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My eyes shot open, the beginnings of dawn overhead, the two moons receding as the sky started to lighten. I hurtled downward, still on my back, and groaned as my body slammed back into the bed I had been sleeping in.
“Are you okay?” Oliver’s worried face swam into view as the remnants of my time with Callan came flooding back to me.
“Huh?” was all I could say, my mind a jumbled mess trying to fit together all the pieces.
“I don’t know if it’s a good thing,” Nia mused from her place in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “But things have certainly gotten more interesting since you got here.”
“What the fuck was that?” A slight twinge burst to life in my lower back; I must have tweaked it when I fell back down, but the telltale itching of my accelerated healing was already kicking in. “That was the weirdest dream I’ve ever had. I dreamt I was visiting Callan back in the mortal realm, but it really didn’t feel like a dream. More like a . . . vision or something.”
Oliver looked at me with an appraising look, the gears turning behind his eyes. I waited for an explanation, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, confusion spreading across his features as he glanced towards the sky. “I didn’t see any magic; I can’t say for certain that I know what that was. Do you have any more hidden talents you don’t know about?” he quipped, but there was a layer of mirth behind his gaze.
“Bite me,” I grumbled, pushing away my disappointment at realizing it had actually been a dream. Seeing Callan again so clearly had thrown me for a loop. I could still picture him, inches from my face.Jesus, get a grip.I refused to let him affect me so much.
“I’ll do some research and see if I can figure out what happened,” Oliver assured me, exiting the hut dismissively before I could voice my protest. Call me crazy, but an edge of suspicion slithered around in my mind. Oliver did not seem the least bit concerned, and as far as I knew, floating in the air was not a part of my magical being package. I knew Fae couldn’t lie, but did he know more than he was letting on?
“Get dressed, we need to get going,” Nia told me before she swished back out, already clad in her armored gear, the door to my hut shutting softly behind her.
ChapterSeven
Two hours later, we stood in an outcropping toward the edge of the stronghold, readying the pagu to fly. I’d shaken off my earlier dream but stayed determined to pester Oliver about it as soon as I got the chance. The more I thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with me.
The pagu did have structured harnesses, which Aura was very vocal about hating to wear. Nia yelled at her as she tried to strap it on, the intimidating bird flapping her wings every time she tried to get close enough. “You are way too old to be acting like a child!”
‘It’s such an ugly color,’she scoffed, looking entirely serious. The frustrated sounds that exploded from Nia were loud as they bickered back and forth until Nia eventually managed to convince her to put on the harness. It was fairly simple, with two large side pockets for us to store gear and a little built-in seat for the rider to sit more comfortably. But Aura was right, it was ugly as fuck. Strips of white and black material were woven together in nonsensical patterns, hanging down to her sides. She looked like a chicken wearing a zebra-striped dress, and I wisely decided not to laugh.
“Pagus are vain creatures,” Oliver whispered conspiratorially, making sure to keep out of earshot of Aura. “But she is particularly self-centered.”
“There’s no way we’re all going to be able to fit on Aura,” I mused.
‘We won’t be alone. Varus and Lithia, two of our unbonded, will be joining us,’Aura chimed in, her displeasure strong enough to cut steel.I was somewhat surprised by that. I’d just assumed that all adult pagus would have formed a bond already.
Like he was summoned, a pagu emerged from beneath the cliff where we stood, his large wingspan kicking up enough wind to cause me to take a step back or risk being knocked over. He looked a lot like Aura, with the same spiked head, razor-like beak, and shimmering feathers, but he almost doubled her in size, his eyes a darker shade of red, so dark they almost looked black. A much smaller female flew up closely behind him, her talons glinting in the sunlight as she landed surely on the ground.
‘You’re late, Varus,’Aura admonished, eyes pinned on the larger male. Varus’s crimson eyes settled on her. Given his size, I thought he might challenge her, but he didn’t, only giving her a gruff nod of acknowledgment as he tucked his wings against his frame, moving towards Nia where she held a harness ready and waiting.
‘We really need to redesign these,’Varus grumbled, more to himself than anything and I snorted a laugh. His voice in my mind was low, much lower than Aura’s.
‘I think they make us look friendly,’the female, Lithia, said as she moved past me and over to Nia.
Once everyone was saddled, we loaded up the harnesses with our bags, readying to venture out. I had donned a similar outfit to Nia’s and it was surprisingly light, molding to my body like a second skin.
“Anytime you are outside of the cloaking magic of the Briar Stronghold,” Nia had told me as we had approached the takeoff zone, “you must be wearing your armor. Casimir’s forces are vicious, and with Queen Tantaii back and searching for that ring, they’re going to come for you. We need to get your memories back as quickly as possible. That armor could mean the difference between life and death for you.” She looked me up and down grimly, and I tried not to be offended. “Especially you.”
Great.
I dropped onto Varus’s back, his magic immediately locking us into place as we waited for Nia to get situated, still on tentative ground with Aura after their argument earlier. Oliver made quick work of mounting Lithia’s smaller form. Once we were all seated, Varus launched into the sky, climbing upwards with the strong strokes of his wings, Aura shortly following suit.
“The temple is about a week’s ride from here. It won’t be easy. It’s nestled right in the center of the Queen’s territory,” Oliver called out, loud enough to be heard over the roar of the wind and wings. “We will need to take a small detour about halfway in a town called Mossemere to see an old friend who can help us travel to the Goddess’s temple and hopefully get us there safely. When we are airborne, we should be relatively safe, but when we make camp . . . It will never do us harm to be over-prepared.”
Without further ado set off, steadily making our way through the sky. I was grateful for the double layer of clothes I was wearing, the biting wind on my face a stark reminder of my original arrival at the Briar Stronghold. Beneath me, Varus acted as a small heater, just enough to keep the edge of chill from completely frosting me over.
“I’m Rowan!” I shouted at Varus, leaning forward so I could be as close to his ear as I could reach, making sure he heard me over the wind. He flinched underneath me, his big body jerking with the movement and I death-gripped the harness, even though the bonds around my legs never wavered.
‘You don’t have to yell,’his deep voice grumbled in my head as he righted his body beneath mine.‘We have very sensitive hearing. You’d have to talk in the slightest whisper for me not to hear you. And I know who you are.’
“Everyone seems to,” I muttered. I liked being invisible, able to blend into the background when I wanted to, and that wasn’t something I could do anymore. Not here.
‘Getting rid of that ugly yellow hair would be a good start.’
