Their Fireheart

Chapter Thirty Six

Aelin 

The chirping birds, rustling branches and bubbling of a nearby stream came together to craft the melodic symphony of the Oakwald forest. Dappled sunlight filtered through the treetops to warm our shoulders, our steps unfaltering on the leaves and moss beneath our boots.

Rather than enjoying a relaxing walk through the wood, I was wracked with tension, my mind racing a million miles a minute. Clad in green and brown to remain concealed in the dense trees, Aedion, my mates and I were on a hunt - for our enemies, and our idiotic human ally.

The morning after Fenrys's rooftop pronouncement saw us creeping through the brush toward the location where the king was supposedly meeting with the witches - about half a mile from the temple of Temis. The tiny temple was just inside the cover of Oakwald, perched atop a towering slice of rock in the middle of a deep ravine. Accessible only via two dangling footbridges attached to either side of the ravine, it was an unmistakable marker - both on air and on land.

Rowan and Cassian led the way, arrows loosely nocked in their bows as they picked out the way. Aedion and I followed, with Azriel and Rhys bringing up the rear of our little hunting party.

All of us were on high alert as we hunted down our unsuspecting prey - hopefully before another predator did. The fact we were here at all had irritation lancing through me with every step. I was going to tear the foolish Captain a new one after this. If he survived, that is.

An unfamiliar scent trickled through the trees, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Rowan paused ten feet ahead and pointed to three towering oaks. We halted, not even daring to breathe as growls and roars of beasts that sounded far too large rumbled through the air, followed by the faint scrape of leathery wings on stone.

Cursing internally, I hurried to where Rowan and Cassian were waiting by the oak trees, the latter pointing skywards to indicate our next course of action. I took the center tree without a second thought, hardly disturbing a leaf or twig as I climbed. Rowan followed after me, both of us settling next to each other on a high branch with decent visibility into the clearing below.

Aedion and Azriel took the tree to the right, with Rhysand and Cassian scaling the left. They all kept climbing until the foliage blocked their view of the ground below and we could all see into the little meadow up ahead.

And what we saw ... holy fuck.

The wyverns were enormous. Unnaturally large, ruthlessly vicious, and if those saddles on their back were any indication - clearly perfectly suited as mounts for the equally bloodthirsty witches.

"Poisoned barbs on the tail," Rowan murmured in my ear. "From the look of that wingspan, the rumors of their capability for flight are likely true."

I nodded distractedly, intent on analyzing the scene below us.

Only thirteen wyverns were grounded in the meadow. Snarling beasts of nightmares, except for the smallest of them. I tilted my head as I watched the curious creature as he sprawled out on his belly, face burrowed in a mound of wildflowers. Iron spikes gleamed on his tail in lieu of bone, scars covering his body like a cat's strips, and his wings ... I knew the material grafted there. Spidersilk - yards of it. Enough to cost a small fortune.

Interesting.

The other wyverns stood normally, every single one capable of ripping a man in half in one bite.

I tried not to dwell on the futility of facing even one of them in battle, let alone three fucking thousand -

"That one - I bet she's the leader," Rowan said, interrupting my spiraling thoughts as he pointed to the women gathered at the edge of the meadow.