Toward the Isle of the Giants.
To find more of the Dragonlings.
Phoenix looked ahead again, her friends around her, her destiny still waiting.
The wind screamed past Spring’s wings as she flew low over the towering trees, her dragon eyes narrowed and sharp, scanning every inch of the mossy ground below. Her heart pounded like war drums in her chest, each beat echoing the worry that had been gnawing at her ever since she’d left Roam behind.
Please be okay. Please be okay.
Even matching the size of the Giants, the Isle of the Giants felt too big. Too dangerous. Madura’s gentle words had soothed her fears for a time, but now that she was racing back through the forest, the size of it all felt crushing. If anything had happened to him…
There!
Movement flashed in the corner of her vision.
She banked hard to the right, her wings slicing through the air—and her blood ran cold.
Roam.
On the ground.
He was backed against a twisted root the size of a tree trunk on Valdier, wielding a twig like a sword and swinging wildly at three alien birds that looked like crossbreeds between finches and woodpeckers. They were glossy, sleek, and utterly vicious with their spear-like beaks. They were small—but Roam was smaller. Their pointed beaks flashed as they lunged at him. Their feathers shimmered with iridescent menace as they flapped their wings at him, stirring up ground debris.
One of them caught the edge of his shoulder, knocking him flat on his back.
Spring roared.
The sound tore from her throat, pure and primal, echoing through the canopy. The birds shrieked and scattered, startled by the white-scaled fury hurtling toward them from the sky. She didn’t slow. With one powerful beat of her wings, she sent a gust of wind gushing downward, scattering feathers like confetti.
She landed hard several feet away; the moss shuddered under her weight. She shifted and dropped to her knees near the root.
“Roam!” she cried, her voice tight with panic.
He groaned and sat up slowly, blinking. “What the—Spring?”
Spring leaned over him, her golden brown eyes wide with concern.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“Did they—did they hurt me?” he croaked incredulously.
Before he could finish, she gently curled her hands around him, scooping him up as if he were a broken treasure. He yelped in surprise, flailing before flopping backward into her palm with a disgruntled thud.
“Seriously?! Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for a cat-shifter? We eat birds! And always land on our feet!!” he snapped, flushing to the root of his white hair.
She leaned in closer, frowning. A thin trail of blood traced down the side of his cheek, and her breath caught.
“You’re bleeding,” she murmured, her voice filled with dismay.
He sat up fast, glaring at her with wide, indignant eyes. “Do you have any idea how long you’ve been gone?!”
Spring froze.
“I’ve been attacked by a giant snail, a pack of angry leaf-lizards, and now demon chickens from the ninth level of space hell!” he shouted, rising awkwardly to his feet to pace across her palm like it was a stage. “You just left! Didn’t even say, ‘Hey Roam, back in a tick to prevent your untimely death by oversized alien poultry!’”
She stared at him in shock.
“I was worried sick about you!” he snapped. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around! How am I supposed to do that if you’re not here?! Where did you go?!”
