About 2 hours later, when the moon begun to rise, Cassian stopped his horse at an opening to rest. The diablos who were behind the horse all sighed in relief, holding their tail bones in pain. Cassian slid off his horse with ease while the girls slid off from behind. Gwyn came off first followed my Emerie and then Nesta.
An hour ago, when the horse was slowing down, Emerie used her part of the chain to catch a pointed rock so the girls could hop off the horse. Phillip neigh loudly, startling Cassian. By the time Cassian got Phillip to calm down, the girls were off the horse and were running in the opposite direction. Cassian, furious by their attempt to escape, lightly kicked Phillip on his side for him to get the girls. The diablos didn't get very far before Cassian scooped them back up and placed them back on the horse, Phillip still riding into the sunset. "Next time you do that, I'll let Phillip trample you!" This time, the girls waited.
Now, Cassian grabbed the end of the chain that was near Nesta and pulled the girls along. The girls tried their best to keep up with the giant Illryian but with the way he pulled them, they just let him drag them around. When Cassian stopped, he tired the chain to a log that the girls were forced to sit on. Phillip was near them while Cassian patted his nuzzle. "Watch them. If they move, neigh as loud as you can." Phillip snorted in understanding. Cassian turned to the girls pointing an accusing finger. "And as for you, don't even think about getting away." With that, Cassian walked away from the diablos and his horse to walk around the desert.
When he was gone, Gwyn turned to Nesta. "Where do you think he's going?" she asked with curiosity. Nesta shrugged. "Probably to get some fire wood."
"In the desert?" Emerie asked this time while looking at her chained ankle. "We can't tell him where Devlon is. Any luck with the chains Gwyn?" Gwyn shook her head. "Nope. He wasn't lying about the locks changing. It's a lot harder than it was before." Nesta groaned. "Well this is just great. Now what?"
It was silent for a moment. Finally, Emerie gasped. "I think I can unlock the chains with my wings." Gwyn and Nesta shot her a look of interest. "I've never done it before, but with these sharp edges, I think it could work."
"It's worth a shot." Nesta replied gesturing for Emerie to give it a try. Emerie nodded and place the sharp end of her wing inside the locket. She turned and twisted and heard the lock click a few times. Until she turned to the right one final turn and soon a loud click was heard. Emerie froze and so did her friends. "Did it work?" Gwyn asked as Emerie slowly took out her wing and spread the ankle brace apart. It snapped in two.
Emerie was free.
Emerie and the others resisted the urge to squeal in delight though Phillip notice their sudden amusement. Nesta gasped and pointed at the horse. "Gwyn quick! The horse!" Gwyn and Nesta wasted no time covering the horse's mouth with their tiny arms. "Get out of here and warn Devlon!" Nesta yelled as Emerie stayed put. "What about you two?"
"It's fine we can handle it!" Gwyn said as Phillip tried to make a sound but nothing came out. Emerie looked at her friends one more time and ran off into Cassian direction.
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Emerie's legs were planning to give up on her. She had been running for so long she was surprised she didn't trip yet. She should've tried to fly. Used her wings instead of her legs. But she couldn't. She didn't know how to fly. And her father forbade her from even thinking about it. But she always thought about it. What it would feel like to fly in the sky like a bird. Emerie looked up at the sky and noticed the white dots that appeared. She didn't know what they were called, but she loved them anyway. Unfortunately, looking up in the sky caused her to not look forward.
Emerie bumped her head on something hard, causing her to stop and fall on her butt. "Ow!" she said, rubbing her head. Emerie looked up and wished she had more time to run away. In front of her was Cassian holding some firewood. Cassian glared at her and dropped his firewood. "You little-!" Emerie squeaked and ran off trying to avoid Cassian's arms. Emerie ran through Cassian's legs, hoping that it would throw off his balance by a lot. But Cassian only turned around and lifted Emerie by the back of her blue shirt. "Where are the others?" he asked as Emerie turned away from him with her arms crossed. "I'm not telling you anything." Cassian rolled his eyes and shot up into the air, his wings carrying him up. Emerie screamed and held onto his arm. Cassian landed onto the edge of the gorge that was above them. Cassian held out his arms onto the edge to intimidate the young girl. Emerie gasped. "Are you crazy! You're gonna kill me!"
"Then tell me where your friends are." Cassian said calmly like he didn't have her life in his hands. Emerie looked down and shut her eyes. "Please don't. I'll tell you but please don't drop me." Emerie replied her eyes still shut. Cassian looked at the terrified female. If he didn't bring her down soon, she might wet herself. Cassian sighed and shook his head, placing her back on the ground. Emerie didn't dare run this time. "W-Why'd you let me go?"
"Cause you can't fly." Emerie blushed with embarrassment. She couldn't fly. And she hated that. She looked away from him as Cassian suddenly smiled. "Tell you what, if you tell me where the girls are, I'll teach you how to fly." Emerie looked straight at him with hope. She hugged herself, eager to know the truth in his words. "You-You promise?" Emerie said as Cassian patted her head. "I promise." Emerie didn't know why, but for some reason, she could trust him. She thought about her friends back with the horse and frowned at Cassian. "Teach me to fly and then I'll tell you." Cassian was a bit startled by her change of tone but Cassian nodded in agreement. "Alright." he replied as he picked up Emerie and spread his wings. "Hold on."
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Cassian was so high in the air that the two of them were almost to the clouds. Emerie's arms were around Cassian's neck her eyes too afraid to look down. Cassian laughed at her reaction. "You gotta open your eyes in order to fly, silly." Emerie peeked one of her eyes a bit to look down but shut them just as fast that Cassian almost missed it. "Try looking up sweetie." Emerie gulped and looked up to meet Cassian's eyes. Cassian laughed again. "Not at me. The sky." Cassian replied as he looked at the sky itself. Emerie followed his gaze and did the same.
The sky was covered in nothing but clouds and fog. Emerie frowned at it and looked at Cassian. "It's just clouds and darkness." she said as Cassian smiled down at her. "Maybe, but if you fly higher, there might be a surprise waiting for you." Emerie couldn't help but smile wide. She loved to be surprised. It was her favorite thing in the world. "Lemme see, lemme see!" Emerie exclaimed trying to climb on top of Cassian's head thinking he was so tall, he could see the whole world from up there. Cassian muffled a laughed and brought her back into his arms. "You gotta learn how to fly to see it." he replied as Emerie pouted. "Can't you just fly me up there?"
"Now where would the fun be in that?" Cassian asked as he loosen his grip a bit. Emerie held on tighter. "Don't drop me please."
"I'm not gonna drop you I promise. Now try flapping your wings for me." Cassian said gently as Emerie looked behind her and tried to move her wings. Her wings began to make a slow rhythm flap. Just enough for her to hover in the air. Cassian smiled at her progress and slowly dropped his arm to his waist. Emerie didn't seem to notice because her eyes were closed. "There you go that's it." Cassian encouraged her as Emerie's wings began to beat faster. Emerie heard the sound of her wings and opened her eyes to look, but once she saw that Cassian was letting her go, Emerie gasped, lost her concentration, and stopped flapping her wings.
Instantly, Cassian's hands were on her waist preventing her from falling. "Cassian, don't do that!" she said wrapping her arms around the male Illryian again. "Do what, letting you fall, or letting you fly?" Emerie was about to respond when a wave of realization hit her. She was flying? She didn't even notice. "Wait, I...wanna try again." Cassian looked at her with shock but then raised his brow and smirked. "Oh really?" Emerie nodded blushing from the way he smirked at her. Emerie closed her eyes and her wings flapped to the rhythm from before. "Try not to close your eyes okay?" Cassian replied as Emerie nodded and opened her eyes. Cassian was slowly letting go of her and Emerie didn't object this time. Her wings began to beat faster, making Cassian let her go with his other arm. Emerie gasped when she realized what was happening. She was flying! Really flying.
Emerie laughed freely and flew straight into Cassian's arms. Cassian 'oof' and together the two Illyrians tumbled through the sky together, each of them holding each other close. Cassian and Emerie laughed in the sky, the darkness unable to consume them through their light. "Thank you so much Cassie!" Emerie said as Cassian blushed at the nickname. "You're welcome. Now, you ready for your surprise?" Emerie nodded rapidly as Cassian flew higher. "Close your eyes, and no peaking." Emerie giggled and covered her eyes.
Once Cassian was only hovering in the air, he looked at the giggling female and chuckled. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." Emerie uncovered her eyes and looked up at the sky. It wasn't filled with clouds anymore. Instead, it was filled with the white balls of light she would look at every night. Instead, there was more. Lots of them actually.
"What are those?" she asked, still looking at the stars with awe. Cassian looked at them himself and smiled. "Those are stars. Long ago, Illyrians would use the stars to find their way home." he explained as Emerie let out an impressive sound. Cassian pointed his fingers up north. "You see that star over there?" Emerie followed his finger as Emerie saw a star shinning brighter than the rest. She nodded. "That was the star that the Illryians would follow. It's called the North star." Emerie eyed the North star amazed by it's brightness. "So, whenever you're alone, always follow the North star. That's where Prythian is. It'll always lead you home." Emerie nodded in understanding until she remembered something. "Um Cassie?" she asked as Cassian looked at her in confusion. "My friends...they um..."
"Oh so that's where they are." Emerie closed her mouth. Now it was her turn to look confused. Cassian rolled his eyes. "I knew your friends wouldn't leave without you. I just figured you could learn some flying lessons." Emerie didn't have time to respond before Cassian descended down from the skies, taking Emerie with him.