. A child, no older than ten, is braiding her hair.Charcoal has been smeared across her face, just like Willow and Aster’s were yesterday. The village girl is dressed similarly, with braided hair and painted face.
That’s when I notice Maddox and Orla beside her, Maddox getting swirls painted onto his arms and Orla laughing as another child adjusts a new tunic on her—one that matches what all the children are wearing. It’s dark green and lands at the top of her thighs with leather straps tied around her waist.
They look like they belong.
Two children run in front of me, nearly tumbling into my side, and I jump back to avoid getting thrown to the ground. I turn to Willow, knowing my eyes are wider than the full moon.
“I thought you don’t trust us?” I ask, wondering why they would allow us around the children of Kauri.
Willow shrugs and nods to my friends. “I told you, get to know us before you make assumptions about who we are.”
Aster smiles, and his gaze lifts above my shoulder. “And even if we don’t trustyou, we know Zephyr.” He chuckles. “She’s far too stubborn to be drawn to someone that wasn’t worth bonding with.”
A puff of air races against my back, sending my hair flying past my face. I feel her before I see her, the rush of excitement from earlier increasing tenfold. When I spin around, I already know Zeph is waiting on me.
Her nose nudges into me immediately, eliciting a softumph. She nuzzles me, a content purr rumbling from her chest.
“I missed you too,” I say with a quiet laugh, my hands wrapping around the sides of her nose. “What have you been up to out here?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Calix move past us as Aryth bounds over to him.
“They’re learning what it means to have fun again.” Aster steps up beside me.
I watch Zeph, expecting her to give him a warning growl or show her teeth at his proximity to me, but instead, she lowersher head to him. She allows him to stroke her head briefly before he walks past.
We know Zephyr.
And my girl knows them, too. Watching her with Aster, it eases some of the worries in my mind. Maybe we can trust them after all.
But his words tug at something in my mind, stopping me from giving into fully trusting them.
“And this is helpful tocreatures of war, how?” I ask.
Aster huffs a laugh. “They’re not a sword—a blunt object with no feelings and bred for killing. They’re like us—driven by emotions. For them to bond with their Riders and the rest of their unit, they need to trust them.”
“So this is like a trust-building exercise?” I question, still not convinced these people are going to help us.
