Auryn coughed, her fingers tightening in the fabric of Kailorien’s sleeve. The mysterious cold from earlier seeped deeper into her bones with each passing moment.
The female Glider smacked the Riven’s forearm.
Smacked.
Auryn blinked, certain she’d imagined it.
“Rö,” the golden Glider said, voice sharp yet heavy with all the weight of a weary sister scolding a younger brother. “Put down your glaive. Do you honestly plan to challenge the Skycleaverhere—with your wings useless in a tunnel?”
The Riven—Rö—did not lower his weapon, but his jaw flexed. His eyes slid toward her, violet and simmering with annoyance.
“Your counsel is unwanted,” he said.
“I will give it nonetheless,” she replied, feathers ruffling as she stepped past his wing, “especially when you are acting like a hotblooded fledgling.”
Rö’s talons scraped against the stone floor in annoyance.
Auryn’s gaze flicked down at the sound—then stilled. The golden Glider’s feet bore no talons at all. Toes, bare and calloused, braced against the ground. Human toes. The same was true of her hands—no curved black talons. Her whole frame, now that Auryn noticed, was more humanoid than Rö’s towering form.
Somewhere behind her, Auryn Zarrek spoke to Lu’ma. Asking if she was hurt. But she couldn’t see her friend’s reply in the shadows.
The golden Glider turned to her. “Leave. All of you.”
“Please,” Auryn called, voice fraying. “Please give it back. You can take the charms, but I need that satchel.”
“Charms?” The female Glider’s head tipped, feathers shifting like the flick of a cat’s tail. Her gaze dropped to the bag. Then rose to the Riven. “You wind-borne—” she cut herself short, golden feathers bristling.
In the same motion, she stepped forward, yanked the leather strap from his waist, and sneered at the growl he gave in return.
The satchel hit Kailorien’s hands with a heavy slap of leather and metal. Auryn yanked it open. Her fingers fumbled through scorched leather and tangled straps, past crushed parchment and broken charms. Then she felt it—smooth, unblemished glass, warm from her touch. She pulled it free, the faint shimmer within catching the light. The bauble was still intact.
Her shoulders sagged. She shuddered with relief, clutching it to her chest.
Starlight…all that for a trinket?
It may be a trinket, but it is a piece of my heart.
She lifted her gaze to the golden Glider and managed a shaky smile. “T-Thank y-you,” she rasped, teeth chattering so hard the words barely formed.
Kail…I need you to Breathweave for me…please…
His hand tightened on her shoulder, hard enough to still her shivering for a heartbeat. The flare in his eyes told her he’d heard every word—and understood.
But when he spoke aloud, it was only to Zarrek. “We’re leaving.”
Kailorien helped Auryn walk down the hall, his senses still buzzing with the threat of the strange pair of Gliders behind them.
She made it a short distance before her knees failed her. Kailorien caught her without breaking stride, his arm sweeping her up against him. “I’ve got you.”
The tunnel was endless—a winding serpent of stone that smothered light and sound. They rounded another curve, and Kailorien stopped. The alcove ahead was small, just enough shadow to hide them from the main path.
“Zarrek,” he said without looking back, “watch my back.”
The warrior grunted and turned toward the tunnel’s mouth, battleaxe already in hand.
“Lu’ma,” Kailorien added, “the mana here isn’t twisted. Cast a containment web.”
Her Attendant moved without hesitation, fingers flashing through the signs, weaving invisible threads into the air until the alcove hummed with a soft, enclosing ward.
