“Ian gave the signal?” she asked, ignoring her dragon’s ongoing trilling.
“He did,” Fox said. “It was up this evening, so we’re moving tomorrow night. You’ve talked about the plan?” Fox looked at the group, but his eyes kept flickering back to Sofia’s.
“Yes,” Micael said, stepping forward. “You’ll retrieve the bones from Ian. Sofia, Delio and I will help with the distraction, and Javi and Jacinta will be sneaking your mother and Sofia’s father out. Did Ian find a uniform?”
Fox motioned to the small pile of clothing sitting next to a tree. “It should fit Javi well enough. Hopefully, no one’ll talk to him long enough to notice if the pants are too short.”
“Are any of the other dragons coming?” Fox asked.
“No,” Micael said. “The plan depends on stealth and two dragons will make that difficult enough as it is. The rest are waiting for our signal once we have the bones. We should go over all the details and then rest. We can’t do anything with the sun coming up.” Micael looked around, surveying the spot they’d chosen. “You’re sure we’re hidden here?”
“The dragons will have to stay on the ground and quiet, but as long as we’re inside this area, we can’t be seen from the forest beyond,” Sofia said, before Fox could.
Micael nodded.
They reviewed the plan over tea and some overcooked rabbit that the group had brought. Fox still ate every last bite, savoring the charred flavor after multiple days surviving on rationed dried meat and nuts. The unseasoned, chewy rabbit was as delicious as his mother’s stewed beans in that moment.
Even though Fox felt confident talking through the plan, it still reminded him of how little they knew and how many gaps lay hidden within the plan. They were relying on Ian to show up, relying on the wolfshifters reacting to their distraction and the soldiers following suit, relying on Javi sneaking in and getting their parents without being seen.
So many pieces—so many places for things to go wrong. But they had a spy on the inside. They had the element of surprise. They had hope, and they had the gods.
Fox watched Chalia and Jobin sitting tucked against the forest floor, intertwined between the trees. Jobin was picking at Chalia’s feathers while the other dragon kneaded his back. Should he pray to the dragon gods when they were sitting right there?
He sent a prayer to Quelia and the dragons in his mind, even as he watched Chalia and Jobin. A breeze broke through the trees, and Fox felt a shiver go through him as Chalia lifted her head and looked directly at him. He held his breath, wondering if she’d say something, but she only blinked and turned back to Jobin. Fox imagined the scent of the sea for only a moment before it was gone.
They doused the fire once the food was eaten, and everyone found their small patch of ground to lie down on, resting their eyes and their bodies while they could. Fox was close to the fire, and he stared up at the pale blue sky. His mind was spinning with the plans for the next evening, trying his best not to think of everything that could go wrong. Of everything he needed to tell Sofia in case things didn’t work out.
He sat up, suddenly unable to sit still. Sofia was already looking at him, and the moment they made eye contact she motioned, standing up from where she’d been sitting against a tree and dipping deeper into the forest.
He followed without question as she slipped over Chalia’s tail and around a set of large ferns until they were far enough from the clearing to talk. Sofia turned suddenly, grabbed him by the collar, and crashed her lips to his.
He kissed her back. He’d missed the taste of her. It was becoming so familiar, and yet he knew he’d never have enough. He could drown in her and still beg for more.
She pulled away at last, leaving him aching. He swallowed back the groan before it slipped out. His nails bit into his palm to stop him from grabbing her back.
“You didn’t want to do that in front of your friends?”
Sofia’s eyes were dark, her pupils blown wide, and he saw how redher lips looked. Her hair was tangled from his fingers, face flushed. She looked well fucked, and it was validating to see her blink before she answered, as if she needed to pull herself together just as much as he did.
“No,” she said after a moment, “I didn’t want them to hear what I have to say to you because it’s none of their business.”
Fox raised an eyebrow, mask falling into place with a small smirk. But he felt his stomach drop. There was a seriousness in the way Sofia was looking at him.
“The last time I let myself feel anything for another person, he didn’t just betray me. He destroyed everything. He stole everything from me.”
Sofia paused, and Fox saw the way her chest rose and fell with her breaths.
“I decided I wouldn’t let that happen again,” she said. “And I didn’t. Flor and I…” she hesitated, and Fox grabbed her hand where it was clenching and unclenching at her side. She took a deep breath. “Flor and I tried to be more than friends, but the moment I realized I cared for her, I broke it off.”
She stopped, swallowing. She wasn’t quite meeting his eyes. Fox traced her fingers with his own, feeling the tremor beneath her skin. He waited.
“I’m scared,” she said at last. “I don’t want to lose everything again.”
He stepped forward, and she didn’t move back, letting him wrap his arms around her and pull her close.
“You’re the one who taught me that courage isn’t living without fear, but acting despite it,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I know,” she said. “And that’s why I need you to know that I am yours as much as you’re mine. You’ve invaded my body and my soul, and I don’t think I’ll ever be free of you. And I don’t want to be. You’ve said you don’t deserve me, but I need you to hear that you are worthy of everything this world has to offer. And I hate myself for allowing you to go a single day without knowing that.”