Leda nods, her gaze flicking over my shoulder.
Behind me, a soft whine fills the air. The ground shakes beneath my feet, and Adrian takes a few wide steps back. A burst of air brushes against me, sending tendrils of my hair flying, followed by a quiet snort.
I turn around, nose to nose with my girl.
“Be good for her, okay?” I rest my forehead against her nose, her scales warm and smooth.
She whines again, nudging my face a little and rustling her wings. A flurry of emotions emanates from her—worry, frustration, annoyance.
“I’ll be back,” I promise. “I need you to keep Leda safe and for you to not give her too hard of a time.”
A tiny wave of defiance peeks through the dark emotions, letting me know she has zero intentions of being good for Leda. She’ll probably have her throwing up from corkscrews in the air.
I give her a quick squeeze around her neck, feeling her nuzzle against me instantly. Tears well in my eyes, and I release her, turning back toward the group before they start to fall.
“Let’s go,” I finally say.
Leda—not one for goodbyes—gives us a brisk nod and walks stiffly to Zeph, but not before I see her swat away a stray tear. I can’t help the small smile that pulls on my lips.
As much of a hard-ass as she is, I know she cares. I think she always has, just in her own way.
“Ready?” I whisper to Graylen.
He hesitates and turns to Leda to call out, “If you go back to the palace, watch over my sisters for me.”
Graylen’s voice is strained, his back rigid. His sisters must be so scared—their parentsandtheir brother are all gone. By now, my mother and the rest of the council likely know what’s happened with Cyprian and Iris’s convoys, along with Leda and all of us.
While I’m certain they would shield Honora, Lolly, and Vallaria from the truth—that we still don’t know what happened to Cyprian and Iris—how long can they keep it that way?
We don’t know what happened to them; all we can hope is that they’re somewhere safe. But if they’re not… My mother and the council can’t lie to the girls forever.
Graylen turns to Adrian and gives him a short nod.
“Okay,” Adrian mumbles quietly, nodding and rubbing his hands together like he’s trying to convince himself he can do this. “My uncle was very clear that whoever passes with meneeds to be touching me, and then the next person touching them—like a chain. My blood will get us through, but if we break apart, then you may not make it to the other side.” His face grows paler with each word.
He looks over at us, his gaze briefly sweeping to where Leda stands beside Zeph. His jaw clenches, and he holds out a hand toward me.
“I need a knife to draw the blood,” Adrian explains. “Once I do it, you both need to grab on.”
Graylen and I exchange a look. I’m not giving Adrian a blade,butI will gladly make the cut for him. I slide my left hand into Graylen’s and unsheathe the dagger at my hip with my right, tugging him over to Adrian.
Adrian’s eyes widen when he realizes I’m not offering the blade, but holding the tip toward him. He gulps and holds his trembling hand up higher.
I make a quick swipe across his palm, and to his credit, he doesn’t flinch.
Adrian takes a deep breath and offers me his other hand, but he pauses at the sound of Zephyr’s soft cry rumbling behind us, the ground trembling as she leaps over to where we stand.
“Zeph—”
My words get lodged in my throat as she nuzzles not into me, but into Graylen’s chest. He barely had time to turn around before she shoved her nose into him, gently rubbing her face against him.
A burst of her sorrow mingles with the sadness swirling inside of me.
“She’s worried about you,” I whisper, translating the emotions she’s sending down our bond. Another small and whistling whine. “And she’s going to miss you.”
Graylen’s brows pull together, his arms dangling at his sides awkwardly as this beast of war snuggles up against him. But the hesitation doesn’t last long—mostly because Zeph won’t allow it—and his arms wraparound her neck.
“I’ll miss you, too,” he whispers. Then his voice dips lower, so quiet I almost miss him say, “I promise I’ll bring our girl back home.”
