Ahead, a single stationary cloud floated. The arch to Gemini loomed within it. Felaf slowed Echo to fall behind Cobalt and me into a single line. Their wings flapped, and all at once, we were transported into the familiar windy skies of Gemini.
“Shit,” I cursed, catching sight of a patrol on a Hippogriff not far into the distant morning skies. “We need to get closer to the Barrier.”
Two unapproved guardians in another’s territory was treason. We needed to get Rahzlyn’s grandparents as quickly as possible.
Cobalt and Echo dipped at our commanding reins. I relished in the free fall as Rahzlyn’s exhilarated smile sprung from memory. My stomach flipped with adrenaline. The wind howled at our ears as we raced through heaps of clouds toward the Barrier. We used a storm cloud for cover, bracing against the rain.
“I don’t think they saw us,” Felaf called as the rain pelted us. Echo’s yellow mane flattened against his neck in the same manner as Felaf’s braids. Baring her face to the water, she sighed. “I’ve missed this.”
The storm thankfully didn’t produce ice pellets. At certain altitudes they could be dangerous—and painful, especially for skybeasts. “It’ll be another few hours before we make it to Dioscuri. It’s not only us we have to worry about. We don’t know what the apostai have planned since Rahzlyn’s disappearance.”
“Why would they be after her or her family?”
“Because they need the Black Rose for their twisted purpose of stealing a talisman. That, and they probably fear she’ll spill some of their secrets.”
“Speaking of secrets, why did you not trust me with the truth from the beginning?”
“Gregorios sawmein his dream, Felaf,” I said. “We had to act quickly and with discretion. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
I pointed in the distance to a skyland shrouded in clouds. A river wound through it and turned into a waterfall streaming over the edge. “There’s a small, uninhabited floating isle not far off. We’ll land there and rest until nightfall.”
We arrived outside Rahzlyn’s apothecary garden when darkness finally descended. After tying Cobalt and Echo to the trunk of an oak tree, we walked on foot to inspect the town’s perimeter and noted every window and door that had a vantage point where someone could be watching. The skyland was rather large for such a small town, leaving quite a bit of land between many of the residences, shops, and hills.
A storm had recently blown through, cooling the air. Our boots squashed along the path we walked, the greenery around us pungently damp. With our hoods up, we tapped into our senses to ensure no footsteps, voices, or strange smells followed us.
As we approached the familiar two-story shop, two separate heartbeats sounded from within. That was a good sign.
Through the windows, the first story of the shop was large and blooming, with potted and hanging plants everywhere. Given the size of this property and surrounding gardens, the taxes must have been monstrous.
While every territory had Academies dedicated to the art of healing and botany, it was rather uncommon for someone to succeed in the trade outside of the three earth queendoms. Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo were known for their lush skylands, prosperous soils, and skilled healers.
The skin on the back of my neck pebbled.
Someone watches.
I scanned the starlit garden, the rest of the town behind, and the hills ahead. Most townsfolk were fast asleep, tucked inside their homes.
“Do you hear anything?” I whispered. “Anyone else?”
“It’s just us.” Felaf paused. “And a bunch of crickets. Everyone’s sleeping.”
Someone watches.
The unsettling words hummed in my mind again. An uneasy feeling lingered, one I couldn’t shake. “We’re not alone. Someone is?—”
A blasting force punctured the suspended silence. Scorching heat followed by a wall of green flames erupted from the apothecary. Screams echoed as smoke billowed from the explosion.
I gaped at the fiery bursts of green that soared into the sky. Fumes poured from every window. It was an all-too-similar painting of the nightmare that had stalked me from my childhood. A memory of an unbearable calamity I never wanted to see again.
Felaf yanked at my arm. “Come on, Raithe! We have to get them!”
The flames burned past the mental shields I’d erected after all these years.
“Raithe!” Felaf yelled from up ahead.
Inhaling a smoke-filled breath, I reminded myself I wasn’t trapped in the past. The roaring flames were real and present. Pulled from my stupor, I charged after Felaf and inside the blazing home.
It was hard to tell where the explosion had originated from. Searing heat pelted our skin.
