6. Dravik
Dravik
“Made new friends. Meet us near the ice tunnels south of the forest.”
I stare at the words carved into the ice, Rhune's handwriting uneven where he pressed too hard, scraping through it. A feeling of dread creeps down my spine as I read them over again.
Others were here. Others with unknown intentions.
And Nyx and Rhune thought it was a good idea to follow them to their lair.
My gaze sweeps the room, taking in the destruction they left in their wake. Deep gouges are carved into the walls and floor, with spiderweb cracks spreading across the domed ceiling. Splatters of dark blood cover every surface, and the scent of iron clings to the air.
Something terrible happened here.
I gaze down at the potted plant in my hand, my heart sinking.
One of the first things Willow told me when she arrived in The Far Place was that she missed the colors of earth.
So I scoured the forest for a rare flowering root called a Sweetfrost that lives at the base of Welwig trees.
If you pot it and water it with Welwig sap, it will bloom within a cycle.
Mine bloomed two cycles ago. Every flower is filled with hundreds of iridescent petals, shifting pink in the sunlight.
I've been carrying it with me the whole time we’ve been gone, keeping it safe and cared for until I could give it to Willow.
I wanted to show her that this world has beauty and color—you just have to be willing to look hard enough for it.
Now, I’ve come home to find her gone. And not only that, but she’s gone away with strange males.
I clench my fists, a deep growl building in the pit of my chest. I can smell them. Their stench lingers in the air, and each ragged breath I take causes rage to pulse through me.
I have to find her. I have to make sure she is okay.
“We need to go, Cin. We have to find Willow and the other two,” I say.
It’s as if he doesn’t hear me. Cin stands at the mouth of the tunnel, looking toward the western forest. “You let her escape.”
“What?” I blow out a puff of air, fighting the urge to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze. “I didn’t do anything!”
He continues as if I hadn’t spoken. “Find her. Feast. Save. Before it's too late. Before it kills us all.”
Okay… that’s weird. I take a step toward him, watching him with wary eyes. “Cin? You okay?”
Still, it’s like he can’t hear me. “Unholy creature,” he says. “Abomination. Destroyer. Kill it. Kill it before it kills us.”
“Cin!”
Cin’s spine snaps straight, and he hauls in a ragged breath. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he says. “I must have… I lost myself for a moment.” He shakes his head slowly, turning in a circle to face me. “I’m okay now.”
“If you say so…” I fix him with a disbelieving look, but don’t press the issue. “So, as I said… we need to go find Willow.”
“Right, of course.” He slowly looks back toward the forest, and his eyes gloss over.
“Cin!”
“Huh?” He turns back to face me, his double-lidded eyes blinking rapidly. “Oh. Right. Let’s go.”
We launch into the sky together, wings beating hard against the whipping wind as he heads in the direction Rhune's note pointed us toward. I keep Cin in my periphery the whole way, watching for another break in his psyche, but he flies steady, jaw set, eyes forward, and utterly focused.
We're maybe halfway to our destination when the craws hit us.
It’s not an attack, but an ill-timed swarm of them tearing out of the Welwig forest, cutting across our path as they race toward the coast. I bank hard to avoid the worst of it, and hundreds of feathers brush past my shoulder as the air is filled with their high-pitched, panicked calls.
What are they running from? And where the hell do they think they're going?
I glance over my shoulder to confirm my suspicions, but I’m no less confused. It seems they really are headed toward the ocean. Craws hate water and prefer to roost inland in the Welwig forests, so this behavior is alarming.
I watch the last of them vanish over the ridge, a sick feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.
I need to find Willow and my brothers.
Cin and I pick up our pace, and it isn't long before I spot the tunnel mouth Rhune described. It’s nothing more than a black gash in the ice, and it would be easy to miss unless you're looking for it.
We lower to the ground, landing just outside the entrance. Before we can step inside, a voice cuts through the wind behind us, freezing us in place.
“Nice of you two to finally show up.”
We whip around to find a red demon and a purple demon standing off to the side with their arms crossed, clearly not surprised to find us near their home.
A growl builds in my chest as I size up the large purple one. We’re similar in size, but I’m taller, and he’s brawnier—which means slower.
I step forward, ready to tear through them to get to his mate. The purple one reacts first, growling back, his wings flaring wide and twitching with restrained rage.
The red one lays a hand flat against the purple one's chest. “Easy, Roark. Dagny told us not to harm them. They’re our… guests.” He says the last word like it tastes bad in his mouth.
Once he’s sure Roark won’t attack, he turns to me with a feline smile. “My name is Malice. You can call me M for short, if you’d like. The big guy behind me is Roark.”
I nod, watching them with wary eyes. “My name is Dravik. This is Cin.”
Malice tilts his head, taking in the mask covering Cin’s jaw. “What’s wrong with his face?”
Cin releases a hissing snarl, his slitted eyes brightening as he takes a menacing step toward Malice, clearly ready for a fight.
“Okay!” I step between them, holding my palms up. “Let’s all start again.” I attempt to keep my anger in check. “It’s nice to meet you both. Now… can you please take us to our brothers and Willow?”
Malice nods, keeping his eyes on Cin. “Sure thing. Follow me.”
Malice leads us into the tunnel, leaving Roark up top to stand guard. I fall into step beside him, close enough to watch his hands, but far enough back to react if he tries anything. Behind me, Cin's footsteps fall into rhythm with mine, but he moves so quietly, I start to forget he’s there at all.
The passage narrows, the ice-rock walls curving in until we're single file. Other tunnels branch off on either side, each one covered by a hide draped over the opening, but Malice doesn't slow down. He doesn't bother to explain where they lead.
The deeper we go, the colder the air gets. The tunnel curves twice more before it opens into a wider stretch lined with doors on either side. Malice stops in front of the first one, raising his fist to knock.
“Special delivery!”
A female voice speaks up from within, its light, tinkling quality causing my heart to stutter. Willow.
Malice pushes the door open, revealing Rhune, Nyx, and Willow piled together on the bed. For a second, I just stand in the doorway and look at her.
Whole. Unhurt. Real.
Willow looks up from the pile, and my heart does a backflip as her lips spread into the most beautiful of smiles.
Then I remember what's in my hand.
I swallow hard and shift the plant behind my back, out of sight. For some reason, I’m embarrassed by it now—worried that it is not good enough for her. If she hates it, I don’t want to give it to her in front of everyone and put her in an awkward situation.
Later. Later, when we are alone, I will give it to her.
“Dravik! Cin!” Willow jumps off the bed, crosses the room, and throws her arms around my waist. I grunt, my heart beating wildly as the little human embraces me. Carefully, I curl one arm around her, returning the hug while keeping my gift safely hidden behind my back.
She pulls away and turns to Cin next, arms already reaching for him. Instead of accepting, he steps back out of range, shaking his head, eyes wide and wild.
“I-I’m sorry,” he croaks. “I don’t want to risk it.”
Before anyone can say anything, he's out the door. Willow's face falls, her arms dropping back to her sides as she stares at where Cin used to be. Then she looks back at me, and her expression brightens again.
“I’m so happy you’re back! I was so worried about you two!”
I hide my smile. I still can't quite believe someone this lovely would care about someone like me. It's not a feeling I know what to do with—someone worrying about me, for once, instead of the other way around. So I just nod and let her have her relief without needing to name mine.
Kevin trots up and bumps my leg with his forehead, his way of saying hello. "Good to see you too, Kevin." I reach down and scratch his head. “You take care of her?”
He bleats indignantly, as if to say, Obviously—someone had to.
The corner of my mouth twitches, close to a laugh. I straighten up, noticing that Nyx and Rhune are already back on the bed, pulling Willow down between them into the furs. I sit on the edge, one leg still braced against the floor.
The air beside Rhune shimmers, and Sasu blinks into existence, landing squarely in the center of the furs. He tips his twitching nose into the air, lets out a little chirrup, then wedges himself between Rhune and Willow.
Circe appears a moment later, low to the ground near the foot of the bed. Her cunning eyes hover over the edge of the bed, and she blinks lazily before hopping onto the bed like Sasu. She climbs straight into the pile, laying her head on Nyx’s chest while hers rumbles with a powerful purr.
Willow props herself up on one elbow, looking between all of them. "Why do you think they all decided to show up tonight?"
Rhune shrugs, one hand absently stroking Sasu's back. "I do not know, pup. But I am glad for the company." He's quiet for a second, thoughtful. "Perhaps it is because of everything we have been through."
Willow tilts her head toward me. "Where's your familiar, Dravik? I don't think I've met him yet."
A bellowing moo cuts off what I was about to say.