“He’ll be fine.” Noc’s too-quick response spoke volumes, and for a moment, his stoic expression cracked. Eyes tight, he pressed his lips together before tugging on the reins of his Zeelah. Nudging my mount’s sides, I guided her after him with Oz and Calem on my heels.
“Hewillbe fine.”
Noc let out a heavy sigh. “I hope so. I still don’t know if I did the right thing. If I caused more harm than good.”
I wrapped my fingers in my bestiary, savoring the flicker of power that warmed my fingers at its touch. Life without my beasts would’ve been unimaginable. And the look on Gaige’s face when he saw his mark…when his bestiary turned to ash… A chill crawled down my spine, and I dropped my hand into my lap. Still, Gaige had chosen to live. Perhaps only because of Okean—trapped or saved by his beast, I couldn’t say—but he was here just the same. He’d hung Okean’s key around his neck where his bestiary used to be. It was almost too painful to look at it.
“You may have raised Gaige, but I encouraged you to do it, and he made the ultimate decision to live—just like you did when Talmage raised you. Give him time to figure it out.”
Noc nodded and then fell silent, his gaze trained on the path before us. It would take nearly a week for us to reach Tyrus’s Ruins. Not to mention, we’d be entirely exposed for the length of our travel. The rolling plains that stretched from the Kitska Forest to the Gaping Wound, the massive canyon where Tyrus’s Ruins was located, was nearly devoid of trees. It made for easy travel, but even easier detection. And we had plenty of enemies who were all too eager to find us.
We didn’t even bother to make camp that first night, instead choosing to move forward and put more distance between us and the capital. Its gleaming walls were a beacon in the night, competing with the moon for brilliance across the frostbitten landscape. We gave Wilheim a wide berth, adjusting our route to avoid the city’s outskirts and the train. With Noc’s shock-white hair and crystal-blue eyes, there’d be no mistaking him now. The last thing we needed was someone sounding the alarm.
But by the following evening, we’d pushed our Zeelahs to their limit and were forced to rest. Wilheim was still there, a harbinger we couldn’t escape on these flat, endless plains. Noc stared at it, jaw tight. After a moment, he shook his head and then slid from his mount’s saddle. His feet crunched against the grass.
Oz followed suit, craning his neck about as if searching for something. “Here? There’s no cover.”
“There’s no cover anywhere.” Calem dismounted and scowled. He made quick work of removing his Zeelah’s saddle and our bags. She let out a soft whinny of relief and nudged her head into his shoulder.
“We don’t have a choice.” Noc unbuckled his mount’s saddle and gave him a gentle pat on the neck. “Fortunately, that means we’ll be able to see them coming, too.”
Unless Yazmin had a beast we couldn’t detect. I ignored the thought altogether, pushing it to the back of my brain. There was no use in speculating what creatures she did or didn’t have. We simply didn’t know. But Yazmin wasn’t the only one with beasts.
With a deep inhale, I focused on the well of power in my core and thought of my bestiary. Mentally leafing through its pages, I found a creature who could help. I called to him in the beast realm and felt him answer, eager to cross through the door and be by my side. A deep groan rolled over the quiet expanse just as rosewood light doused my hand. The door swung open in my mind’s eye, and Fig came soaring through, flapping his massive wings and chattering excitedly. I let the beast realm door shut and smiled.
Calem stilled, gaze tracking Fig’s erratic flight pattern. “That looks like a monster from the forest.”
“Oh hush. He’s not that scary.” My bat-like beast soared through the evening air, twisting this way and that. Soft gray fur covered his body, giving way to leathery wings that were almost see-through. Circular glass-blue eyes tracked insects as he flew, and he chomped at them with fervor. “Come here, Fig. Settle down.”
He landed beside me, head reaching my waist. Calem still didn’t move. “His name is Fig?”
I shrugged. “He likes figs.”
Oz grinned, dropping his supplies and strolling over. “What does he do?”
“He’s a Gulya.” I ran my fingers over his scalp and gave him a good scratch between his radar-like ears. “Once I tell him to stand guard, his power activates. He uses soundwaves to detect disturbances from miles away. I used him once before when I was first exiled. I wasn’t strong enough to keep him out for more than an hour, but now,” I eyed his branch on my Charmer’s symbol, “I think I can manage twelve hours, give or take. He doesn’t have an immense well of power like some beasts, so he relies heavily on our bond to stay in this world.”
Noc tilted his head to the side, studying Fig. “Can he sense shadows? What if Darrien comes instead of Varek’s forces or Yazmin?”
I frowned. “Never tested it out before. Shall we?” Noc nodded, and I jutted my chin toward Fig. I didn’t need to say anything—one look and he understood. I felt the flux of his power before he shifted. His gray skin gave way to an inky hide as soft fur transitioned to onyx flames that licked the sky. His eyes were fire-red pinpoints in the dark, and his ears stretched impossibly taller. Driving his claws into the ground, he rooted himself in place and became a protective statue on high alert.
Oz’s lips parted. “So cool.”
“Care to see if he can detect your magic?”
Oz obliged, calling forth shadows and masking his presence entirely from my view.
“Move somewhere. See if he can tell,” Noc said. Oz didn’t respond, but I assumed he listened. Calem and Noc didn’t track his movements, as if waiting to see if Fig could detect him without any outside help.
“Fig. Find the intruder,” I said.
It took less than a second. His head snapped around, red eyes glowing brighter, until his gaze snagged on a space a few feet to my left. His jaw cracked open and he emitted a bone-grating screech. Oz let his shadows fall away and clamped his hands over his ears.
A proud smile graced my lips. “Guess we can all sleep soundly, then.”
“I don’t know about that.” Calem let out a weak, nervous laugh.
“Calem, are you scared?” I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. Oz, too, regarded his brother with a wide, teasing smile. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
