Page 38 of The War of Wings
“Give them a minute,” Nell scolded, smacking his shoulder.
I held my breath. The plains were nearly silent. The only sound was the rustling of the grass in the slight breeze.Please, I prayed silently.Please.
All I received in response was a silent stillness that settled within me, aching with disappointment.
Defeat pulled my shoulders down. I’m not sure what exactly had summoned them to Eserene during the battle. Perhaps it had been Katia. She must’ve sensed what was happening and sent them to aid us, somehow.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the weight of this monumental failure pressing in on me from all sides. “I guess we’ll be sailing across the Widow’s Sea. I don’t see any other option.”
“It’s okay,” Cal said, his hand closing over my waist.
“Yeah. We’ll make it work,” Nell added with a smile that looked genuine but I knew couldn’t be.
But all of us whipped our heads upwards when a screech echoed over the plains, and a driva broke through the clouds.
“Oh, thank the fucking Saints,” I whispered to myself, closing my eyes as four more silhouettes materialized amid the gray sky.
“You did it,” Cal murmured in my ear, his hand pressing into my lower back.
The five drivas landed heavily on the grass, the largest and most formidable one in front. Adorex. My mind was grappling with the size of these beasts. Just one of their scales was larger than my hand.Fuck,they were huge and terrifying and beautiful.
Their crystalline blue eyes were on me, expectant. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over this, the feeling of standing in the presence of something so ancient, so powerful.
“Hello again,” I said, offering a weak smile. Should I have said hello to them? Was it strange to greet them? I swore I heard Whit stifle a laugh behind me. “Thank you for coming.”
“They’re drivas, not party guests,” Miles grumbled.
“Shut the fuck up,” Cal scolded his younger brother.
Adorex flexed her serpentine neck, shaking her head as a puff of steam left her flaring nostrils. Then she leaned forward, as if she were listening.
I straightened, hoping I appeared strong and sure of myself. I was standing in front ofdrivas. “I have an idea, and I’m not sure if it’s even possible. I don’t know if anything like this has ever been done before, but…we need an army. I sent word to the leaders of kingdoms around the realm, and none of them believed me. They don’t believe I am the Daughter of Katia, or that Malosym and the Occulti are wreaking havoc on us, or that it’s up to us to stop him.” I took a tentative step forward, doing my best to keep my chin high and shoulders back. “I want to show them proof. I want to show them…you.”
Adorex’s eyes narrowed for a split second. Her gaze pierced directly through to my soul, and I somehow felt the most powerful I ever had for the sheer fact I’d summoned them, and the smallest I’d ever felt standing next to their hulking, reality-defying forms.
“So,” I pushed on, “my proposal is that we travel with you to Losina. Nesan, first, since they’re the largest of the kingdoms on Losina, and convince them to send aid. And since there are five of us and five of you, I was thinking…”
I could tell that everyone who stood behind me was holding their breath.
Adorex turned to the other four drivas, some silent exchange passing between them. Each second that passed was agonizing, because if this didn’t work, I was out of ideas.
Adorex turned back to me, and suddenly, my mind echoed,Yes.
My hands flew to my head and I jumped backward. “What the fuck?” I whispered. I could feel everyone on alert around me.
Cal was at my side in an instant. “What?”
I didn’t hear a voice in my head. I simplyfelther presence, her answers given to me in an abstract awareness.
Mind. Petra. Hear.
She wasn’t speaking. But it was like whatever she was feeling, whatever she was thinking, was being amplified from within her to land within me. The feeling was a warmth that nestled into my mind like it had been waiting to do just that.
“Holy shit,” I whispered to myself. “You’re in my mind.”
Drivas. Speak. Mind.
“What’s going on, Petra?” Cal asked, his voice rightfully concerned.
