Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Three: Cavalry to the Rescue
Adariel stood rooted to the spot for a moment or so, feeling breathless with horror as he watched the griffin soar high into the sky with Ella screaming at the top of her lungs.
He couldn't move.
Then a strangled cry rose from his chest and he scrambled up the rocks as nimbly as a spider. He was so scared of the abyss behind him that he felt sick: he kept slipping, losing his grip, and sliding back down the slope so many times that his thin fingers were soon grazed and his bony knees got scratched bad enough to bleed.
His heart thudded rapidly, but he hardly noticed: he could think of nothing but the enormous denizen carrying his brother's partner farther away with every beat of its monstrous wings.
He prayed to the gods, known and unknown, to keep her safe until help could arrive.
When he finally saw the tip of Xaphile's tail among the rocks before him, he uttered a sob of relief.
"Big Brother, help!" he cried with what little breath he had left; his little hands tugged at the sleeping boy's long hair, and he frantically scratched at Gus's clothes until he had a tuft of cloth in his fingers. "Quick, you have to wake up and help her!"
Xaphile opened his eyes sleepily; Gus jumped as if a snake had bitten him.
"Are you crazy?!" he yelped. "What in the name of Asgrog are you—?!"
"It's Ella!" Adariel wailed hysterically. "A monster—a giant griffin snatched her away and carried her off! Please, we must help her!"
"What?!" Xaphile gasped, getting his feet at once. "What happened?! Where did she get taken to?!"
"It flew toward the Mountains!" Adariel cried. "You have to follow it!"
"We can't!" Gus scoffed, horrified. "We can't follow a griffin from the ground! It's impossible!"
"Then I'll follow it from the air!" Xaphile snapped. "Stay here!"
Adariel watched as he began to rip his shirt off, frantically dragging it over his head. Hands trembling, he tossed his clothing on the ground and unbuckled the clasps keeping his wings pinned against his back. He clenched his fists and they unfurled with a rustle.
Gleaming black feathers caught the light when he went to the edge of the precipice: the wind blew beneath them and lifted them into the air.
"Phil, are you sure you can do this?" Gus squeaked, looking down at the chasm. "Can you really follow her?!"
"Vordt taught me enough to work with," he countered. "Wait right here until I come back."
And without waiting for a response, he began to flap, squeezing his eyes shut as his monstrously huge wings caught the air. Faster, and faster, he flapped, until his body grew lighter and his feet began to rise, the toes of his boots dragging against the stone as he hovered.
Tiptoeing forward, he spread his arms, dove off the edge of the cliff—and flew.
"Bring her back!" Gus bellowed, waving. "Bring her back, and hurry! Griffins are deadly!"
But Xaphile was already soaring away.
Soon, he was little more than a wobbling speck.
Adariel swallowed, since he could feel his brother's anxiety even from this distance.
"Damn it to the nine fires!" Gus growled, drawing Adariel's gaze. "Even a giant monster such as a griffin will be hard to spot if it went into the mountains... this is bad, very bad."
"Don't worry, he'll find her!" Adariel whimpered, wringing his little hands. "He's bonded to her!"
"Well, it explains why the road was abandoned," Gus growled, clutching his hair. "Shite!"
"I hope she's okay," Adariel whispered, "what are we going to do if she gets hurt?!"
Gus didn't answer that question.
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Xaphile flew as if the devil was right behind him.
He glided on the air currents, and occasionally flapped his wings to keep himself level in the air, scanning the rocks below.
His back screamed at him from disuse of his muscles, and he found himself wishing that he'd exercised that little cramping knot even when he wasn't trying to fly
Keeping his mind focused on the bond between him and Ella, he shot past rocky crags, rising higher and higher, sending his shadow passing over the mountains in the full light of day. He flew so quickly that he ended up reaching the mountain range within ten minutes.
Flying cut off more time than he'd realized was possible.
Five monstrous peaks rose into the blue sky, casting their shadows on the valleys and gorges below. He looked around, searching for some sign of Ella, trying to connect with her securely.
Ella! he silently called. Ella, can you hear me?! Answer!
There was nothing.
He could feel her presence, but it was faint, as Adariel's had once been.
Cursing, he flew into the first gorge.
"Ella?!" he shouted, cupping his hands to his mouth; he barely heard himself past the wind rushing in his ears. "Ella?! Ella?! Can you hear me?! Answer me!"
There was nothing.
Fury, fear, and something dark twisted in his gut.
Lips contorting into a snarl, he pulled his head back and uttered a scream so loud it was almost a roar: his cry resounded from the rocks, echoed through the gorges, and died away only in the far distance. There was nothing but silence after that for the longest time.
But then...
A distant scream came back at him through the gorges.
High-pitched, terrified, but just as loud and raw.
Female.
"Ella," he hissed, heart jumping. "I'm coming."
He rose higher and dove back down for speed, keeping his arms tucked to his sides to reduce air resistance. As he flew, he drew in another deep breath and screamed, long and hard.
He listened as it echoed.
Then, like before, Ella's scream came back at him, this time much louder.
He angled his body and swerved around the side of a mountainous cliff, and to his shock, he saw the beast that was carrying her flying far ahead of him. His eyes widened and his blood ran cold, hair standing on end.
The beast holding her looked like it had come crawling out of a mythology textbook.
"Oh, my God," he whispered. "That's a real fucking griffin!"
He staunched his fears and took a deep breath, letting out another scream.
"I'M COMING, ELLA!" he roared. "HANG ON!"
His voice echoed.
He listened.
Sure enough... "Help me, Xaphile!"
The monster hadn't hurt her yet.
He felt relief flood through him and flapped, soaring higher and then diving down, repeating this strange motion to increase his speed. He began to gain on the beast holding her captive, and he could eventually see her stuck in the beast's front claw.
He ended up so close that he could see her face.
She let out a cry of relief when she saw him.
"Phil!" she wailed. "Help me! Help me! I hate this! Get me back on the ground, p-please!"
"I'll try," he called, staying close but not close enough for the beast to notice. "Just, hang in there! I can't get any closer! If I do, I could get knocked out of the sky! Or it could drop you!"
"No!" Ella screeched, clinging to the griffin's claws. "Stay back, then! I don't want to fall!"
The creature carried her farther and farther into the mountains with Xaphile remaining close behind, watching its every movement with frantic, uncertain eyes. Ella was clinging to the beast for dear life, and he was close enough to feel how scared she was.
She was terrified.
More than terrified.
Not that he blamed her.
If it had been him dangling helplessly in the clutches of some monster with nothing beneath his flailing feet but empty air? Yeah, he'd likely have crapped himself.
Suddenly the griffin veered toward a rugged rock wall and rose.
Xaphile flapped hard to follow it.
Then it let go of her.
"ELLA!" he cried, horrified. "NO!"
Screaming, the girl plummeted down and landed in a mighty nest perched on top of a peak like an untidy crown. The nest was made of uprooted, leafless trees. The Griffin soared away a good distance, but before it could circle back around to come in for a landing, Xaphile bolted down from the sky and landed next to Ella in a flurry of wings.
Before he could so much as grab her, she lunged, wrapping her arms around his neck.
She buried her face in his shoulder, shaking so violently that it scared him.
"I thought I would die," she wailed softly, not moving her face. "I thought I would die, Xaphile!"
"Save that for later! We have to find a way to get out of here," he hissed. "I don't think I'm strong enough to fly while carrying you! I used up most of my strength just following that thing here!"
As he spoke, the griffin came sailing back down and landed, uttering a screech.
Piercing electric blue eyes resembling a husky's looked at them hungrily.
He instantly recalled Krishna's lesson on bonding with animals and decided to try it.
It was the only idea he had to keep it from attacking.
He hummed lowly in the back of his throat, letting the river of magic inside him rise to the surface of his body, and focused on the beast's eyes. Trying to enchant it, to send his magic inside its mind through its pupils and connect with its thoughts the way he'd done with Skitsy.
It was like snake charming, almost, but far deadlier with a creature like this.
"Xaphile?" Ella whispered, clutching his forearm. "I.... I've never fought a griffin before."
"That's fine," he said softly, not looking away from the beast's eyes; it clawed the ground, still staring right at him, uttering another screech. "Just... stay still."
"What do we do?!"
"We find a way to get the hell out of here!" he murmured. "Look for one, okay? I'm trying to bond with it to prevent it from attacking the two of us. Just look for a way out. I can tell that my efforts are definitely keeping it from attacking, but I can't... I can't get inside this thing's head!"
And for whatever reason, he couldn't.
There was a force preventing him from connecting with it.
Ella frantically looked around.
"There's only one way," she said, shaken. "The edge of the nest. We have to get into the edge!"
Xaphile blinked.
And just like that, the spell he'd cast across the creature broke.
With a screech, it crouched like a lion getting ready to pounce, brown wings spreading wide.
Xaphile immediately jumped to his feet with a curse and grabbed Ella's hand, struggling to pull her through the thick feathers all around them; the terrified girl stumbled along with him, breathing hard.
When the beast finally lunged, Xaphile and Ella managed to throw themselves out of the way just in time and burrowed under the feathers; they both kept crawling forward until their fingers came up against the side of the nest.
He clawed a hole into the side, then jumped up.
"Go!" he hissed. "Go, go! I'll distract it!"
The griffin's head snapped around to look at him when he lunged away from her, wading through the feathers.
"Xaphile!" she squeaked. "What are you doing?!"
"Over here, feather brain!" he snarled, waving his arms. "Get going, Ella! Now! I can fly, but you can't, so you need to get the fuck out of sight!"
The griffin lowered again, as if it planned to jump, but just as Ella turned and began to wriggle among the tree trunks to take shelter, the Griffin saw her and its head swiveled. His heart stopped when the beast lunged at her instead.
"ELLA!" he bellowed. "NO!"
But it was too late.
The denizen caught hold of her leg between its beak and bit down, slicing into her soft skin and severing the muscles in her lower leg.
He felt the acidic sting. Felt her fear. But the moment she let out a hysterical shriek of pain and the smell of her blood hit his nose, his mind went dark with a feeling that was all too familiar. A black haze obscured his vision and he let out a convulsive snarl of rage.
Fueled by fury and a bout of adrenaline, he jumped into the air and brought his wings down, soaring even higher.
He flapped harder than he'd ever done before, and once he was high enough, he flipped out of the sky and let his huge black wings snap shut. He dove down at the monster headfirst, and like he'd done to take down the salamander during his coming of age trial in Calcoon, he flipped at the last second so he was falling feet first, back arched and arms poised to strike.
When his feet smashed into the griffin's skull, he brought his fists down with a bellow, using all of his strength, fueled by the momentum of his fall, to cause the creature the most possible damage and pain. With a screech, it let go of Ella's limb and reared back, allowing her to drag herself out of danger. Whimpering, she scrambled in among the tangle of branches.
But Xaphile didn't let up.
The fall wasn't nearly as high as when he'd jumped off the cliff.
It hadn't killed the Griffin, merely wounded it, and he was still blind with rage.
Snarling like a wild animal, he punched and clawed at the beast's brilliant blue eyes and beak with his razor-sharp nails. Its head swung back and forth with deafening screeches, but he was relentless, slamming and gouging until he saw blood running from his hands and nails.
When it snapped at him, Xaphile hissed and let its head swing him into the air, spreading his own wings and catching an air current to glide down towards the other side of the nest. The beast jerked its bleeding head back and uttered another deafening sound.
Xaphile's nostrils flared.
He could still smell the metallic scent of Ella's blood, and it was literally driving him insane.
His thoughts clouded over with every breath he took, making him want to destroy the cause of this smell, to end it, but instead of coming after him, the griffin started tearing at the spot where she had disappeared. She had crawled so far into the branches that its beak couldn't reach her any longer, but for whatever reason, it kept going after her.
Xaphile vaguely wondered if it was the smell of her blood.
That had to have been it.
It tore away whole tree trunks, but every time it came close to her hiding place, the girl thrust her way into the next gap. It made Xaphile want to slaughter the creature, but he called himself back enough to realize that the deep gash on her leg was bleeding badly, and the twigs and branches were practically impaling her.
Now was not the time to fight off a monster five times his size.
He needed to get her out of danger.
He could feel the branches tearing at her clothes, scratching up her face, digging into her sides, all floating across their link.
The furious beast had already torn half the side of the nest to pieces when he heard a familiar voice echoing through the gorges, so loud and angry that the griffin's head swiveled.
He felt his stomach jerk as a familiar presence entered his awareness, a violent red itch that suffused his head with feelings of bitter, begrudging reassurance.
Xaphile took a deep breath and gave an answering scream that shattered the air.
A violet itch suddenly filled his head, meshing with the red, and feelings of relief subdued him.
It's Vordt! Ella shouted into his mind. Xaphile, your uncle is coming! That was his voice!
"Prince Xaphile!" another voice shouted. "Where are you?!"
"HELP!!" Ella shouted. "Help! We're up here! Up here!"
The Griffin swung its head to look her way again, but Xaphile flew over the edge of the nest and flapped, trying to figure out where she was. His eyes flashed across the side of it until he spotted her small white hand extending from the side. He started, watching as Ella wriggled her head out through the branches as well so she could peer down into the gorge.
She balked when she saw the drop beneath her.
"There's no way down!" she screeched, horrified. "What do I do?!"
Xaphile immediately dove down and grabbed her hand, taking in her scratched appearance with a horrified feeling in his stomach. He tried to pull her free of the gap, but the opening was too small; frantic, he started clawing at the wood with his nails.
Vordt was coming, though, with help from the sound of it.
Wings rushing, the faery zipped into view and shot toward the giant nest with a white-winged blonde boy at his side, both of them baring their fangs when they saw the situation.
Xaphile's eyes widened when he saw the second arrival's face.
"Bonks?!" he squawked. "What are you doing here?!"
"We're coming, Xaphile!" the blonde shouted. "Don't let it eat either one of you! Got it?!"
As he said it, all of his brothers came flying into view.
Vordt sailed toward them, beating his wings vigorously, and stopped beside Xaphile, flapping hard to remain aloft. Xaphile frantically kept scratching away. The Griffin retreated when Bonks and his brothers sailed over the top, uttering a hoarse screech and opening its beak menacingly.
The moment it tried lunging for one of them, however, the nest came alive with a brilliant green glow and tore itself apart. Feathers flew into the air as the trees forming the foundation snapped up in every direction and smashed into the beast, hurting it and trapping it both.
It screeched and flailed, smashing the trees to bits.
He looked up to see Bonks and his brothers singing in harmony, all of them glowing green.
"Shite," Vordt hissed, drawing his eyes again. "We can't risk crushing her. We won't be able to use magic to widen the gap."
"Don't worry, I can see another opening!" Ella cried, flailing her hand. "Fly up a little higher!"
"If you say so, but please," Xaphile whispered, grabbing her hand and looking at her with angry eyes, "please be careful!"
"I will!" Ella promised, shooing him off with a frightened expression: he nodded and planted his legs against the side of the nest, drawing them in before kicking outward with all of his strength. The force of his actions sent his body flipping backwards just far enough away to fly into the air without impaling himself on one of the jutting tree branches.
Vordt did the same, flying higher.
"We're having trouble using our magic!" Kesh called down. "We're not tied to this region! It's taking all of us just to make these trees do our bidding! Please hurry!"
"We're doing what we can!" Vordt barked. "You just focus on keeping that beast at bay!"
Xaphile watched as Ella wriggled backwards and made her way through the nest, crawling and climbing towards the top of it until her head emerged directly beneath Obi's feet. Xaphile gasped and zipped over, landing on the side of it.
Crouching, he touched her bleeding cheek.
"Ella," he whispered. "Are you all right?"
"I will be!" she panted, jerkily clasping his hand. "Just get me out of here!"
He nodded and grabbed her right hand while Vordt snatched her left, and together, both of them pulled. All of the twigs kept catching on her cloak, but they managed to tug her free. Blood trickled from her leg and fell to the nest like a small waterfall.
She leaned against Xaphile for support when Vordt squatted.
Grinding his teeth, he clutched her bleeding limb and closed his eyes.
A flash of red light filled the air and like magic, the wound closed up before their eyes.
"That might re-open later, and if it does, we might have a problem," he growled. "For now, let's focus on getting you out of here."
When he lifted Ella into his arms and dove off the edge of the nest, Xaphile glared at the thrashing griffin one last time and followed him, spreading his wings. Not long after, the Sysh brothers did so as well, sailing down out of the sky.
They all shot away like arrows, flying in graceful arcs down the gorge, but they didn't get very far. With a monstrous, thunderous crash, the Griffin exploded from the top of the nest and trees went flying. Xaphile glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as it dove off the mountainside and sailed after them: the tips of its mighty wings brushed the sides of the gorge.
"Fly down into one of the gorge's inlets!" Ella cried, clinging to Vordt's neck for dear life. "Just do it—that thing is much, much bigger than all of us!"
Vordt hesitated.
"Let's do it!" Xaphile panicked, smacking his uncle's foot. "We have to get away from it!"
Bonks, Obi, Kesh, Klynn, and Druthmar all dove down towards the nearest inlet when the griffin went sailing at them with its feathers bristling and its claws braced to attack. Xaphile could see the blacks of the griffin's eyes, and Ella let out a squeak, burying her face in Vordt's arm.
"Hold on tight!" the fae snarled. "Xaphile, now! Dive down!"
Xaphile didn't argue.
Letting himself drop like a stone, he plunged down after his uncle, deep into the gorge.
The griffin let out a screech and a thunderous impact came from above them.
But he kept diving, gliding down until the gorge was so narrow that the giant griffin couldn't follow them. After he righted himself and dragged his wings to a halt in the air, he looked up anxiously through the film of perspiration covering his face.
The griffin was directly above them. Its shadow fell on them as it, too, dropped through the air, but its wings struck the rocky walls of the gorge. Screeching madly, it rose once more and tried again; with each attempt to dive-bomb the fleeing group, it came a little closer.
Another screech grated against his ears.
"God damn it," he panted, wincing since his back was screaming at him. "Why won't that ugly thing just shut up?!"
Once more, the griffin tried to dive into the gorge, but it was a vain attempt; screeching hoarsely, it finally turned and began to fly away.
"It's flying back!" Druthmar cheered. "The griffin is flying away! We did it!"
"It could have thought of that a little sooner!" Ella cried. "Thank you, so much! You saved me!"
Skinny arms trembling, she hung from Vordt's neck, cradled in his arms.
"Can you manage to wait until we get back to Gus and Adariel for additional healing?" Vordt asked, turning and flying out of the gorge. "We should put as much distance as we can between us and that giant beast."
"Yes, yes, I can manage to hold on a bit longer!" she panted. "Just get me away from that horrible bird!"
Xaphile gave his uncle a grateful glance, and looked up at the other boys to see them grinning at him and waving.
"We'll explain why we're here once we've gotten back to your companions," Kesh said, regarding him with a very mellow expression. "Is that satisfactory?"
"Yeah! All I can say is thanks," he weakly called, laughing almost hysterically. "You guys saved our asses. Let's just get the hell out of here!"
In unison, they all turned to follow Vordt, gliding along with the help of the air currents. The gorge narrowed yet further until it was a mere cleft between the walls of rock.
Xaphile shot along it like a thread passing through the eye of a needle, and at the far end it opened to the northlands. He looked down, spotting the river and the road, and started looking for any sign of their horses. He sighed when he spotted them and dove past Vordt, sailing down towards the ground and waving his arms.
As he drew closer, he saw Gus and Adariel.
"Hey!" he called, watching as they looked up. "She's safe!"
"Eh?!" Adariel cried, leaping upright when he flew closer. "Big Brother, who are they?!"
"Long story!" he called, righting himself to come in for a landing; he realized at the last second, however, that he was coming in too fast and let out a yelp, flailing his legs. "OH, SHIT!"
And just like that, his feet hit the ground and he went flying forward, hands flying up to shield his fall. He landed on his stomach and skidded across the mossy earth, then halted; he let his head thump against the ground, groaning with pain and embarrassment.
"Big brother, are you all right?!" Adariel squealed. "Are you hurt?!"
"Just my pride," he mumbled, not bothering to move; his face was on fire. "I totally botched the landing."
"Seems like you're going to need to work on that," Vordt growled, landing on the ground beside him with a snort. "That was pathetic."
"Uncle!" Adariel squeaked, surprised. "You've returned?"
"Indeed," Vordt said, giving him a glance. "I have, little one."
With a sigh of relief, Ella slid down from his arms and collapsed, planting her hands on the stone.
"I wouldn't want to do that again in a hurry," she croaked, letting out a disheveled sigh. "Not on your life! By Juno and Asgrog, do I feel sick!"
Xaphile instantly rose to his knees and crawled over, pressing both of his large hands against her still-bleeding cheeks: she leaned into the touch, letting out a sigh, but he could only stare at her. Her cloak had been shredded, her black dress was torn practically halfway off, she had cuts all over her face, and she was actually alive.
Wonderfully, gloriously alive.
"What a sight!" Obi suddenly scoffed, laughing at her. "You look like you've been trying to steal blackberries from a hoard of pixies!"
"I do?" Ella dazedly wondered, plucking a few dead leaves out of her hair and grimacing. "Well, I'm alive. I have to admit, I am grateful to every single one of you!"
"It's Xaphile you have to thank," Kesh said softly, looking at their horses before glancing at Adariel, who scurried behind Skitsy and peered at him from around her tail with wide, wary eyes. "Without his help, the Nameless King wouldn't have been able to trace you."
"Thank you for saving her," Gus breathed, storming over and embracing him. "Thank you!"
"Thank you all," Ella whispered, rubbing her arms. "I really did think that I was going to be eaten alive... if Xaphile hadn't protected me when I got bit back there, I wouldn't have been able to survive long enough for you to arrive. I thought I was going to die!"
"We'd never let that happen," Vordt snorted, then squatted down. "Now, lets see if I can heal those wounds before you keel over and die from all the blood loss."
"Thanks for the concern," Ella muttered, wincing when he set one hand against her face and the other on her chest, right between her breasts. "I... trust that you are not doing this for uncouth reasons, so I will not say anything to protest."
"Don't even suggest it," Vordt growled, making a disgusted face. "Silence, fool."
Xaphile watched as his arms rippled, glowing with red light.
The glow flashed through her entire body, engulfing her pale skin. Her body shimmered brightly as the scratches rapidly closed all over the place; he sighed when the phantom pain stretching across their link finally vanished. When Vordt pulled back, Ella looked at her arms, amazed.
"Thank you," she said, looking at Vordt in dazed surprise. "You really healed me."
"I remember what was said to me that night in the forest," the faery muttered, rising to his feet and looking at their position. "It is true. I just saw it with my own eyes. You bleed far more than you should even with little scratches."
Xaphile finally turned and looked at everyone who'd come.
Bonks was regarding him with a giddy smile, and for once, he was wearing a loincloth.
Actually... scratch that, all five boys were.
"I wasn't expecting to see you so soon, darkling," Obi said with a smirk, tossing his wavy hair with a graceful arch of his head. "It is good to see that you are in good health."
"Speaking of which," he said, looking around in exasperation, "what are you guys even doing here? I thought Vordt was going to talk to Zelphira about aiding Nimika?"
"He did!" Bonks eagerly chimed, dancing over with a flutter of his wings. "The Queen called for an unexpected meeting among the clan a little before we left! Druthmar and I heard that the Mortal King, Osric Votrin, has broken the treaty of the Four and is imprisoning our kind!"
"Is this true?" Klynn asked, stepping forward with an angry gaze. "Is it true that our kind are being harmed by him? Is it true that your own blood kin have been tortured by him?"
Vordt stiffened and looked at Klynn, giving him a look that could have set a block of ice on fire. The boy flinched and cowered backwards, alarmed, which confused Xaphile a little. He looked at his uncle, then sighed in defeat before waving Adariel over.
"Come here," he said softly. "You don't need to hide. They're friends."
The kid swallowed, and withdrew for a moment... then tentatively came out of hiding and shuffled over to his side, clinging to his arm and hiding slightly behind his back. He peered at the group of boys, staring at their blonde hair and white wings.
"So, they're... like us?" Adariel asked. "They're good?"
"Yes," Xaphile said, then glanced at the boys before him. "This is my little brother, Adariel. He was tortured in the Duke's dungeon for months. He went through things that nobody should ever have to, and right now, I have no doubt that there are others still in the same spot."
Obi and Druthmar growled deep in their throats, and Klynn let out a hiss.
"There's more," Kesh said, drawing everyone's eyes. "The Nameless King told me everything before we left. It's why my brothers and I have come. We will aid you along your journey, and if need be, we will protect all of you."
Xaphile's heart fluttered, since his words kind of moved him, but he sighed.
"You don't need to," he said, swallowing hard. "I'm very, very grateful, but there are trained assassins after Ella right now. I don't want anyone else in danger."
"Tch, too bad," Druthmar chuckled, stalking forward and dragging him into a headlock; Xaphile yelped, tail snapping out and whacking Adariel's arm as the boy's knuckles dragged across his skull. "We made an oath and sealed it with pain before you left! You're kin to us! Whether you like it or not, we're not leaving now that we know the lives of those you care for are in danger."
"Agh!" Xaphile complained, face screwing up as he was noogied. "Druthmar! Stahp!"
"Not a chance!" the burly blonde cackled, dragging him around. "Get used to it!"
Adariel giggled a little when Xaphile swatted at his arm, but he couldn't deny that he was warmed by the display of affection. When he was finally let go, Druthmar gripped the back of his head and pulled him forward, bringing his own head down.
Their foreheads bumped gently.
"This gesture was our oath," he said quietly, blue eyes fierce. "We will fight tooth and claw should any dare to harm you or any you are close to. Worry not."
"We all agree," Obi said, shaking his head. "Your kith and kin are in danger, those of your clan might yet be alive, and there are trained killers after you. We'll not leave you to travel alone."
Just as Xaphile opened his mouth to protest, Bonks walked up and looked him in the eyes.
He felt confused by the intensity in his stare.
"We're coming with you," he said with a smile. "Don't protest. We'll ignore it."
"Exactly, so take a look at your map and tell us where we are," Kesh said, gesturing with his arms to the mountains looming before them. "We've never left the forest before. This is our first time leaving the safety of our home."
"You'll be fine," Vordt muttered, stretching and yawning tiredly. "What are we doing?"
"What?" Gus asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Are we leaving or resting?" Vordt clarified, casting a slightly irritated glance his way.
"I would rest, but with the threat of a Griffin nearby, I would prefer it if we move on," Gus instantly fired back. "We had one incident and somehow curbed it. Let's not press our luck. We can rest later."
"No," Ella countered with a scowl. "You and Xaphile have to sleep properly, Gus! We're getting close to the mountain pass, but we've probably got the worst of the journey still to come. How are we all going to manage surviving if we're yawning all the time?"
"Then, let us compromise," Gus said simply. "We'll take a day to rest once we make it to the Daael family home and sleep for as long as we can. Until then, we travel as we've been doing."
"I can get behind that," Xaphile said, glancing at Adariel. "It's not far, right? It took one day to get from Vrael's house to the mountain road on foot, and it took another to get out of the mountains. If we get to the mouth of the pass by tonight and continue riding until morning, we might just be able to make it to Vrael's house by late afternoon."
"Late afternoon?" Ella scoffed, startled. "It took far longer than that to walk down the mountainside when we left that little mountain cottage, Xaphile. That can't be right."
"We've been away for a few weeks," he reminded her. "For all we know, it could be warmer up in the mountains now."
"How?" Ella asked, frowning. "We're getting ready to move into the colder months. If anything, there might be more snow than there was before."
"Actually, no," Gus said, staring at her with a gleam in his eyes. "No, you're wrong. It's far warmer in the Syl mountains right now because of the shifting climates. The reason it was so cold when Xaphile ended up there was because the weather north and south of the range are complete opposites for a great deal of the time."
"Opposites?" Kesh asked, intrigued. "How so?"
"During the warm season in Nimika," Gus said, "the Capital Central is in its cold season. The battling air up in the mountains is what causes blizzards and windstorms, but during the times when the seasons begin to change, its very temperate on both sides, so the mountains are at their best. Traveling in them is ideal this time of year."
"Really?" Xaphile asked, shocked. "How exactly can the climate be so different?"
But even as he asked, he vaguely remembered something from an old school textbook about how climates can differ greatly on different sides of the same mountain range. He couldn't remember how or what caused it, but he knew it was a thing.
"I know not," Gus said, shrugging. "It is just the way things are."
"Then its settled," Vordt said, rising to his feet. "You'll ride nonstop, and we will follow. Get on your steeds and ride."
Ella cast him a look when he nodded and turned to walk towards Skitsy with Adariel in tow.
He stopped when a violet itch filled his head.
Thank you, she whispered into mind. Thank you for coming after me. I... was very scared.
He sighed, then cast a look her way.
Don't mention it, he said back, meeting her eyes; intensity sparked between them, and his heart quivered, pulse quickening. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. It made him look away, face heating up. Why are you looking at me like that?
Because, she said softly, I love you.
His face went from hot to burning and he swallowed, jerkily helping Adariel onto Skitsy's back.
He didn't respond to her statement.
He didn't know how.
But, at the very least, she was safe.