Page 7 of We Steal The Flight

“I know. It’s weird that she came to me, and the watch too. It was given to me by the small creatures. I think they see more and they want change,” I admit, knowing I might sound crazy to anyone else. Witches were taught that small creatures are pests, but I never once believed that. “They want to help us. Between them and the tarot cards, we have all three of the goddesses’ weapons. They were my mother’s, and they belong to my family. They found me for a reason.”

“The broken watch is in Bloodstone Academy. Neither of us got it out in time,” Maz explains, grabbing the showerhead and beginning to wash the blood from me until the water is pink.

“None of us realized what it was.” I shrug. “It should be safe until we get back.” I wince at my injury as Maz softly runs the shower down my back.

“The worst of the cuts are sealed up with a few stitches, but they are deep enough to scar. We will apply ointment and re-bandage them after this. Tell me if it hurts too much.” Maz soothes as he looks after me.

“There are healers here,” Black continues on as I nod once, focusing on him. The pain isn’t too much, but I feel dizzy.

“Where is here?” I ask as Maz pours shampoo and conditioner through the messy waves of my hair, and I try to relax.

“We took all the shifters we could from outside Bloodstone, but we suffered heavy losses that night.” I can hear the sorrow in his voice as my heart cracks. Every single shifter is family, and to lose even one person is too much for them. “Everyone who could fly on their own just flew with us, carrying their young. Anyone else, we carried or swam through the seas on the backs of some of the water shifters. We had made rafts, but it was a mess. The Mindless tore through everything like a wave, and for every life we saved, one was lost. Granny Dubois is with the young who lost their parents and she will make them feel as safe as possible. I’m so glad we didn’t lose her that night.”

I feel like saying I’m sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it. I knew it had to be bad, but it sounds like the Umbral Authority were just planning to kill all the shifters and be done with it. Black’s voice lacks emotion, but I feel his grief underneath. “Getting the children out was a priority for all of us, and that’s what we did best. We got them here. This camp is guarded against the Mindless, high up in the mountains, and is ruled by shifters who hid away.” That’s why it’s cold. “It’s an abandoned town and the Umbral Authority never looked twice at it until now. Every adult shifter knows of this place, to come here if everything goes wrong. We have patrols set up and we are trying our best with the limited fighting-age shifters we have left. Which isn’t much.”

“They are all looking at the two dragons left to save them, but fuck knows how we are meant to do that,” Maz softly grumbles.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper the words, despite how pointless they feel. Our plan went to shit and people died because of it. I look down at the water, seeing my blood still mixed in. “They died because my spell didn’t work and I was blindsided.”

“Hey, no, don’t do that to yourself.” Maz turns my chin so I’m looking right into his pretty eyes. “They died because of the Mindless and the Umbral Authority’s orders. You are one of the very few witches who tried to help shifters, to buy us some freedom and fight on our side. There were many parents who would have died—did die—to make sure their children got out of Bloodstone Academy, and you gave them that chance. Until you, there was no chance for freedom for any generations, and yes, it did go wrong, but we have not lost everything yet.”

“Maz is right.” Maz turns to Black with a shit-eating grin. “Only this once. You’re usually wrong, dickhead.” We both laugh as Black settles his eyes on me. “Witches are turning up here too, ones that have heard the rumors, and they’re bringing their children. Word is spreading and the main issue we’ve got now is we’re drawing a lot of attention.”

“It’s why this world has to be destroyed,” I begin. “We save everyone, a flight out of this world so to speak, and leave it to shatter under a powerful spell.”

“Is that the enchantress’s plan?” Maz asks, with hesitation lacing his tone.

“Yes, and it’s a good plan,” I whisper. “Please give me a chance to introduce you all and get to the bottom of what happened.”

“You have every chance in the world with me. Us.” Maz kisses the top of my head. “I’ll even join the villain’s side for you, if you asked.”

“I’m not asking that,” I whisper back. I lean my head on his chest and close my eyes just for a little bit. Once they both feel like the smell of blood has mostly come off me and I’m bandaged with a cream on my cuts, they help me get changed into a soft pair of leggings, a thin shirt, a jumper that falls down to my knees, and to top it, a coat and a scarf before I’m allowed to leave the house in Black’s arms, despite telling them both I can walk. When we do finally leave the house, the town is just as Maz described it—a snowy wonderland buried into the side of a mountain. The houses are all in pretty bad shape, between the snow‑capped roofs and the gray stone walls that have cracks, or the walls have collapsed altogether. There isn’t much to it except that it looks gloomy and busy. Every house is lit up, crammed with people coming in and out. They all turn, looking at Maz and Black with something close to how they might look at their savior. I can feel the pressure of that look all the way through the town until we finally turn off the main street and around a corner. My eyes flicker over the several shifter kids running past us before we get to a small house that is separate from anything else.

“I think Kane and Vale should be here for this. I can’t feel them here…they aren’t, are they?” Maz and Black look at each other, sharing whatever conversation they don’t want me to know. “Maz. Black. Where are my other bonded?”

“One problem at a time.” Black touches my hand. “You’re right, they are not here, but they wish they could be. Let’s deal with your mother and then the rest.”

My heart jumps at that, because I know they’re not here. I can feel when they’re close, and they’re not close. Where else could they possibly go? I trust Black and Maz, so I nod once. The small house has guards. Four panthers sit outside it in a line, each of their fur colors slightly different. They only step aside when we come up, and I wonder if they’d even be any use stopping my mother if she tried to leave. I’ve seen her fight now, and her power is so strong.

“It’s the enchantress, but she’s not. She is just my mother to us,” I remind them both.

Black opens the door with a grumble, and we step in. They both tense at the sight of my mother seated in an armchair by a roaring fire, Zeph in his panther form stretched out on the floor, and Mell sitting, in a big trench coat on one of the window seats. Lyra smiles widely as Maz shuts the door and the cold out. “You’re looking well! I was worried when I saw the blood.”

“She still must not push herself,” Black all but growls, holding me tight.

Lyra nods once. “Of course. Can I learn the names of my daughter’s bonded?”

“Lyra, this is Black and this is Maz, two of my bonded.” When neither Black nor Maz say a word, I fill in the gap, “Black is my mate too.”

“It’s good to meet you both… I was always close to the dragons, and I probably knew your parents. The few dragons that were left would regularly meet, and I would go with Juniper’s dad to parties they threw,” Lyra offers, likely knowing their parents are dead.

“Let’s stop the bullshit. Did you curse us?” Maz bursts out.

“Curse?” Lyra frowns.

“When they were children, they were cursed. Black can’t touch anybody other than me, not without them dying instantly. Maz, he’s blind without the glasses and blind in dragon form, but again all he can see is me without the glasses on. Kane, who you haven’t met yet, he’s also cursed because his blood kills. It’s complicated, but they saw the enchantress come and curse them,” I tell her.

“Looking exactly like you,” Black adds.