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“It was good though.” She took comfort in the fact that Everett looked out of breath as well. He adjusted to leaning against one of the practice dummies and cast an assessing look over their group.
It was good, Claire silently agreed. They were able to do more than they had ever been able to as a Triad and even after the activity had faded and the rocks had settled, Claire felt the bonds between them hum with a new strength.
“Movement to make this afternoon’s activities less intense?” Claire asked, lifting her head to look around at them.
“Motion seconded,” Desmond said from his prone position on the ground looking up at the sky.
Her men looked more exhausted than she had ever seen. The Triad bonds could be a huge asset it seemed but there was also a cost to them. One Claire would have to research more in Winona’s journals. She wondered too if Roderick had any books on the Fae in his small library. Since the Dragons and Fae had been long-term allies, it was possible that he had books that the Academy’s library had lost access to.
“I have an idea,” Everett’s grin spread over his face as he sat next to Claire. “King of the Mountain?” He looked at the others as Claire just looked at them all with confusion.
“Yes!” Desmond grinned, hopping up from his position with a newly found jolt of Energy.
“Lunch first,” Malcolm said as Claire’s stomach growled. She blushed as the men all looked at her.
“I didn’t eat a lot for breakfast,” she shrugged. Malcolm let out a soft rumble as he remembered why and Claire sent a soothing touch down their bond. His face relaxed into a soft smile and before Claire knew what was happening, he had swept her up in his arms as he carried her out of the arena.
“Malcolm! I can walk!”
“And I can carry you. See? Now we’ve both stated things we can do.”
Claire rolled her eyes but let her head drop back against his chest. She could walk but if her dragon wanted to carry her she would let him.
Dinner seemed to be the one time that all the dragons gathered together for a meal so the dining hall was half full for lunch when they arrived. Malcolm settled her into a seat and then disappeared with Desmond to retrieve some food. Everett settled next to her as Puck made himself comfortable on her feet, preparing to clean up anything that was dropped. Claire leaned her head against Everett as they waited. Everett took her hand with his and rested their joined hands on his lap as he shifted so she could get more comfortable. She enjoyed the time with her quiet mate, the both of them comfortable in the silence.
She allowed her eyes to drift close until the footsteps of her other mates had them popping open again. She stifled a yawn as Malcolm slid a full plate with a massive sandwich in front of her. She took off the top slice of bread, taking off half of the meat and feeding it to Puck before replacing the bread and lifting the now normal sized sandwich to her mouth. Malcolm rolled his eyes at her but didn’t say anything as he dug into his own three sandwiches.
Despite their exhaustion, the four of them ate quickly. Her men’s excitement at showing her whatever “King of the Mountain” was seemed to grow as they finished their food. Giving them an amused smile, she allowed Everett to tug her to her feet as Desmond cleared their plates.
They started back down the tunnels that led to Roderick’s office but continued down a different hallway after they climbed the stairs. The hallway led deeper into the mountain on the opposite side of the peak that Roderick’s office opened out to. Soon, the fresh mountain air blew briskly against her face as the tunnel opened up into a path that snaked around the mountain’s edge and down the next peak. Claire was grateful for Puck’s extra Energy boost as they hiked another fifteen minutes. Even so, her muscles still ached and she stumbled over a few rocks. Everett’s hands were always there to catch her though.
At the end of the path, a larger mountain peak rose against the sky and a large boulder sat at the edge of the mountainside. It looked like it had dislodged from the side of the mountain about twenty feet up and had rolled to a stop just a few feet from the cliff’s edge. Claire had a feeling she was looking at the “King of the Mountain” her men had been talking about.
Once they got closer, Desmond ran a hand over the smooth weathered surface of the boulder that stood about chest height to him. “It looks quite a bit smaller now.” He laughed, “But to us boys it was the tallest of mountains. We used to escape here after tutoring and practice our skills on each other.”
Claire squeaked as Everett grasped her hips and lifted her onto the boulder. From up here, the wind buffeted her and Claire planted her feet wider in the shallow dip to get her balance. Her feet fell easily into grooves that looked like they had been worn down before her. It was easy to imagine twelve year olds Malcolm, Everett and Desmond fighting over this boulder because look at that view.
The Unitam Realm stretched out as far as she could see. The air was crystal clear that day, not a cloud in sight. The blue of the sky was so bright it almost hurt Claire’s eyes. The land stretched in front of them in a mixture of greens and golds, dotted in blue ribbons of the streams and rivers. She found her eyes drawn to the right, where the Fae land was supposed to be. The Fae’s territory was spelled by a barrier that had it looking like an endless grassy plain but something drew Claire there. Their time at the Dragon Mountains might be a short reprieve but the Fae lands were calling. They would have to discover its secrets eventually.
“Come on, let us show you something,” Malcolm said from the ground. “This boulder isn’t named King of the Mountain for our games only.”
Claire tore her eyes away from the impressive landscape before her. Everett held out his arms and Claire jumped without hesitation. He caught her easily as Malcolm and Desmond pushed away a smaller boulder against the base of the mountain to reveal a small tunnel entrance about as tall as Malcolm’s waist.
“Ummmm,” Claire said nervously, staring at the small dark entrance with a tight stomach.
“Don’t you trust us?” Desmond asked teasingly.
“You? Absolutely. That tunnel? Not so much.”
“I thought you were learning to level mountains?” Everett arched an eyebrow referencing the comment Toan had made about her magic.
“Hypothetically!”
“It’ll be fine, little treasure.” Malcolm waved her closer to where he stood by the entrance. “It gets bigger once we go inside.”
Claire bit her lips as she stared at the tunnel entrance. Her stomach clenched a bit. It wasn’t the darkness, she was familiar with that. It was the small space that had her nerves rising. She wiped her damp palms on her pants. She hadn’t realized it was a fear of hers until now. “Okay, let’s do it.”
Malcolm went first, his wide shoulders brushing the sides of the tunnel. Desmond went next, murmuring a few words so there was a bright orb that hovered in the space over his head, casting a bit of light into the dim interior. Everett gave Claire a reassuring smile and placed a gentle hand on her back.
