Still, he had to fight to make his tense limbs work when it came time to mount. Gem crouched down, and he gripped the saddle to drag himself up onto her back. She straightened as he settled in, and he momentarily squeezed his eyes shut. The dragon wasn’t too much taller than a horse, but it still dizzied him. And though he trusted Gem, some irrational fear scrambled through his mind that she might take off with him before he was ready.
Get a hold of yourself. He shook his head. Never in all his life had he been such a coward. Fearing he had no soul, fearing he would hurt someone or would see someone he cared about hurt—those were rational fears he struggled with—but this? This was childish. He gritted his teeth. Why couldn’t he just let it go?
He glanced at the others who were either mounted or in the process of mounting. What he wouldn’t give for even a small amount of the confident anticipation that radiated from Kaden’s expression. Even Rayad looked ready to get this over with. A groan rose in Jace’s throat, and he looked around for a distraction while he battled his nerves. His eyes caught on Kyrin. She stood with Talas, who listened closely to something she said. When the crete nodded, she gave him a quick smile and then mounted Ivoris.
Talas turned to face his cousin. “Lee, you can work with everyone who has been up already. I’ll instruct the others.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Why can’t we all work together?”
“Because. Now go on. We’ll be right behind you.”
Leetra’s brows shot up at his firm tone, and she cast a glance at Jace. His neck and cheeks burned. Some part of him had hoped his fear wasn’t quite so apparent, but he’d been fooling himself.
“Fine,” she sighed. She set her gaze on the others. “Let’s go.”
In a flurry of wings, most of the riders took to the sky. Jace grabbed the saddle bar when Gem flinched in anticipation, but she stayed where she was. Even so, his heart battered his ribcage. He wasn’t ready for this. Panic-fueled impulses to escape assaulted him with every heartbeat.
Once the dragons flew out of sight, Talas walked over to Gem. Jace shifted, struggling with humiliation, but Talas spoke kindly.
“I just wanted to let you know you’re in good hands. Gem has four years of flight experience with a rider. Dragons are trained never to let their riders fall so, if anything happens, which is highly unlikely, she’ll catch you. You can trust her.”
Jace sucked in a deep breath and gave a brief nod. Right then, Gem looked back, as if asking him to trust her.
Talas walked back to Storm, and Jace watched him mount the dragon without a saddle, since Warin was using his on Shalmar. How the crete could fly without it baffled him.
“Ready?” Talas asked.
Jace glanced around. Everyone watched him, waiting. The pressure of their gazes settled inside his chest. Tremors passed through his hands as he gripped the saddle bar, and he bit his bottom lip, almost too hard. Come on. He had to do this. Sweat trickled down the center of his back. How many foes had he conquered before this? And now he couldn’t even move.
“Just get her up, and she can follow Storm until you’re ready to fly on your own.”
Jace breathed quickly in and out. Just get her up.
“Gem . . .” He worked his throat to try to loosen the next word. Finally, scraping together every fleeing scrap of courage, he commanded, “Unai.”
The seconds that followed sent terror streaking straight through him. He locked his jaw shut to keep from taking back the command as Gem spread her wings. A moment later, she launched into the air, and it was as though both Jace’s stomach and his heart were left behind. He gripped the saddle bar so fiercely his fingers hurt, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
“Elôm,” he gasped, but the speed sucked the plea right out of his mouth.
Somewhere amidst the rushing of blood and wind in his ears, Talas’s voice came through.
“Gem, réma.”
After a few mind-numbing seconds, they stopped climbing and evened out. But Jace couldn’t open his eyes. Not yet. First, he had to focus on breathing. The thought of the ground rushing by, far below, paralyzed him. Yet, he couldn’t just sit there and wait it out. He’d overcome one hurdle—now he had to face the next.
Still barely breathing, he forced his eyes open. The sight stole any air he’d managed to take into his lungs. Many miles of the forest stretched out around them, bringing a dizzying mix of awe and terror. His eyes watered in the cold wind. He closed them for a moment more and, once again, summoned his courage.
When he opened them, he focused on Gem’s head to ignore the heights for the time being. Right now, he had to get his lungs to expand and his heart to cooperate. He wasn’t altogether sure it was even beating. All he could feel was a dull ache in his chest that worked its way through the clenched muscles of his arms and jaw.
Several minutes passed in a blur until, finally, some intelligent thoughts seeped through the pulsing panic. One of the first things to come to his attention was how secure the saddle actually felt. It really would be hard to fall off, unless Gem tilted too sharply. It also became clear how much the dragon loved flying. The act came as naturally to her as walking did to him. These small revelations helped free up his lungs and, though his grip on the saddle bar didn’t loosen, some of his muscles began to relax. Eventually, he risked a look around. Kyrin, Rayad, and Warin flew nearby. When he looked ahead, past Talas and Storm, he spotted the others in the distance, who appeared to be trying out more skillful maneuvers. Jace shook his head. As long as he could take off, fly to a certain destination, and land again, it would be enough for him. He had no desire to attempt anything more. He’d leave that to someone like Kaden.
The last thing Jace paid any attention to was the path of the sun, but a good while later, Talas pulled back to come alongside him.
“Ready to try it on your own?” he shouted over the wind.
Jace swallowed the panic clawing his throat and tingling across his nerves. “I don’t know.”
“When you are, just use the guide bar or commands, and she’ll go wherever you want her to go.”
Talas put more distance between them again, and Jace contemplated. Really, what had he to lose? It wasn’t like he and Gem would crash to the ground if he made a mistake. He couldn’t rely solely on Talas to lead them all the way to the Graylin Valley. He only had one short day to master this. Still firmly grasping the saddle bar with his left hand, he reached for the guide bar. Gem’s head perked up at the connection between them.
With a heart-whispered prayer, Jace nudged the bar to the right. In a smooth motion, Gem moved out to the right of Storm. Talas glanced back and gave Jace a grin. In that moment, relief showered Jace. He hated heights and the terror of falling—he always would—but he’d faced it. He’d conquered the fear. Now he could join the mission and wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment and shame of cowardice.
The sun was well past its peak when the entire group landed back at the edge of camp. When Jace slid down from Gem, his legs almost gave out. He stood, gripping the saddle until his bones solidified again, and relished the firm ground under his feet. If he could, he’d never go up again, but at least that dreaded first flight was behind him. The uncertainty had been the worst.
Patting Gem’s shoulder, he murmured, “Good girl.”
He stepped away from her and pulled in deep breaths. This was the first time his heart rate had a chance to normalize in the last several hours. He hadn’t been so emotionally and physically drained in a long time. Already, his body ached from the prolonged tension. His thoughts drifted toward his cot. It would feel good to sleep tonight.
A moment later, Kyrin came from Ivoris, with a huge grin on her face. “You did it!”
She threw her arms around his neck. He stumbled back a step as his legs wobbled, but then regained his balance. Kyrin didn’t seem to notice. Releasing him, she looked up, her eyes alight. “I am so proud of you.”
Warmth spread through Jace’s chest, momentarily erasing the a
ches and making all the fear he’d faced worth it. It made no difference what anyone else thought. He’d succeeded, and she was proud of him.
The height of the mountains released something inside Timothy. It was as if he could breathe more easily and think more clearly. Perched at the very edge of a cliff, he stared out at the surrounding mountain peaks, lit up in brilliant shades of orange and pink from the sinking sun, and praised Elôm for displaying such glory. If only Josan could see it. Sometimes Timothy didn’t know how the crete survived in their little cottage when he should have lived in the trees. But everyone had to adapt to their circumstances.
Pebbles scattered as Aaron slid down the descent behind him, and he turned away from the cliff’s edge.
“We made good time,” his brother said as he shifted his pack.
Timothy agreed. In another hour they’d be home, both loaded down with fresh meat from two mountain goats. Elôm had answered Josan’s prayers in abundance. At least they would have food on the table long enough to figure out how best to deal with Timothy’s pay cut.
Aaron took the lead, and Timothy followed him along a narrow ledge no sane person would normally consider passable. But they were both as surefooted as the goats they carried. That aspect of their crete blood had not skipped over Timothy—their ease at great heights. He would have loved to build a cabin up here in the cliffs, far above the grime and smoke of the valley. Perhaps someday, if life ever changed. And maybe he’d even have a family of his own. But he’d want to be able to provide for them far better than he could now. He didn’t see things changing drastically enough in the near future.
They picked their way along at a good pace, and caught their first glimpse of Dunlow shortly after sunset. Lanterns bobbed in a line in the distance as the miners headed home for the evening. According to Aaron, they’d still been disgruntled about their pay cuts. Hopefully they hadn’t stirred up any trouble without Aaron there to be the voice of reason.
Timothy’s thoughts snapped away from the miners, and he slid to an abrupt halt when Aaron reached out to stop him. In the growing dimness, about a hundred feet below them, six soldiers marched along the road toward town—their stark uniforms standing out against the deep blues and grays of twilight. Timothy’s arms prickled under his sleeves as a chill swept through him. Neither he nor Aaron said a word until the men were well past.
“What do you think they’re up to?” Timothy asked in a low voice.
Soldiers in Dunlow were rare. He hadn’t seen any since the emperor’s decree concerning the worship of any gods besides Aertus and Vilai. Was that what had brought them here? His thoughts jumped to Josan, and his heart gave a heavy thud.
Aaron shook his head. “Maybe they’re here about taxes. You know how tight-fisted Tolman is.”
His tone held hope that it didn’t mean anything more than that, but doubt wormed and twisted in Timothy’s gut, warning him of something more sinister. He tried to dismiss it. He was probably just on edge because of his conversation with Josan. But one glance at Aaron told him his brother was just as edgy.
“Come on,” Aaron said finally.
At the cottage, they shrugged off their heavy packs and groaned as they stretched their sore backs. Pulling out their bundles of meat, they placed them in a sturdy, locked box. This much food would be a strong temptation for both wild animals and people, even those who normally wouldn’t be considered criminals.
Blowing on his chilled fingers, Timothy followed Aaron to the door, ready to rest, eat, and get warmed up. Josan smiled and stoked the fire as they walked in. “You’re pretty early. I hope that means the hunting was good.”
“We got two nice goats,” Aaron told him, but there was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm in his tone.
Josan frowned and straightened to face them. “What happened?”
Timothy and Aaron hung their coats and equipment by the door as Aaron answered, “We just saw six soldiers on their way into town.”
Timothy watched Josan’s reaction carefully to gauge his concern. The lines in Josan’s forehead deepened, but then he said, “If there were only six of them, it can’t be cause for too much concern.”
Aaron shrugged. “I hope you’re right.”
Luckily, enough of Talas’s instructions from the day before stuck in Jace’s mind, and dragon saddles weren’t too much more complicated than a horse’s. With a couple of glances at the others to be sure he was doing it right, he successfully saddled Gem without the need to ask for assistance—a great relief. His fear of heights was enough of an embarrassment for a while. After fastening all his belongings securely at the back of the saddle, he took a mental inventory one last time. Cold-weather gear would be essential, with winter ready to set in. Satisfied, he pulled on a pair of wool-lined leather gloves.
Sunlight glowed orange low in the trees. He turned to scan the rest of the group. Most of camp still slept at this early hour, though Warin and Lenae stood nearby. Lady Anne and her father, Sir John, had arrived a short time ago to see them off. While the others exchanged their farewells, Jace knelt in front of Tyra and rubbed her neck. He had never left her alone for more than a day before. He glanced around camp. No one seemed to mind her now, but leaving her alone unsettled him.
“I’ll be back soon,” he murmured. If only she could truly understand him. He looked into her trusting eyes. It would be hard to leave her comforting presence. She had always been one of the few constants in his life, and offered a sense of security he hadn’t fully realized until now.
The approach of footsteps drew Jace’s attention. Lenae bent down beside him to pet Tyra’s head.
“Warin and I will look after her,” the woman promised with a smile. “She’s welcome in my cabin whenever she likes.”
Comforted, Jace nodded. He may not trust everyone in camp, but he did trust her and Warin. “Thank you.” He rose to his feet again and gently commanded Tyra, “Stay.”
The wolf tipped her head, but obeyed.
Final goodbyes echoed around Jace, and everyone moved toward their dragons. Mounting Gem, he looked once more at Tyra, and then focused on the day ahead. His heart rate picked up, anticipating the flight. He blew out a slow breath and glanced over at Kyrin, who offered him an encouraging smile. Recalling the pride in her eyes the day before steadied him.
“Our prayers go with you,” Warin told them.
Trask thanked him, and then nodded at Talas and Leetra. “Lead the way.”
The two cretes and their dragons took to the air. Wings flapped all around. With momentary hesitation to gather his courage, Jace commanded Gem to follow. Again, the climb snatched his breath away, but this time he managed to keep his eyes open. The trees rushed by in a dim blur. A wave of fear threatened to take hold but, once they leveled out, he forced it down and relaxed in the saddle.
Their first glimpse of the Sinnai Mountains came into view a couple of hours before sundown. Jace looked on them with interest and a good measure of awe. It had been years since he’d seen any mountains. The jagged peaks were silhouetted against a gold-tinted sky and, below them, rocky brown terrain and clumps of trees cast long shadows in the evening light.
He looked south. Though it was not quite visible from this distance, Valcré wasn’t far away. He grimaced at the thought of it; not only because of the emperor, but also because of his past memories. He couldn’t think of Valcré without Jasper’s harsh voice echoing in his ears, or remembering the cold rejection of eyes peering at him as if he were something altogether inhuman.
Fixing his gaze back on the mountains, he shook off the recollections. The number of miles they had covered was incredible. On horseback, the journey would have taken two full days to reach this point, but the dragons had made it in less than a day, with only two short stops along the way. Though he would always prefer horses as his mode of travel, Jace couldn’t deny the practicality of flying.
The large shape of another dragon soared into the sky when they neared the mountain cliffs. Ahead of the group, Tal
as waved a greeting. Jace recognized the new dragon rider as Captain Darq, and they followed him deeper into the mountains. Gliding between the steep peaks, they came to a narrow plateau of rock and scrub bushes, and set down there. It was barely wide enough to accommodate all the dragons, and Jace had to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder, where there would certainly be a steep drop. With confident maneuvering, Darq turned his dragon around to face Talas and Trask.
“I’m glad you made it in good time.” His eyes made a quick sweep of the group, and he nodded in what appeared to be satisfaction.
“Any news?” Talas asked.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on Keth.” Darq gestured over his shoulder. Jace looked past him, but whatever town he referred to wasn’t in sight. “A company of soldiers arrived two days ago. Yesterday, they sent a small party north, I assume, to Dunlow. Then, this morning, the rest of the company followed.”
“I guess they didn’t find anything in Keth then.”
Darq shook his head. “It would seem not.” His gaze shifted to Trask. “I don’t like that they’re ahead of us. We must try to overtake them, but we can’t pass over Keth just because they did. I know you’ve traveled far today, but would you and your people be willing to make a quick search of the village this evening?”
“Of course,” Trask said without hesitation.
“Good. It’s only a small settlement, so it shouldn’t take long. Once we know Josan isn’t there, we’ll head to Dunlow. I’ve sent the others ahead to set up camp and keep an eye on things. If you can avoid the soldiers and make a quick search of Dunlow tomorrow morning, we can move on before they’re finished and keep ahead of them.”
Trask nodded. “We’ll do everything we can to make that happen.”