at the group. Jaxon and Flint are discussing potential issues before we enter the Boneyard, Macy is checking her wand and swapping small potion bottles back and forth from her backpack to a pouch wrapped around her waist, and Eden and Xavier are betting each other over who can carry back the heaviest bone. My heart fills with pride at my newfound family.
At least until Xavier demands of Macy, “Are you wearing a fanny pack?”
Macy doesn’t even spare him a look as she answers, “It’s my potion accessory kit.”
“Don’t you mean your potion ASSessory kit?” he shoots back with a sly, wolfish smile.
We all laugh, even as I turn to Hudson and say softly, “You know we’re risking our lives for you, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why you’re all doing it,” he scoffs. “More like to stop me from feeding on your precious Jaxon.”
I shake my head. “Well, it’s why I’m doing it.”
That makes him pause. He stares at me for several long seconds, his indigo eyes blazing into mine with a dozen emotions I can’t begin to name. I wait for him to put a voice to one of them, wait for him to say something—anything—that will help me understand why he’s being so difficult right now.
And for a minute, it looks like he’s actually going to do it. Like he’ll open his mouth and say something that has some emotional depth to it.
But in the end, he just shakes his head and looks away. Shoves a rough hand through his hair. Does anything and everything but actually talk to me about something that matters.
He does, however, say, “Then by all means let me get my pom-poms ready.”
And there we go. Zero to one hundred and sixty. “Fine. And to get you out of my damn head so I don’t have to listen to you ruin my mood ever again.” I huff and give him my back. We’re all very likely about to die. Would it really kill him to just say thanks?
Jaxon motions everyone over, steps into the first cell, and starts to plug the code into the door so we can get to the tunnels. But Flint stops him with a hand to the shoulder.
“That’s not how we get to the tunnels that lead to the Boneyard.”
“What do you mean?” Macy asks. “I thought you said the only way to find it is through the tunnels.”
“It is.” Eden grins. “Just not those.”
Flint motions for all of us to join him at the back of the cell, where one of the walls appears to have several gemstones embedded in a crude circle of emerald, ruby, sapphire, obsidian, amethyst, tourmaline, topaz, and citrine. He taps each gem as though entering a safe code, then steps back.
A couple of seconds later the floor under my feet rumbles ominously, and then the huge stones inside the circle of gems move back one by one, until we’re all staring at a small, round tunnel in the middle of the wall.
“So who wants to go into the creepy hole first?” Macy jokes, and everyone laughs, but no one rushes to raise their hand.
“Well, you’re all in luck, because I think it’s going to have to be a dragon.” Flint’s eyes twinkle with devilish excitement. He turns to Eden and asks, “Should we tell them what’s on the other side? Or more specifically, what’s not?”
Eden rolls her eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m not risking a werewolf bite or fang to the neck in panic.” She turns to address us. “As you know, these tunnels were built for dragons…who can fly. So on the other side of this tunnel…there’s no ground for a bit. For Grace, who can fly—and Jaxon—when it launches you into the air, obviously, do your thing and you’ll be fine. For the rest of you, just count to thirty before each person goes in, and Flint or I will catch you on the other side.”
She nods as though that’s that, grabs the small ledge above the hole, and swings her whole body inside in one fluid motion, feet first. And then disappears.
Flint jokes, “I love this part,” before he, too, jumps into the hole and disappears.
The rest of us just stand there, looking from one to the other, wondering if they’re messing with us or if we’re really expected to just jump and let gravity do its thing. Either way, none of us is particularly excited about being the first one to jump.
Jaxon grabs my hand and says, “Hey, no worries. I’ll catch