Fox was tempted to reach out, to grab her, but who was he to temper her anger? Javi appeared to have the same thought as he stepped forward and then immediately stopped himself. The two made eye contact, some mutual understanding passing between them as Sofia continued her justified rage.
“I have come,”the dragon said, voice piercing,“after hearing troubling information from another source.”
“Because your daughter wasn’t enough?” Sofia snapped, arm raised high above her head, poking a finger into the blue scales of Aurelia’s lower chest as if she were berating a child. “Because her truth was easier to ignore?”
“I did not trust the words placed in her mouth byhumans. You spoke of the impossible.”Her voice shifted, something like contrition in her tone.“I have sent scouts out to confirm Jobin’s and Chalia’s reports. I am here to parley with you.”
It was clear the idea of apologizing or admitting she was wrong—especially to a group of humans—wasn’t in her vocabulary. Her feathers were rigid as she spoke, her wings moving in small, aborted beats, as if her body were begging to flee.
“You want toparley?” Sofia said, stepping back to better glare up at her. “It’s too late. You’re too late. You refused to talk with us. We could have told you everything. Wetriedto tell you everything.”
Her voice rose as she spoke, the tone sending Fox’s chest aching. But Chalia—Chalia shook with each word, her feathers going rigid and her wings stretching back. She wasn’t just angry. There was something more. There was a pain in the ridge of her brow, her lips pulled back in a snarl.
Aurelia’s claw hit the ground, talons digging into the snow as her head whipped down to look Sofia in the eye.“You are hurting my daughter. Stop it!”
“I’m not hurting anyone,” Sofia said, defiant and unforgiving. “I’m not the one who didn’t listen. I’m not the reason she’s dead!” The last words bled from her as she fell to her knees.
Chalia let out a whimper, her spine bowing under the weight of some unseen anguish.
“What are you doing to her? How are you doing this?”
Chalia’s mother was right. Whatever connection there was between Sofia and Chalia, she was hurting her. Her grief was ripping through the dragon, and Fox wasn’t sure if the young creature could handle it.
He moved, careful to step around her, so she saw him coming. He was gentle as he gripped her chin, turning her to face him. Her eyes screwed shut.
“Sofia, look at me,” he said, words a whisper between them. “You need to breathe.”
She shook her head, his fingers falling from her.
“Can’t,” she gasped out. “Can’t.”
The ground shook beneath Aurelia’s claws as they pounded the ground in anger.
Fox’s panic rose as Micael let out a growl of frustration. All the while, Sofia’s breathing was becoming more erratic.
He pressed his hand to her chest, feeling the shallow rise and fall of her chest. He exhaled, the rest of the mountain falling away until it was just Sofia and him crouching together.
“Shh,” he said. “Breathe. Follow me.”
He stepped closer, pressing a kiss against her forehead, speaking his words against her skin. “Slowly.”
Her chest was warm beneath his palm, and he felt her breathing begin to slow, even as hot tears fell against his neck where her face was pressed.
Only when she was breathing with him, her chest rising and falling in the rhythm of his own breaths did he take a step away. He turned to look over his shoulder at the others.
Aurelia had fallen still. Chalia was quiet again, though Fox saw her wing twitch.
“Are we done here?” he asked, his voice cold.
He thought for just a moment that Aurelia looked guilty, her brow low over her eyes.
“We are inviting you to camp outside of the nesting grounds so we can discuss the next steps—if you are able to control your emotional outbursts.”
Fox, Sofia still wrapped in his arms, glared at the dragon. “Emotional outbursts? Perhaps gods feel no grief, but humans do. If you want to work with us now, you’ll have to accept our emotions.”
“You hurt my daughter,”the dragon said, an icy snort expelling from her nose as she stretched her neck up, towering over where Fox stood.“I will not tolerate that again.”
A spike of fear shot through Fox, but he straightened his shoulders, refusing to back down.