Page 39 of Red Marked

“I want to go home, Scarlet. I don’t want to live out the rest of my life on this rock. I don’t want to die up here and be buried under a pile of stones. Maybe they can help us.”

I’ve let hope gather inside me.

I can’t help it.

I long to go back. I miss my loved ones. We don’t belong here.

“That Draiger can’t help us,” Scarlet whispers.

“We’re not safe here anymore, Scarlet. I’m sorry to have to tell you. They saw us. They filed a report.”

“You said nothing came of it. I’m sure you’re overreacting. You’re just⁠—”

“I’m not just anything. We’ve been made. It’s a big concern to me. You should be worried too.”

“I’m not.” She shakes her head, stubborn as always.

Why can’t she see it?

“They’re bringing feral males in for rehabilitation. Don’t you think that those males will eventually talk about females holed up in the mountains?”

She frowns. “No one will believe them.”

“Not at first, but what about when multiple males all say the same thing over and over? Word will get out that there is a group of females living in these mountains. We’re a major loose end. One that someone will want to tie up with a neat bow around it. We saw him, Scarlet. You and I saw the male responsible for what happened. They’ll end up coming here before long to wipe us away like we never existed. I can feel it in my gut.”

“I hope you’re wrong. I really do. It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t look like he’s coming back. He’s not the male you thought he was.”

“I don’t agree, Scarlet. If for no other reason, we need him to get the Draig females off this island.”

“Again, I see no need. Koa is doing so much better.” She smiles. “You saw her tonight. She ate all of her supper and let Willow braid her hair. She even smiled. She has done nothing but cry since she arrived. It’s going to be okay.”

“The only reason she’s upbeat is that she thinks it isn’t going to be long before she leaves.” I hold her gaze. “The others told her all about the Draiger’s visit. All about what Flint said. She’s counting the hours, Scarlet. If this falls through now…” I look at the ravine. “She’ll be devastated. It’ll be detrimental to her mental health. So no, this is not for the best. The Draiger is running late, that’s all. He’ll be here, unless something has happened to him.”

“There you go again,” Scarlet whispers. “You trust that male too much. You don’t even know him.”

“Sometimes in life you have to take a chance in the hopes it pays off. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“We can’t afford to hope.”

She’s right, but she’s also very wrong.

“It’s all we have left. I’m not letting go of—” I start to say when a call rolls up out of the ravine. It’s the signal I’ve been waiting for…hoping for.

Everything in me lifts at once.

One male is approaching, and he is not a threat.

“He’s here.”

Scarlet doesn’t look happy, although she does her best to try to hide it.

In three strides, I’m across the ledge, and I shift as I drop, wings snapping wide, the night air catching me. The ravine swallows me whole, and I fly fast.

He rounds the bend up ahead, big and dark against the pale river stone.

His head turns toward me, and a rumble rolls out of him. I feel it in my own chest. I answer, then bank a full circle around him, close enough that my wingtip stirs the air over his spine.

We fly into the settlement together.