It was easy to forget how sheltered she was as a human in Andrathya. As a whole, the kingdoms did keep to themselves, but it was curious that our humans didn’t bother to educate themselves on what happened outside of their walls.
An obvious reason that they needed this treaty with us to last, if war ever came to our borders. They’d be mere fodder for others to pick off, existing within their small, ignorant bubble.
“That is where the ley line runs to–their hearth tree. It’s where the zephyr dragons and humans live, together,”I explained before tossing my head to the other side.“Can you see the highest mountain peak on our right, in Isomythia? The humans and lithi dragons live inside it, similarly to the cavern system you saw in our mountains. They supposedly have used their abilities to shape entire cities within theirs, built around their ley line within the mountain.”
Before she could respond, an alarm sounded in my head, my beast sensing imminent danger. My head turned in all directions, trying to detect where I felt it coming from.
“Theo, what’s wrong?”she asked, her voice filling with unease.“Kaida and you both began to act on edge at the same time.”
I was relieved to hear that Kaida’s instincts were coming in swiftly. They would need his danger sense if anything happened to me.
The storm in front of us swirled in the sky and strong gusts of wind began to batter my wings. I held strong, cutting lower in the sky as the mist began to flow around us.
“Hang on tightly, both of you!”I yelled at their minds.“I don’t know what we’re flying into, but it doesn’t feel right. Do not get separated.”
Within minutes, we were completely enveloped. Despite my excellent vision, the mist was too thick for even me to see through. I refused to descend any lower, fearful I’d fly us directly into trees, but after what felt like we’d flown for miles with nothing coming into view, I wasn’t sure if anything else even existed in this land.
My wings began to feel heavy as the winds suddenly disappeared, leaving me to hold us in the air at a standstill.
“We can’t stay up here, Theo. We can’t defend ourselves in the sky when we can’t see anything. Let’s go lower and find the ground.”
While I knew there was truth to her words, a gut instinct told me that there was no safety to be found on the ground. Some preternatural knowledge told me there were even further risks waiting for us there. Ones that I wouldn’t be able to defend us from in my current form as easily as I could in the sky.
Could I risk changing into my human form and settle for the magic I could wield to protect us?
It was like the sky itself decided for me, weighing down on my wings and body, making me feel as if I was being crushed to the ground. Tendons strained within me and I knew I’d risk serious injury to my wings if I didn’t give in. I tried to maintain an even balance as we hurtled down, but I knew I was likely rocking Sia and Kaida around as I pitched from side to side.
Please let the ground find us, soon.
As soon as I said the words in my mind, my feet slammed into the dirt-packed ground, sending waves of pain through my legs at the jolting shock. Thankfully, the weight that had pressed us down lifted the second my claws touched down.
“I think it best if I shift back now. How quickly can you and Kaida get off and settled?”
Silence greeted me, and I craned my head around, trying to get eyes on them.“Sia?”
Fear rocketed through me as I tried to turn my head and body in every way possible to get a glimpse of them. I forced myself to stop, focusing on the weight I should feel on my back from Kaida.
I’d been so focused on the force that sent me down to the ground that I hadn’t even noticed I didn’t feel him on my back once the pressure lifted.
“Sia!”
“Kaida!”
No, no, no. I couldn’t have lost them.
A roar ripped from my chest and out of my jaws as despair bowled over me.
How had this happened?
A sinister voice came from seemingly all around me from within the mist. “Tell me, dragon king, what would you give up in order to find what it is that you seem to have lost?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
SIYANA
“Kaida!”
“Theo!”
