“Two daggers. The second one is small,” Flor said, moving her tunic to cover the second dagger better. “See.”
“Fine. Drop the rest.”
Flor did so reluctantly, running back down into the cenote to leave the rest of her weapons behind. Sofia could only hope she wasn’t just finding other ways to hide them on her body. But when she returned, true to her word, only the single dagger and small shield were visible.
“Let’s go.”
The flight took longerthan it should have, but they had to fly low, Chalia weaving through the canopy of the forest to ensure she was hidden. The last thing they needed was word to get back to Harlow that a dragon was sighted soaring above the forest—again. That hadn’t ended well for anyone last time.
“I’m sorry about that,”Chalia said, clearly listening in on Sofia’s thoughts again.
“Sorry?”Sofia asked, trying to understand what Chalia was reacting to.
Instead of answering with words, Sofia’s mind filled with the image of the raging river she and Fox had been swept up in. And in the vision she heard herself crying out, “You’re going to kill them.”
She felt the heaviness of the shame shuddering through Chalia even now and Sofia’s heart cracked.
“It was a mistake, and you stopped the moment I asked.”
“I thought I had made a mistake in coming. My parents had told me not to answer your prayer, but I did anyway and then I almost killed you.”
This had been the first time Chalia had referenced her family, and Sofia held her breath, too afraid to scare her into stopping. They’d tried to ask her about the other dragons throughout the past week—but all Sofia had gathered was that there were other dragons still alive and they had no intention of coming out of hiding.
“I’m so grateful you answered,”Sofia said, carefully.“You saved us. You’ve given us hope.”
“I can’t even help you get back home to your friends,”Chalia said, picturing Fox in her mind. Sofia’s chest tightened at the image. It was what Fox looked like directly after their kiss. His cheeks flushed, lips swollen, and eyes filled with pain.
“We will get back there. And you can help us, though we need to know where the rest of the dragons are.”
It was a dangerous question and sure enough, Chalia shuddered beneath her, Flor and Javi both letting out small gasps at the vibration.
“Can’t. Can’t. Can’t,”she chanted.
“I know. I know. I’m sorry,”Sofia said, trying to push as much comfort into the words as she could. “Have you been able to talk to Eha again?”
They had only briefly talked about the dragon Fox had prayed to back in the city. Chalia knew nothing more than that the dragon was trapped somewhere.
“I haven’t heard her since that night, and even then, I’ve only gotten a few broken words.”
Sofia suspected Eha was the dragon working with Harlow, though she couldn’t explain why the dragon would have tried to contact Chalia if she’d betrayed the other dragons.
“She didn’t betray us. She wouldn’t.”
Sofia tried to push away her thoughts, feeling the current of unease from Chalia at the direction they’d taken.
“I’m sorry.”She hoped Chalia recognized how much she meant it. She saw the break ahead and the telltale sign of a small trail of smoke coming up from the morning cook fires. At last, a good distraction.
“We’re here,” she said aloud.
Chalia glided down without being asked, sensing Sofia’s thoughts in the way she was slowly getting used to. They’d discussed options of walking up to the cenote versus bringing a dragon down on the tribe, but they’d decided it was best to get the initial sighting over with. And it was safer to have Chalia there to act as a shield if things went poorly.
There was a scream and then Sofia saw the shapeshifters running within their cenote, scrambling toward weapons. She raised her hands, trying to call over the cacophony, but she didn’t think they’d heard. And then she saw them, the exact person she’d been looking for. Lumi’s hawk form darted up from the cenote, sharp and focused. They definitely recognized Sofia because the hawk immediately angled to the side when Sofia made eye contact, twisting to dart straight for her, talon outstretched.
Chalia dove to the side, blocking the hawk’s attack, even as she landed on the ground a few yards from the cenote. They jumped off quickly, Flor raising her dagger high, as Sofia tried to call out to the shapeshifters again.
Before she could raise her voice, Lumi was there again, morphing quickly from hawk to person. Sofia barely registered them before she was thrown back by a punch to the face.
Chalia roared, but it was Flor who jumped forward, shoving herself between Lumi and Sofia. The two of them tumbled to the ground, Flor straddling Lumi. She slashed down with her blade. Before it could connect, Lumi was transforming again. The hawk slipped out from beneath Flor, their beak drawing blood as they pecked at Flor’s face.