Page 38 of Taloned Heart

No one said a word. The ghosts of memories long past overtook all of them.

The field that stretched out before them looked so innocent now. Bright green grass led to a cliff’s edge that was not too high and then a wide ocean behind it. The field had bounced back. There were no deep furrows, no ruts where Abraxas had landed. Even the scorch marks were gone.

She glanced over at Abraxas and saw his eyes were trained on a single part of the field where flowers grew in a wide circle. There was still a stone there to mark where she had died. Apparently, people still brought gifts, because there were a few crates of items and plucked petals strewn about. They worshiped her here, and Lore wasn’t quite certain how to connect that with herself. She was just a half elf. But they saw her as so much more than that.

Lore’s eyes, no matter how hard she tried to keep them trained on her gravesite, always traveled to the right. Toward the edge of the field where she had gathered her own forces and squeezed the King’s Umbral Soldiers between herself, Abraxas, and the elves.

The place where she had fallen to her knees with Goliath in her arms. The place where she had said goodbye to her oldest friend.

“Did we have to come here?” Beauty whispered. “This place holds so many painful memories for us all.”

“It does,” Lore said with a sigh. “But we have to pass this way to get to Solis Occasum. It’s the safest route, and the fastest.”

Beauty nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I lost two of my best friends the day we fought here. I thought everything would be fine. I was told the battle wouldn’t kill anyone that I loved and so I fought with all of you. And within a year of this battle, I lost everyone.”

Lore reached out for her hand and squeezed it tight in her own. “Most of us came back,” she replied.

“But not all.”

No. Not all of them. No matter how hard they tried to bring him back, Goliath would always end up right where he was. Fate had wanted him to die in this place, and Lore wasn’t ready to give him up.

Tears pricking her vision, she sniffed hard before saying, “We’ll make camp closer to the beach. I’ll want you to turn into a dragon to get us closer to Solis Occasum, Abraxas. Tomorrow.”

“They’ll see us flying overhead.”

“I don’t want to fly. I want you to swim, and we will stay on your back.” She swiped a quick hand underneath her eyes. “They won’t see us coming.”

He gave her a look like she was insane, and maybe she was. Crimson dragons weren’t meant for the sea, but she had seen him swim in their travels from the dragon isles. And the channel between here and Solis Occasum was not large. It would only take an hour or so of his powerful legs and wings moving through that water for them to reach the shore. That was all. And then they would finally be within Zephyr’s reach.

But first, she had to figure out the plan once they got there.

“Are we going to save him now?” Beauty asked, her voice a little unsteady.

“I want to figure out how we’re going to do that before we risk his life.” Lore tried to make sure she sounded confident, and not like she was falling apart at the seams. “Just to make sure we all are on the same page and nothing happens to surprise us.”

Which meant she would have to walk. She’d have to let go of her physical form and move throughout the world as she had before. Would Margaret be able to catch her? She had no idea.

Abraxas eyed her with a worried expression before he nodded. “If that’s what it takes, then we’ll figure it out. Perhaps we’ll duck into the forest tonight so the deepmongers don’t realize we’re there.”

“They’ll know we’re here.”

“They won’t if I keep them busy.”

He must be worried. Lore watched him to see the signs of stress on his forehead and how his jaw clenched at the thought of risking their lives again. She knew just how much this wore on him and how little she could do to help. If he wanted to hide in the forest, so perhaps Margaret thought they were seeking the deepmongers’ help, then so be it.

Lore nodded. “We can do that. Margaret will think I have fled to the Matriarch.”

“And all we can do is hope that they don’t already have a deal to give you up if either of them catches wind of where you are,” Abraxas growled low under his breath. “This is getting more difficult.”

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

Nothing ever was. It felt strange to think that they were so close to Zephyr, yet felt as though they were farther away than they’d ever been before.

She needed space to think, and she needed Abraxas with her this time.

“Beauty?” she asked, knowing the other woman would need something to keep her hands busy. “Set up camp for us.”

“I can do that. Where are you going?”

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