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You think I’d even consider leaving you there, in the place of your nightmares, alone? When he snorts, tiny plumes of flame escape, as if to punctuate his refusal.
“Oh, please. I was a kid when that happened. Now I’m an adult, and it’s not as if anyone will be there, waiting to try and shove me in.”
A lot of eyes are on Azar right now. He knows it as well as I do.
“You don’t have to put me down right next to the volcano. We can just say that’s where we’re going, and then you can book it back.”
We land moments later, the dragons restlessly milling around in front of us. Those with humans appear to be the most agitated, probably because their ensnared humans aren’t properly dressed for this weather. None of them can heat the air, so they may be dealing with a lot of complaining.
“The city of Selfoss has been abandoned,” I shout. “We can enter the city and the humans can take up residence in the homes.”
The humans have evacuated, Azar proclaims. Selfoss is ours, but the homes are quite small. A storm is on its way, so those with bonded humans will have top pick of residences, with any other shelters open to any blessed who can fit inside.
I’ll help the others look for caverns, Asteria says. None of us will enjoy being frozen to death.
She’s right about that.
I’m taking Elizabeth Chadwick to investigate the local volcano where we believe there may be clues to the location of the heart. Axel will be directing the settlement process, in conjunction with Asteria of the strike blessed, and Leviticus of the water blessed. Hyperion will remain with those settling in Selfoss to mitigate any disputes and ensure your safety. Things appear peaceful here, but remain vigilant. The humans are occasionally crafty.
In typical Azar fashion, he doesn’t wait for any questions or commentary. He vaults straight up into the air—had I not been prepared for something like that, I might have fallen off and plunged to my death. As it is, the icy air feels like it’s trying to turn my fingers to stone until Azar remembers to heat the air around us.
I expect him to go just far enough away to disappear—a bit hard in the area, given that other than the massive, flat-topped mountains north of Selfoss, there’s not much around us other than miles and miles of snow-blanketed ground and small houses.
But, he doesn’t slow down at all. His massive wings pump frantically, rocketing us toward the mountains rising in the west.
Toward Eyjafjallajökull.
As we approach, I watch in awe as we wing our way higher and higher, flying past snow-capped peaks on either side. The last time I was here, I was stuffed into the back of a van. I was ignored, shoved, and abused.
This time, I feel like the queen of the world.
But when we reach the side of Eyjafjallajökull, I begin to tremble. Everything else may be different, but somehow the feeling of approaching this volcano is the same. As if he can somehow tell I’m nervous, Azar banks sharply left, and dips quickly.
That’s when I see what he must have seen much earlier.
A small hut.
It would barely qualify as a shed back in Houston. They sell buildings this large at hardware stores, and people plonk them down in their back yards to house their lawn mowers and golf carts. Rats and cockroaches love them, to be sure, but here it’s the only shelter anywhere around, and I’m sure it looks better than dumping me on a pile of rock. Assuming I can open it, it’ll provide some shelter while I wait for Azar to return. Even if it’s not insulated and consequently it’s no warmer than anywhere else, it should at least provide cover from prying eyes.
Azar plows into a snow bank as we land, the piles of snow melting immediately thanks to his radiation thing being ratcheted up to full blast. Of course, all his weight and all that water is a bizarre combination that results in mud splattering all over both of us. I’m groaning while I climb down his mud-slicked side when all the mud just. . .slides off.
“What the?—”
Earth blessed, too, remember? Azar shifts right into his golden form—which is new. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him go from red straight to gold. Instead of the usual car engine sounds, there’s a high-pitched whining when he shifts from dragon to dragon—downsizing, really.
“That was cool.”
Axel grins, his teeth all exposed in a way that would have terrified me a month before. If you liked that, you’ll love this. The muddy mess on the ground shifts, and suddenly the area in front of me isn’t wet and sloppy at all. In fact, it looks like a freshly plowed field. Now, stay here, hidden, until I can return for you. I’ll see to your siblings and your friend.
Gideon.
I wonder what exactly he’ll do for him. Hopefully nothing too terrible. “I should have at least said something to them before leaving. They’ll be worrying about me.”
Not for long. Axel takes off running before I can ask why he didn’t just fly back. But now that I’m thinking about it, I realize that with so many flying dragons that have now been released, he’d have no way of knowing when he might be spotted. In some ways, Houston was an easier place to hide, with all the enormous buildings. This vast, open land, full of gorgeous views and strange lights, feels and looks so different that it’s a bit terrifying.
I’m not sure how long I watch the northern lights before I start to get bored. They’re stunning, and the shapes keep shifting slightly, from neon green to bluish, then to white, and back to green. It feels like I’m standing there for quite some time, awestruck, but it’s probably not very long. Our brains have been trained in the modern age that constant stimulation is necessary.
I try meditating. We used to do it before I had a fight.
