strong enough to rattle the breath in Tauran’s lungs. She grazed his palm, pushing up his sleeve, parted her lips and pressed her tongue against his skin, and Tauran couldn’t help but feel slightly like a rotisserie chicken at a family dinner. But she didn’t sink her teeth into his arm. She moved to his shoulder and nudged his chest, and Tauran got the sense that she was as fascinated by him as he was by her. Was the Eldest the only human she had ever met? How old was she?
“You aren’t so scary,” Tauran said, movements careful as he placed a hand on her mist-damp nose.
Leyra let out a babbling sound. She practically vibrated with excitement, and at Tauran’s attention, could no longer contain herself. She left the shelter of Ibi-shao’s wing and pressed her head against his chest, nearly pushing Tauran off his feet. He grabbed her horn to keep himself upright. A rush of adrenaline, almost like when they’d jumped off the peak of Kel Visal, flooded his body. He looked over his shoulder and waved at Kalai. “Come on over!”
Kalai only hesitated for a moment, then undid the clasps anchoring him to Arrow’s saddle and hopped onto the ground. He looked radiant in the sun, the black leather harness tight around his thighs. Arrow stuck close behind him, head tilted back to look at Ibi-shao. Kalai’s eyes were on her, too, his pace slowing as he approached.
“I don’t think she minds us being here,” Tauran said, stepping aside when Ibi-shao first bumped noses with Arrow, then lowered her head to Kalai.
“Whoa.” Kalai’s voice was less shaky than Tauran’s had been, but he looked just as startled when Ibi-shao gently nudged his chest. “Am I dreaming?” He placed both hands on her nose. But then his expression turned troubled. He turned to Tauran. “How in all the skies are we going to warn her about the Sky Guard? We didn’t exactly prepare for this.”
Tauran rolled his lip between his teeth. Kalai was right.
“We don’t even know where her nesting site is.” Kalai took a step back, watching Ibi-shao inspect Arrow’s saddle when Arrow proudly turned his side to her.
“Maybe Catria knows something,” Tauran said.
Kalai’s eyes narrowed with thought. “That place in the mountains with all that mist. The Sky Guard would have a hard time finding a nesting site there.” His expression brightened, and he turned to Tauran. “Maybe if we can find the nest and help move the eggs there, the dragons will follow.”
Tauran raised an eyebrow. “You really want to start grabbing eggs? After seeing what this big lady did to Valreus?”
Kalai cupped Tauran’s elbows. “But we can use the dragons. Leyra is Ibi-shao’s daughter, and Leyra trusts Arrow. If they lead the move, at our instructions, Ibi-shao might not oppose it.”
Tauran hesitated. She looked at the dragons, Leyra with her wings raised, Ibi-shao gently grooming the sensitive membrane for ticks and parasites. “They get along swimmingly,” he said. “So I guess now all we have to do is find the nesting site.”
“It’s worth a try.” Kalai’s eyes were alight with the kind of passion Tauran had learned not to dispute. Not that he would ever want to.
Tauran nodded. “But I promised Catria I’d help her. I owe her and Emilian a lot.”
“I know.” Kalai squeezed Tauran’s elbows and smiled. “We should head back before it gets dark.”
* * *
Instead of eating alone and meeting up with Catria after, they purchased food in Kel Visal, enough for all three of them, then flew to the clearing to meet her as the sun began to sink. Tauran worried briefly if nightfall meant they’d have to wait until morning to leave Kel Visal, but the moon was almost full, offering plenty light to fly. Something else was far more concerning. As they landed in the clearing, Leyra’s legs shook and she went down on her chest, the motion nearly jerking Tauran from her back.
“Whoa, girl!” Tauran jumped off, hardly caring about the sharp stab of pain through his leg.
“She’s tired,” Kalai said, coming up beside them. “She has flown far more today than she did crossing the sea from Valreus.”
Tauran swore. Kalai was right. Their excursion to the sandstone cliffs had taken nearly an hour each way, and Tauran hadn’t exactly gone easy on her when he made her jump off the mountain. He hadn’t expected her to have to fly this far afterward, but he still couldn’t help but feel guilty.