into her. “What is it?” he asked.
“It’s gone. All of it.” She clearly remembered hives hanging from the trees. Now, there was only an open grassy area. Tressa spun around, her arms hanging down. "I don't understand."
"Nothing is right here," Jarrett said. He reached out, taking one of her hands in his. "I promise I will help you find out what happened in your town."
"And I have to find my people."
An ear-piercing screech ripped through the air.
"Not again," Tressa said. Jarrett tugged on her hand and they ran into the trees at the edge of the forest. Peeking out, Tressa could see a red dragon, claws bared, circling high in the sky over her town. It swooped from side to side, huffing gusts of air from its nostrils.
"What is that doing here?" Jarrett asked.
"As if I know." She squeezed Jarrett's hand with an iron grip. He didn't pull back.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised the Red would send a scout. But how could they have known so quickly?" Jarrett placed his free hand on Tressa's shoulder.
She took a deep breath, attempting to steady her shaking limbs. Dragons. Again. Couldn't they just leave her alone?
The dragon landed in the town square, in the same spot where Stacia's mother had landed just before she died. Tressa remembered the awe she'd felt that day. Now she harbored nothing but fear for the beasts. Except the cobalt dragon. The one she thought might be Connor.
The red dragon's snout snuffled along the ground, its breath kicking up dirt in its wake.
"It's not a sentry. It's hunting." Jarrett said, his words tumbling out so fast Tressa could barely understand him. "Climb now." He boosted Tressa into the nearest tree, her arms flailing as she reached for a branch.
They huddled together in the upper boughs of the tree, Jarrett's arms around Tressa's waist. "Don't move," he whispered in her ear. "Dragons have a good sense of smell, but their visual acuity is even sharper. If it doesn't see us move, it's possible it will miss us."
Tressa watched the dragon through leaves and branches. Its claws dug into the grass. Its tail flicked across the ground slamming into the sides of cottages, leaving dents in its wake. The dragon's chin lifted, and its jaws closed. A small hooting noise came from between its teeth.
"It sounds like an owl," Jarrett said. "I've never seen a dragon do that before."
Tressa nodded, too scared to say anything. She had heard that noise before too. Her little owl friend Narek had hooted to her in the forest when it was still shrouded in fog.
Another red dragon descended from the sky, landing next to the first. They nuzzled.
"Mates," Jarrett whispered. “And I’m surprised they didn’t sniff out our horses and eat them.”
Tressa nudged him with her elbow. She didn't need a running commentary. Jarrett went silent, at last. They watched the two dragons wander around Hutton's Bridge, sniffing at the ground and the cottages. After a while, they took flight, their wings spread out so much they blocked the sun for a few breaths.
"It's okay to go back down now," Jarrett said. "Let's grab the horses and get out of here."
"We should go to Ashoom and ask for help." Tressa looked toward the east. Bastian was still there. Injured. Waiting for her.
"There's no one there who can help us," Jarrett said. "If we go to my home in the Sands, I can almost guarantee a small army."
Tressa sighed. She'd have to choose again. Months ago she’d left Bastian in the forest with their parents, and snuck off into the town seeking to destroy Stacia. Leaving him had been hard, but it paid off. Stacia was dead. Now she struggled to make the choice again.
It had been a long time since she'd had a moment alone with Bastian. Though she wanted, more than anything, to sit and have a long talk with him, she knew helping her people was more important. She couldn't let her own feelings get in the way of what was right.
She thought of Bastian lying injured, his wounds gaping and crusted with blood. His mouth pulled into a smile for her benefit. Perhaps he'd heal better without her around. He wouldn't need to pretend he was okay for her sake.
Tressa steeled her heart. "Let's go, then."
"And what about Bastian?" Jarrett asked.
"Bastian needs time to heal, whether I'm there or not," Tressa said, the truth catching in her throat. The veracity of her statement wasn't easy to swallow. "We will ride