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"We call her Serali," Mirrim said, her voice warm. "It means night. Her parents recently passed, so we've provided most of her care."
My throat tightened, and those green eyes spun faster. I had to resist the urge to use the ring on her, too, and I forced myself to step away. Stryek had been so scared. This young one would be even more so …
But the adorable little beast followed and curled up at my feet, weaving her tail between my ankles and resting her head atop my shoes.
My heart ached as I stared down at her.
Hells. I was half-tempted to do exactly what Liam asked and blow off my mission to stay there with those beautiful creatures.
The image of a small, stiff hand holding a silver feather rose in my mind, and my chest tightened.
I had a gift for finding twisted magic, so I had to help. It was my responsibility.
The world depended on it.
"Do you two want to see more of the village?" Mirrim asked, green eyes crinkling at the edges the same way Eli's always had, and my chest tightened.
I looked down at the sleeping dragon, then back up at her, swallowing against the lump in my throat. "I want to, but we need to get back to work. We've already lost a day."
"Are you sure?" Mirrim asked. "A mountain wraith attacked last night before you arrived. The monster made it through the sprykes and the wall. It might help your mission to know just what they're capable of' —"
"Broke through the wall?" Jaiel said, eyes wide. "Saints! That thing is thick!"
"I'm sorry," I said. "But Frexin's reports only briefly mentioned mountain wraiths. What are they? And why are they attacking you? They're not supposed to be active on this side of the Isle."
Mirrim shrugged. "I've never seen one in person, but everyone says they're as big as a house and come from the ruins at the top of the mountain." She reached out to pet a little silver dragon hopping at her side. "They were a rare sight until recently. In the last two years, though, there have been sightings of them all over the island. And now that we know they can make it past the spryke perimeter …" She clicked her tongue. "Well, it has the entire village in a panic."
The Empire didn't use sprykes that often, but in Gleyma I'd witnessed a single spryke kill a dozen wraiths with ease. The little bundles of light didn't look like much, but they were known to be powerful protections against all types of twisted creatures.
So, what kind of wraith was so strong it could overwhelm a spryke?
No wonder Liam had been so stressed.
"Are there many of these mountain wraiths between here and the Heartless Basin?" I asked. If so, how were Jaiel and I supposed to get past them?
The little silver dragon leaped to tug on Mirrim's braid, and she chuckled softly, passing them a dried piece of meat. "I'm not sure," she said. "There's at least one that roams the forest outside our walls, but it only seems to move around at night. Beyond that, you'd have to ask Liam. They don't let kids know much around here."
My lips quirked. Ahh, the days of wishing you knew more. If only knowing actually made things easier.
Instead, you were left struggling to keep everything from falling apart.
Jaiel crossed his arms. "If the wraiths roam at night, we could take advantage of that. The rendezvous point is a good eight-hour ride from here. But if we leave at first light, we should be able to make it by late afternoon. Then, if the support team isn't there, we can decide whether we want to continue on." His gaze slid to me, and he winced. "Though, I'm not convinced it's a good idea to cross that portion of the Isle with support, let alone without it."
"Well, we have to try," I said, voice tight.
"We don't have to do anything." Jaiel glared at me. "But I agree, we should try to complete the mission. Perhaps Liam will have more useful information — especially if you promise to return with that ring of yours."
"Perhaps." I dreaded that meeting with every fiber of my being, though. Facing this new Liam version of Eli was no easy task.
"And who knows," Jaiel said, smirking. "Maybe the mountain wraiths aren't as bad as Mirrim makes them out to be." He looked at the younger woman and cocked a brow. "I've known her since she was a baby, and she always did like to exaggerate. Perhaps the wall was already weakened or something —"
"That was one time, Jaiel!" the young woman spluttered. "And I stopped exaggerating YEARS ago."
I couldn't help the grin from curling on my lips. Mirrim was adorably feisty — just like Eli had always said …
"Could turning ten have gone to your head, Mirrim?" Jaiel asked with a shrug. "I guess we'll see for sure when we get to the wall."
Mirrim muttered something under her breath, then offered the little silver dragon one more pat before moving toward the entrance. I looked down at Serali, still snoring softly atop my feet.
