begging the skies for his recovery, the last thing Tauran wanted to do was leave him so soon.
But the one thing that mattered more to Tauran than the comfort Kalai provided him, was Kalai’s own safety. No place was safer for him than Kel Visal, a place Kalai knew better than anywhere else, out of reach of Falka and his followers. Despite Kalai having shown incredible bravery and strength in their recent months together, he was still a civilian, and Tauran couldn’t possibly justify bringing him back into the line of fire. Mentally, Tauran prepared himself for having to defend his decision once more over dinner. He couldn’t let himself soften when faced with Kalai’s fiery persistence and beautiful, drawing gaze. Tauran smiled at the thought. Kalai had him wrapped around his finger.
A short, barked out call left Leyra, drawing Tauran’s attention from his thoughts. She banked in the air, chest rising and falling as she drew in deep breaths of something only she could scent.
“What is it, girl?” Tauran asked, stroking her neck. But Leyra paid him little mind, instead releasing another call, louder this time.
Ahead, Arrow twisted around, Kalai giving Tauran a puzzling look. “What is it?” he shouted.
“I don’t know!” Tauran gasped when Leyra suddenly changed directions, steering north away from Kel Visal, toward the tree-covered mountains. “Leyra!”
Leyra picked up speed, despite Tauran’s attempts to follow Arrow toward Kel Visal. Arrow called from behind, but Leyra paid no attention to him either, ascending higher along the mountain sides rising before them.
“Hey!” Kalai’s voice sounded from below. “Is she okay?”
Tauran dared a look down. Arrow kept pace easily, staying just above the treetops where Kalai would be safest. “Yeah! I don’t know where she’s going,” he yelled back. “Just stay on us!” He yanked on her spines. “By the skies, Leyra! We don’t have time for this, you dumb, giant baby.”
That, at least, earned him a displeased croak from Leyra.
She took them farther north, to where the green mountains rose around them, some peaks nearly as tall as Kel Visal. Here, the air was thick and humid; the clouds descending far enough to touch even the lowest trees in places.
“Kalai!” Tauran called, when Leyra rose into a cloud so thick, even the surrounding mountains faded from view.
“I’m here!” Kalai shouted back from somewhere in the mist. He had vanished. Arrow’s white scales likely didn’t help.
Another of Leyra’s sharp calls made Tauran flinch. It echoed through the valley, complete silence following in its wake.
“You’ve got to stop that!” Tauran hissed. “I’ll—” He paused. Listened. Strong wing beats broke the silence. Not from below, and not Leyra’s.
Tauran narrowed his eyes at the walls of mist surrounding them.
A deep, bellowing roar thundered through the mountains, reverberating in Tauran’s chest with an intensity that brought a primal fear to life.
Leyra called back.
The hairs rose on Tauran’s arms.
From out of the mist, a truly massive form emerged. Scales inky black, rows of sharp spines longer than a person was tall. The titan soared alongside them, unbelievably silent until it beat its wings once, slowly, that sound alone like distant thunder.
“Ibi-shao,” Tauran whispered.
The wild female was well over two-hundred feet from head to tail tip. Not even Itana had been that large. With another beat of her wings, Ibi-shao brought herself ahead, her enormous razor-sharp tail scythe swinging through the air. It looked like it could carve through the mountainsides like butter. When she turned, Leyra followed, beating her wings faster to keep up.
Tauran’s heart raced. He looked back and down, searching for a white shape in a world of white. “Kalai!”
Leyra looked back, too. She called again, and this time, Tauran heard Arrow answer. A moment later, Arrow and Kalai ascended out of the mist.
“Is that—?” Kalai’s voice broke on the words as he pointed ahead to the giant form half-blurred by white.
“It’s her!” Tauran answered. “Keep close!”
“Are we going to follow her?”
“Of course!” Tauran patted Leyra’s neck, excitement making his hand shake. “This is our chance!”
Kalai’s laugh was a mix of excitement and nerves. Tauran couldn’t blame him. Ibi-shao was massive enough that she could probably swallow a swiftwing of Arrow’s size in just a few gulps. Would Leyra grow as massive as her mother? The thought sent a shiver down Tauran’s spine.
They followed Ibi-shao into the mist. Tauran had no clue where they were going or how far they’d flown. His mind lingered on Catria, but the sun still hadn’t set. They had time.