Page 56 of Where Broken Wings Fly

No one stopped following him.

“What exactly is the plan here, Raegan?” Killian huffed, his pace uneven as he fought against the confines of his attire.

Raegan's lack of response spoke lengths about what his plan was.

“You cannot cross over Uisge without permission. And I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but the very person you need permission from is back in your castle.”

We arrived in the clearing, home to the barn and all of its creatures, just as Raegan lifted his hand to his mouth and released a shrill whistle. When Rìoghail emerged from deep within one of the pastures blanketed with the blackness of night, he was not the only one who heard Raegan’s call. Alongside him, riding her pegasus, was Shea. She looked more unkempt than usual, her face blotchy and raw and her eyes puffy.

“Shea?” Niamh coughed out. “What are you doing out here?”

“Practicing,” she spat back. “What are you lot doing out here?”

“Apparently, going to Cluaineach.”

Shea lifted both brows as she watched us from atop her steed, no one saying anything as Raegan stormed his way to Rìoghail and whispered to him. When the stallion responded with a press of his muzzle against Raegan’s cheek, the Prince performed a swift mount by swinging up and over his stallion's back.

“Would you just hold on for one minute,” Killian seethed as he stepped in front of Rìoghail, stretching his arms out as if he could halt the beast. “Please, Raegan.”

Niamh was gentler than Killian as she harnessed her soft voice. “What you are about to do could be conceived as an act of war, Raegan.”

The Prince bared his teeth, flashing elongated canines, as he snarled. “Good. Maybe then everyone will pull their heads out of their asses long enough to listen to us.”

Killian didn’t move. Rìoghail blew a huff of moisture in his face.

“Come or don’t, Killian. But if you do not move out of my way, I will plough you down.”

Killian growled something as he motioned for Niamh to call her own mount. Within seconds the third pegasus was in front of us. With a promise of caraid, she mounted and looked down her nose at Killian and I.

The unspeakable lingered between us all.

Killian no longer had Gaoth.

“Killian, ride with Milis and I.” Shea offered, her hand outstretched to her friend. He nodded to her, taking her wrist and hoisting himself up and over.

“Sonus and I have room for one more.” Niamh smiled at me, offering her hand as well. As I approached the dark creature, I whispered my request for partnership, to which I got a face full of whiskers and a snort into my hair. The height at which I had to pinch my gown in order to seat myself over his back was less than ideal.

Raegan pivoted on Rìoghail, looking back at us all with something strange on his face. “You do not need to risk yourselves for me.”

Shea scoffed at him. “You might be an impulsive moron, Raegan, but you’re our impulsive moron. And whether you like it or not, we are beside you, always.” She squared her shoulders, lifting a hand to the sky. “What are you waiting for?”

His brows shadowed his eyes as he nodded to each of them, pushing at Rìoghail with his calves and taking to the night-sky before anyone could change their mind.

~

It became increasingly apparent that no one but Raegan, and perhaps me, knew where the dragons resided. At first, I thought that to be strange. How many times had he travelled with his friends and not taken them to Gliocas, who seemed to be the most important thing in his life?

I swallowed those thoughts right as the three pegasus’ landed on that choppy cliff-side, carefully placing their hooves so as not to step on the dozens of shredded bodies that were blasted along the stone ground.

Innards and entrails were sprawled across every surface, a spraying of crimson between each severed limb. No matter what horrors I had seen in the clinic, nothing compared to the mass slaughter of so many pixies before me. While I wanted to feel sympathy for them, one thing was constant between each of the various torn-at skulls — they all lacked ears.

Niamh landed behind me a second later.

“What is it about their ears?” I whispered to her as we watched Raegan shoot off of Rìoghail, sprinting his way into the cave-opening.

“They cut them off,” she growled before spitting out at one of the bodies next to us. “To prove they belong to no part of Saoghal.”

Grimacing, I tried my best to follow her skipping-motion through the strewn out bodies until we halted in front of the cave-mouth. Very little light entered that cavernous space, leaving the four of us to peer into the blackness in hopes of seeing something.