As soon as we entered the forest, we released identical sighs of relief, readjusted the packs we wore slung over our shoulders, and headed farther in.
“You do know where we’re going, right?” Trey asked.
I frowned, trying to recall what Maya had said about the natural path up into the mountains. While this was the first time she was living in the mountains for an extended period, she’d spent years traveling up and down them with Nicolas at her side. I gave the imposing mountains a quick scan and swallowed. How did she do it?
“Maya said the path was northwest,” I said after a moment’s hesitation.
Trey waited for me to continue. When I didn’t, he frowned. “That’s it? Isn’t that a little vague?”
Unfortunately, that was all Maya had ever shared with me. Gesturing at the mountains, I said, “I figured we’d just walk until we saw it.”
“Neri, you do realize that’s a huge distance to cover, right?” Trey glanced at the sky, his face troubled. “We started out late, so we only have a few hours of sunlight left. Should we just quit and try tomorrow?”
“No!” My voice echoed across the trees, causing a pair of birds to startle and fly away. The two of us stopped to stare at one another. “We can’t go back. If we go back, we’re not going to do this again tomorrow. We both know that.” Some of the desperation I was feeling leaked into my voice and I had to squeeze my eyes shut and breathe in and out steadily for a few heartbeats to get a hold of myself.
Surely Trey knew why I was so insistent about this. It wasn’t just about seeing the hatchlings. It was also about finding my sister and getting her to realize that we—my parents and I—missed her and needed her to come home occasionally. We’d once been a tight-knit family of four, but after Aster and Nicolas had arrived, our family had shrunk to three. It wasn’t fair to my parents—or to me. I missed Maya. I missed our long, whispered conversations that went late into the night when our parents thought we were sleeping. I missed pretending to be warriors as we explored the forest and the beach, Trey tagging along behind us carrying a basket laden with food his mom had made.
I missed my sister.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, something had fractured between us. She knew I didn’t care for Nicolas all that much, despite my efforts to hide my feelings, and this in turn hurt her. That had never been my intention—hurting Maya was the last thing I’d ever want to do. But what if it was too late? What if I couldn’t fix what I’d done?
No. I shook my head. I wasn’t a coward and I didn’t give up before I even tried. Maybe I couldn’t fix this overnight, but I wanted to make an effort.
I wanted my sister back.
Trey studied me for a long moment and I wondered if he could read all of that on my face. Something softened in his eyes and he nodded. “All right. Let’s go. But if we have to camp out here overnight, you’re taking first watch.”
***
As it turned out, no one needed to take first watch. We walked northwest for nearly an hour, our footsteps slowing when we discovered the tree line was thinning the closer we got to the mountains. Neither one of us had ventured this far north before, never daring to approach the mountains like we were now. So we were surprised to see the trees weren’t as thick here, and they continued to taper off until there was nothing but grass and a few scraggly bushes between the forest we’d just left behind and the mountains.
No trees meant our line of sight was clear. Here, it was easy to spot the path Maya and Nicolas must have taken to climb the mountains. A natural staircase had been carved into the rocks; we stood in front of it, assessing it.
“This is too easy,” Trey said.
“Are you complaining?” I glanced up, and up, unable to see the mountain peaks. “Do you want to scale the mountainside? Because by all means, go ahead.” I gestured around us. “I’ll wave to you from the top.”
He nudged me out of the way and began climbing. Not one to be left behind, I took a deep breath and followed him.
We started out fine, but the farther we climbed, the steeper the path grew. There were a few trees lining the path and I found myself reaching for them, afraid I’d trip and slide all the way back down. But the higher we went, the fewer trees there were until it was just me, Trey, and a great distance to ground. I resisted the urge to grab hold of his arm and focused on picking up one foot after the other.
When the ground leveled out, we stopped to catch our breath and drink from the flasks we’d packed. While I collapsed, wiping the sweat from my brow, Trey stood, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the land like he was king and everything belonged to him. “What a view. Don’t you want to see it, Neri?” When I didn’t answer, he glanced at me. “Are you all right? You’ve gone pretty pale.”
“I’m fine,” I gasped.
He walked over to me and I swore I felt the earth trembling. Why was he stomping so hard? Was he trying to cause a landslide?
If Trey killed us, I would never forgive him. My ghost would spend the rest of its afterlife making Trey’s ghost miserable.
As he kneeled in front of me, I avoided his gaze, as if that would somehow prevent him from figuring out—
“Are you scared?” Trey swallowed his laughter when I glared at him. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s just… I’ve never seen you scared of anything before, Neri.”
“I’m not scared.” The wind picked up at that moment and I braced myself, convinced the gust was strong enough to send me plummeting to my death. The whole time Trey watched me, saying nothing. “Fine!” I threw my hands in the air and immediately regretted doing so. I wasn’t anywhere near the edge of the mountain, but I still felt like I should have both hands planted down on the ground, ready to grip at… what, exactly? It wasn’t like there were any roots for me to grab. Just dirt and loose pebbles. “I’m scared we’re going to fall to our deaths. Are you happy now?”
“Why would I be happy?” Trey cocked his head sideways. “I don’t like seeing you like this. I’m sorry I laughed. You surprised me, that’s all. Like I said, you’re not afraid of anything.”
“I’m afraid of this stupid mountain,” I grumbled.
“Do you want to…?” Trey trailed off, leaving his unspoken question hanging in the air between us.
“Go back?” I finished for him. “No. I want to see my sister. And the hatchlings. Maybe it won’t be so bad once we’re at the top.”
“Exactly.” Trey stood and held a hand out for me to grab. “You’re the infallible Nerine. You’re not going to let a bunch of stupid mountains intimidate you, are you? Look, let’s start now. Why don’t you take a peek at the view? Give yourself time to get used to it. Come on. It’s really beautiful.”
Could I do it? And was it as simple as Trey said? Did I really just need to get used to it? I thought about all the things we’d done so fearlessly. Jumping into the lake without knowing how to swim. Racing in the ocean during a storm once we’d learned how to swim. Camping in the forest without any adults around. Yes, we’d ended up spending half the night awake, convinced we’d heard something rustling in the bushes, but we’d still done it. We’d taken down a wild boar. We’d stood up against the older kids who’d tried to bully us. And now this. Scaling a mountain to see the dragons. It was as if all the formidable things we’d done had led up to this point and it would all be wasted if I turned around now. If I let my fears get the best of me.
“All right,” I said. Curling my hands into fists, I took a deep breath before turning around to face the view Trey had been admiring only moments before.
This time it wasn’t my fear that left me breathless.
The view. The view. There was Meradell in all of its beautiful glory, spreading from the center of the valley to the edge of the forest. In the middle of the city was the lake, its clear surface sparkling like jewels in the summer sunlight. I couldn’t make out any people from here, but I knew they were there, bustling from their homes and jobs as another day wound down.
I could als
o see past the valley—to the plains and the ocean. Had we just been sitting on that beach only a few hours ago, my biggest concern whether my paper was good enough for a passing grade or not? Looking at the waves crash against the golden sand, knowing that the beach and the ocean would still exist long after I was gone, made me realize how laughable my everyday concerns were.
“Nothing like standing on the edge of a mountain to put you in your place,” I murmured to Trey.
“Still afraid of it?” He stood next to me, his hands in his pockets and his posture relaxed. I mimicked his pose, letting the tension that’d been building from my first steps up the mountain dissolve.
I shook my head no. How could I be scared of something so beautiful?
Turning to face Trey, I gave him a meaningful grin. Raising his brows, he opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.
“Race you to the top!”
I took off without checking to see if he would follow, already knowing that he would.
Chapter Four
The sun was beginning its descent in the sky when a low thrumming sound filled the air. Trey was in the lead and he halted suddenly, nearly causing me to crash into him. I put a hand on his shoulder, steadying myself as my heart skipped a beat. I may have overcome enough of my fear to continue trekking up the mountain, but that didn’t stop me from envisioning myself tumbling down and bashing my head against the rocky ground. Squeezing my eyes shut in terror, I shouted, “What’s that noise?”
“You mean ‘who.’ Neri, look.”
When I finally managed to pry my eyes open, my vision was immediately flooded by bright red scales that glowed like fire in the setting sun.
“Senia,” I said hoarsely as the dragon stared down at us. She was currently blocking our path up the mountain, and when her nostrils flared at the sound of my voice, I knew she wasn’t happy with us.
“Nerine and Trey. What are you doing?”
“We’ve come to see the hatchlings?” Why did I say that like it was a question?
“There are no hatchlings,” Senia replied.
Trey and I exchanged dismayed looks. Removing my hand from his shoulder, I took a hesitant step forward. “But they should hatch soon, right?”
A shadow flickered across her golden eyes. “I don’t…”
“Senia,” Trey said softly. “What is it?”
“The elder dragons don’t think the eggs will hatch.” Now the proud dragon closed her eyes and bowed her head, allowing us to see how much pain she was in. “Just like all the others that have come after Aster and I hatched…”
“Oh, Senia.” I closed the distance between us, pausing before placing a slightly shaking hand on her neck. Trey hissed my name in panic. When the dragon didn’t immediately devour me, I relaxed slightly. “What about Aster and Aristo? They haven’t given up yet, have they?”
Senia made a rude noise in the back of her throat. “Aristo? You think that prideful beast cares about anything but himself?”
“But they’re his, aren’t they?” Trey asked. He joined us, but it didn’t escape my attention—or Senia’s, I was sure—that he kept slightly back from the dragon. Even now, he was still afraid of her. It did make sense, if I was perfectly honest. She was capable of tearing us to bits; I just never seemed to worry about it all that much. This was Senia. She was above that sort of petty nonsense.
I hoped.
“Aristo doesn’t share the same foolish optimism Aster and I do that the eggs will hatch,” Senia said.
“Why is that foolish?” Anger began boiling in my stomach. “Those are his children.”
“Because a dragon hasn’t hatched in two hundred and fifty-four years,” she answered, referring to her sister’s birth. “Why should this be any different?”
“Don’t give up hope!” The anger inside me spilled out, my shouts echoing across the mountains like thunder on a summer day. “Just because he and a bunch of other old geezers think—”
Senia snapped her teeth at me, but there was no malice behind the action. “You should respect those… geezers, Nerine.”
Trey and I stared at her in shock. Had she just made a joke? We exchanged a confused look; I shrugged in response and we both swallowed our laughter, lest Senia thought we were laughing at her.
“Putting that aside, the two of you should not be here.” Senia lifted her head to stare down at us haughtily.
I put my hands on my hips. We’d come this far, and I wasn’t about to let her chase us away. “Why not? Is there something in the accords that says humans aren’t allowed to visit the dragons? You visit us down at Meradell all the time!”
“I—” Senia cut herself off, her golden eyes going distant. “You’re right.”
“What was that?” I inched forward, grinning. “What did you just say? Can you repeat it so everyone can hear you, Senia?”
“Neri!” Trey hissed.
She nudged me with her head, knocking me to the ground. “You are exasperating, Nerine, but you are also not wrong. There’s nothing that says you can’t visit us.”
“Exactly!” I said from the ground. “Why should only bonded humans get to climb the mountains? Trey and I have every right to be up there, same as Maya and Nic.”
“Fine,” Senia said. “But are you planning on climbing the rest of the way?” She peered over her shoulder and I followed her gaze, my stomach plummeting when I realized how much more we had to climb. The sun continued its descent in the sky and it wouldn’t be long before we were plunged into darkness with only the stars and the moon to light our way. Wait. Was it a full moon tonight? Or a new moon? I cursed quietly. Next to me Trey was worriedly glancing at the darkening sky, no doubt thinking the same thing as me.
“I’m not going back down the mountain,” I said stubbornly. “We came this far.”
Senia sighed, the air around me now reeking of smoke. “I suppose there’s no way around this, then.” Before I could ask her what she meant, her head darted toward me like a snake about to strike its prey. Quick as a flash, she grabbed me by the collar of my coat and lifted me up. I shrieked as she twisted her long neck and dropped me so I landed—crashed, actually—quite painfully against her ruby scales. Instinct had me reaching forward and wrapping my arms around her neck so I wouldn’t slip off and fall to the ground for the second time.
Senia lowered her head so we were eye to eye. It was only then that I realized what she’d done.
She’d put a human on her back. Proud, aloof Senia… I never thought I’d see such a thing, let alone be the one on her back.
“Senia?”
“If you vomit, I will drop you,” she said. “Your turn, Trey.”
My best friend had paled, and when Senia spoke his name, he took a few shuffling steps backward. “Wait. Wait a minute, Senia. You’re going to—”
“Trey, shut up and get over here,” I said. “Remember all that stuff you said to me earlier? About not letting the mountains intimidate me? Apply all of that to you. Just switch Senia for the mountains.”
“I really don’t want to die,” Trey said.
Senia growled. “Are you implying that I will kill you?”
“You just told Neri you would drop her!”
“If she vomited.” Senia smiled, showing off her sharp teeth. “The same applies to you, Trey.”
“That makes me feel so much better.” Despite his complaints, Trey was edging toward us, one jerky step at a time. When he reached Senia’s side, I stared at him expectantly. “Are we really doing this?” he asked me.
“Did you have any other plans for tonight?” I shot back.
Giving me a ghost of a smile, Trey braced himself before swinging a leg over Senia’s back. He settled in behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle so tightly, I could barely breathe.
“Trey. Air,” I gasped.
“Oh. Sorry.” His grip loosened slightly.
“Are you ready?” Senia asked. Before either of us could respond, she stood, nearly causing us to fall o
ff. I squeezed my arms around her neck and Trey went back to gripping me hard enough that I wondered if I was going to have bruises tomorrow.
Provided we actually survived this.
Senia backed up a few steps, and then she was racing for the edge of the mountain. I couldn’t help the scream that escaped from my lips, but it made me feel slightly better that Trey was hollering just as loudly.
The ground disappeared and my stomach flew up into my throat as visions of falling to my death flashed before my eyes yet again. This stupid trip up the mountain was going to cost me about ten years of my life.
The wind buffeted against us as we fell, stealing the scream from my throat and making my eyes tear. Just when I was convinced Senia really was trying to kill us, her broad wings snapped open and we steadied out. I lifted my head from where I’d buried it against her neck and ventured a look.
“Oh.” I said. We were flying. We were actually flying. It was terrifying and amazing and, like a drug, I was hooked. I wanted to do this forever. I wanted to see the world. I never wanted to put my feet back on the ground.
Why had I been so scared earlier when we were climbing the mountain? What a fool I’d been.
“Trey, are you seeing this?” I shouted to him over my shoulder. The wind whipped my words away, but I knew he’d heard me because he responded with a moan. “Come on! Just take a peek.”
Reluctantly, he listened to me, lifting his head to see the world spread out below us in all its green and blue and brown glory. Stunned, Trey let out a whoop of delight and hollered, “This is amazing! Senia, you’re the best!”
The dragon responded by dropping fast enough that we both screamed and tightened our holds. “Senia!” I yelled.
“It was the wind,” she responded, giving me a cheeky grin before beginning her ascent. The higher we rose, the colder it got, and I was grateful we were both wearing our coats. But my fingers were quickly turning to ice, and I hoped we landed before I went entirely numb.
Run and Touch the Sky Page 3
