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I blew Drae a kiss when he flew past us, showing off by flying in circles while shooting streams of fire.
Isa chuckled. Such tiny flames.
But her laughter died when Radnor shot past us like an arrow with Helian leaning forward on his back, the prince’s hair streaming behind him like silver flames.
Then a few dozen wyverns jumped from the treetops and followed after us. So we were to have a calvary escort us?
Tari let out a strangled sob as we stretched further from the ground, the waving children beneath us obscured by the clouds.
I leaned back, kissing her wet cheek. All will be well, sister, I projected to her. You will hold them in your arms again soon.
She didn’t answer as she cried harder.
Meanwhile, my heart was breaking, too, and I resented having to be the strong one. I wanted to surrender to my sorrows, but I didn’t have that luxury when the very world was on the verge of crumbling around us.
Chapter Sixteen
Tari
The further we flew away from my children, the worse the foreboding feeling that something sinister would happen to them while we were away. Ash had reassured me it was simply my mother’s nature to fret, but what if it wasn’t?
We made good time, flying much faster than Helian and I had flown across the Fallax islands, passing several smaller islands without stopping for a break. The night air was warmer here than on the island we’d left behind, though the mosquitoes were even worse if that was possible.
Blaze and Drae flew up to our saddle and helped us dismount. As soon as my feet were on firm soil, I ran into Ash’s arms. He held me tight, rubbing my sore back, and then got to work helping Shiri’s mates build a fire. Bea (or Freya, as Isa called her) joined the other wyverns and jumped into the night sky with loud squawks. I hoped they were going to fish for us, for my stomach rumbled. I swatted a mosquito as big as my palm and then stood beneath my dragon’s chest while she blew away the pests with her smoke. Isa’s snarl rattled my insides when Radnor landed. Helian jumped from his dragon with ease, a lightness in his step I hadn’t noticed before. Mosquitoes forgotten, I ran to him, and he took me in his arms.
How was your flight? he asked through thought while kissing me so thoroughly he stole the breath from my lungs.
Invigorating. I sucked in a huge gulp of air after he released me. Yours?
Amazing. He held my hand while motioning toward the dense foliage. Another volcano loomed in the distance, though it didn’t appear to be as big as the one on Ignisium, the satyrs’ island. These islands are so beautiful.
As if to emphasize his point, a swarm of fireflies circled us, fanning out and pulsing like a heartbeat while driving away the mosquitoes.
“Thank you,” I whispered to them.
After our mates set up camp and got to work preparing the fish Bea and the other wyverns had caught for us, I remembered the Retinea herbs that Esther had packed for me. She said the herbs would help with morning sickness as well as shield our minds. Hopefully. I instructed Helian to hang a pot of water over the fire. Then I retrieved the new wooden bowl and pestle Esther had given me and ground down the herbs into a fine powder. Once the water was ready, I steeped the herbs and added a touch of lavender and honey to the water. I then poured the tea into separate wooden cups and passed them out to everyone, instructing them to drink.
“What is it?” Blaze asked while making a face as he inhaled the steam coming off the mug.
“Retinea tea,” I answered. “It’s supposed to shield our minds against the mind spinner.”
Drae frowned into the cup. “How do we know it works?”
“This was the tea I drank the night my memories came back,” I answered as I sat between Ash and Helian on our pallet.
Blaze held the offending cup away. “But it will slow down our magic.”
“Yes.” Shiri nudged his ribs. “But I’d rather have my magic slow than my memories erased.”
Drae continued to look at the cup as if he was deciding whether or not to drink it. “Do you think we’ll come across him?”
“He was at my parents’ cabin a few weeks ago,” Shiri said to him. “There’s no telling where he will be now.”
He was one reason we hadn’t asked Aurora to take us to our parent’s cabin. We couldn’t risk putting her in harm’s way. After more debating, we plugged our noses and drank the skunky concoction, made slightly bearable with lavender and honey.
Then we sat around the fire while the fish fried in a heavy pan.
Isa returned from hunting with what appeared to be a shark fin stuck between her teeth as she laid down on the opposite side of the fire, her tail curled around her legs like a cat resting beside the hearth. The wyverns perched in the tall trees for the night. I had no idea where Radnor was, though I heard his mournful roar echoing somewhere in the distance. I couldn’t believe I actually felt sorry for that stubborn drake.
