Chapter 29
Rauk throws the door open, and we race outside. Rauk takes down the warriors watching the door, and we race to the front of the building. Redara lands hard, and we’re already almost on top of her. Rauk takes Auri from my arms. “Go!” he shouts, and I race towards Redara.
Rauk’s coming up with Auri, I mentally shout the warning to Red. I climb her leg as fast as I can and settle in place on her back. Rauk’s there a moment later, settling Auri in front of me, where she can lean against me.
He bends forward and kisses her forehead. “I love you; I’ll come for you soon.” He meets my eyes. “I don’t have anything to send with you—food, furs.”
“We’ll be fine; we’ll make it.”
There’s a new commotion on the ground. “Rauk!” I hear Thorne shout.
“Go!” Rauk says. He meets my eyes one last time, and they he drops off the side of Redara.
The front door to the building slams open, and warriors come pouring out.
“Go, Redara!” he shouts. Redara’s already moving.
Seconds later, we lift into the air. My heart nearly drops in my throat when I see Rauk surrounded by warriors.
Thorne and several of Rauk’s warriors join him, and then we’re too high up for me to see anything more.
Neither Auri nor I say anything as we fly over the city.
It only takes minutes for us to get to the wall.
There are a few guards on the walls but not enough.
My heart feels heavy as we soar over the walls and out into the land beyond.
“You okay?” I ask against Auri’s ear. She nods but doesn’t say anything. My heart is still racing, and I try to take a calming breath. There’s a dark shadow, and my heart jolts, until I realize it’s Nox. He levels out to fly next to us.
Shouldn’t he be with Rauk? I send to Redara.
Rauk sent him with us to make sure we made a clean getaway.
Her words land heavy on my chest. Are you okay? Did you get injured at all? I ask Redara.
No, I’m good. You both?
We’re good, I send back. Can you ask Nox to go back and help Rauk?
His bonded doesn’t want him there. He doesn’t want the enemy to see him.
I make a sound of frustration. I know that, and I get that. But they’ve already seen you; they already know we have dragons. Tell him to tell Rauk to use the dragons...all of them. Let the people fight back and end this thing once and for all.
I’ll tell Nox, but I can’t guarantee he’ll tell his bonded any of this.
I know. I try to get more comfortable on Red’s back. I can’t afford to think about the long, cold ride ahead of us, so I focus on Auri instead. “How did they get to you?”
“They came for me only a little after you and my brother left. They killed all the guards with us.”
“What about Elowen?” I ask.
She sucks in a breath; I can feel it. “I don’t know. They took me from her; I don’t know what happened to her after that.”
I lean forward and put my forehead against her temple. “Well, at least we finally got you on Redara.”
“This is pretty amazing.” I have to lean forward to hear her words, but I catch them. I watch as Nox banks towards us and moves in close to Redara; then he turns. I watch over my shoulder as he flies back the way we came. I watch him until he’s too small to see anymore.
You okay? I send to Redara.
Yes.
She doesn’t give me any more than that, and I let it go.
Auri settles more fully against me as we continue to fly, and I get lost in my thoughts.
It's definitely nicer flying during the day than at night. It’s still cold, and the wind rushing at us is brutal; but it’s better than the dark of night.
Hour after hour passes, and I keep expecting Auri to ask to stop.
But she’s a trooper. I try not to bother Redara with checking in with Nox.
Nox definitely isn’t one for details. The first time we reached out, they were still fighting. So I haven’t reached out again.
Hour after hour drags by. I try to think of anything and everything to make the time pass.
I tell Auri stories of my growing up. We look for things as we fly; we try anything that will keep our minds off what’s going on.
My face has long-since gone numb, and my back aches.
My body feels like it’s been through the war.
I focus on just keeping us seated and making it one more hour.
Finally, when I don’t think we’re ever going to make it, the outline of the Wolf Kingdom comes into view.
Is that it? I ask wearily.
It is. We made it. Where do you want to land?
Can you take us to Rysden and Farrah?
A few minutes later, we land in the open area outside Rysden and Farrah’s castle.
I take in the castle, sort of amazed that we made it.
My body is too stiff to move, and I can’t help but think about the last time I was here.
It feels like a lifetime ago. The front door opens, and I turn towards it warily.
Rysden steps out, and Farrah follows him a moment later. “Harper? What are you doing here?”
I look down at them. “Hey, Guys.” Even I can hear the weariness in my voice. “We came here for safety. Is it okay if we stay with you for just a little bit?”
Farrah looks at Rysden in concern. “Of course, but what’s going on?”
“This is Auri,” I tell them. “Auri, this is King Rysden and his mate, Farrah. Rysden and Farrah, this is Auri, Rauk’s sister.”
“Hi, Auri,” Farrah says with a small wave.
I turn my gaze to Rysden. “I need help to get her down.”
And then Auri, in Auri fashion, says, “I can’t walk.”
To their credit, neither of them bat an eye. “I’m thinking maybe I can kind of pass her down to you, Rysden.”
He nods and steps close to Redara. Redara, bless her heart, lowers herself to the ground, making it a little easier.
I manage to get Auri’s legs free from Redara, and then I hold her with shaky arms around her chest. “I’ll catch her,” Rysden says.
And I let her go a little further and a little further.
Eventually, I have to let her go and hope Rysden catches her.
He does, and I release the breath I was holding.
I try to move my own legs and can’t get them to respond; they’re numb from sitting for so long.
Eventually, I make my way off of Redara’s back.
Farrah’s in my face the moment I’m free from Redara, and then she’s hugging me. I pat her back. “It’s good to see you, Harper. We’ve missed you.” She finally releases me.
“I haven’t been gone that long,” I remind her.
I can see the questions in her eyes, but I don’t answer any of them. I turn to Rysden. “Do you mind carrying her inside?”
He nods and starts towards the house. I make my way to Redara’s front. Are you okay?
Yes. I’m going to head to my usual place to hunt and then rest. Let me know if you need me.
I put my hand on her snout. Thank you for getting us here. And—
If I hear anything, I will let you know, she says, knowing what I was going to ask before I even asked.
Be safe.
She huffs out a response and then takes a few steps and lifts up into the air.
I watch her go a moment and then turn back to Farrah, who hasn’t gone inside yet.
She walks next to me as we walk towards the front door.
And though I can tell she’s nearly bursting with curiosity, she doesn’t say anything.
When we get inside, I take in the familiar features.
It doesn’t look like much has changed; I feel like so much has changed though.
I follow Farrah into the main living space and walk over to where Auri sits on the couch. “Hey, Kiddo,” I say, slipping in next to her.
“You both look exhausted. The guest room is empty and available for you both to stay in,” Farrah says, taking control. “Are either of you hungry?”
“Starving,” I admit for both of us. “We haven’t eaten at all today.”
Farrah’s eyes widen. “That’s terrible. I’ll go track down something.”
“Thank you,” I call out after her.
When I look back at Rysden, he has a serious look on his face. Well, Rysden always has a serious look on his face, but he’s pretty intense right now. “Where’s Rauk?” he asks quietly.
I think about where to even begin. Suddenly, weariness takes a hold of me, and I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open one more minute.
I vigorously rub my eyes with the palms of my hands.
My eyes feel like sandpaper, but they’re not nearly as bad as they were the night I rode to the Dragon Kingdom with Rauk.
I look down at Auri, and she’s practically asleep sitting up. “It’s a long story,” I start.
Rysden glances at Auri and then stands up. “We can talk in the morning.”
“Here,” Farrah says, joining us. “I grabbed just a few things, so at least you don’t have to sleep on an empty stomach.
” She hands us a plate with some hard cheese, bread, and fruit.
I offer it to Auri first before taking a few snacks for myself.
As soon as the food hits my stomach, I realize how hungry I am.
I reach out and take some more of everything.
“How long does it take to get to the Dragon Kingdom flying?” Farrah asks as we eat.
“Somewhere around twelve hours,” I answer in between bites of food.
Her eyes widen. “And you didn’t eat in all that time?”
“No.” I keep my answer brief. I really don’t want to get into everything with them in front of Auri; she’s already been through enough today. “Thank you for the food and thank you for letting us stay here.”
“How long will you be staying?” Farrah asks, and I don’t miss that Rysden’s eyes stay on me.
“I’m not sure,” I admit after a beat.
Farrah reaches out and puts her hand on Rysden’s, and he folds her hand into his. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need.” She stands up. “You both look like you’re going to fall asleep; let’s get you to your room. Do you have a bag or...anything?”
I shake my head. “We didn’t bring anything with us.” I smile at Auri and knock her arm with mine. “We’re winging it.” I don’t look at Farrah, because I’m pretty sure she must think I’ve totally lost it. “All right. Let’s get upstairs.” I lean forward to pick her up, but Rysden beats me to it.
“I’ll carry you upstairs if that’s okay with you,” he says in a quiet voice. Auri glances over at me and then nods at Rysden. We make the trip up the stairs, and I feel like the steps get steeper with each step. It takes much more effort than it should to get to the top stair.
“Are you okay, Harper?” Farrah asks softly.
“Yeah, I’m just totally spent after riding all day.”
“I can’t imagine.”
We follow Rysden down the hallway and to the guest room.
When he steps inside and disappears out of our line of sight, Farrah puts her hand on my arm.
“Did something happen?” I nod, suddenly feeling the weight of everything that’s happened since I got to the Dragon Kingdom.
Farrah must be able to tell because she drops her arm and steps back.
“Like you said, we’ll talk in the morning.
Get some sleep.” She closes in on me for a hug. “It’s really good to see you.”