As we head back to the castle, Jonah prompts me. "You have to try riding her this afternoon. If you want, I could go first."
Picturing him on my new pink fluffy unicorn-a-saurus makes me giggle, which prompts Jonah to ask, "What's so funny?
"The Grim Reaper riding a pink pony," I laugh. Carfron laughs too. Why does he think that's funny? Elves don't know about the Grim Reaper.
Jonah smiles. "That's the color they are. They're very rare. I've only ever seen one other before, and frankly, I was being selfish when I made the offer. But you better believe Dathid's already been out here."
My face tightens into a frown. I may not have wanted to ride her, but I don't want anyone else to either, at least not without my permission.
"So she won't bond with me the way Lenox did?" That makes me sad. I'll never replace him, but another buddy would've been nice.
"No, yours was a unique link. The fact that Lenox would allow Levise to ride him occasionally is more from your training than their nature. Hippocampuses are passive. She'll bond with you, and you may even become her favorite, but she can also bond with others. They're very loving creatures."
He reads my disappointed face. "The good news is they're extraordinarily difficult to ride. Only the most gifted of questrians can ride them."
"Today you fly," Carfron says, or maybe it's a question. I give up trying to figure him out. Sometimes I think he's being deliberately obtuse.
"Looks like it," I answer.
"What?" Jonah asks.
I explain, and he looks concerned.
"You may not be flying today," Jonah says.
"Today you fly," Carfron says. This time it's a command.
"Why?" I ask. "Why, today I fly. Why not tomorrow, or the day after that, or never."
Carfron jumps in front of me and stops me in my tracks. "Today. You fly."
I swallow. He's not being mean or threatening, just urgent.
"Jonah," I say. "Today, we fly."
Those words caused a flurry of activity. Carfron's not forthcoming with any other information like where are we flying to or how long it may take. Are there any dangers? How many should accompany us? Nothing. Now that I've acquiesced, he's quietly following me around and staying out of the way.
As far as everyone else is concerned, this is a big deal. A team is assembled. That took some debate, but the old gang is back together. It wasn't clear if Solara was healthy enough, but she insisted, and we wanted her. We all feel Trelix's absence. He was such a giant in every way. The hole he left is a bottomless pit.
However, Dathid has replaced him with two faeries. Solara doesn't appreciate having three faeries and only herself as the elfin representative.
I smile at her, "You're not completely outnumbered. We have Carfron, too."
"Oh yeah, the leader. I forgot about that," she says with a smirk.
We assemble in the field, but Gretchen won't come off her cloud. "I think there's too much commotion. Maybe you can get her down, and we'll meet up over at Brister Tower," Jonah says.
Levise hands me a telescope and walks off. To my surprise, Carfron leaves, too. I wonder if he and Solara used to be friends because he's following her.
I whistle, and a pink nose peeks over the side of the cloud. "Come on; they're all gone." Three pointy toes, and then her face appears. "Come on," I coax excitedly.
