It's not supposed to snow in the South Forest, but the weather in the second-emptiest corner of Shelha is not the only thing behaving strangely. When an ex-tyrant started acting up again, Sethral had hoped it meant the end of lazy days and monotonou...
The moment the Drakons were out of sight, Sethral broke cover. Greenfalls' stones were still sun-warm, and in heartbeats she was sailing up a thermal. This was going to be cold, but worth it.
On the storm-fuelled wind, it took half the usual time to reach the Rocklands. As the first spires rose below, Sethral rose too. She could notafford to get caught before Whipper had found the Coppertails. There was a flash from below, and she resisted the urge to laugh. She climbed out of Drakon eyeshot as Whipper signalled his position again with his stolen trap piece.
The flight had reached the inner Rocklands now, but they weren't slowing down. Whipper's flashes jinked to the side. The Drakons were attempting to shake off visual pursuit, diving and weaving among the spires.
A flurry of small flashes danced below. 'Here!' Whipper spelled out, then, 'They're taking us further. Good luck!'
"You too," murmured Sethral. She kept her eyes locked on the last spot he had signalled from and dropped until she could make out landmarks. There among the pinnacles was a walled hollow like Raventower. Drakons swarmed its twisted rocks. Sethral memorized the location, then rose again. There was no sign of Whipper.
"They'll be fine," she said out loud, and the soundness of her voice reassured her a little. She returned to the cliffs and skimmed along them until stump-like plateaus came into view. The third set was Rockhall's. Sethral plunged from the sky. If the twins were smart, they would be making their way here.
She swooped in the window and barely swallowed a scream as a blur shot past her. "Jay!"
The Northlander let his fur flatten and trotted back from the main tunnel. 'I thought you would come here,' he flicked. 'Where did Winter take the Coppertails? How did she catch them?'
"Traps, and they're in a rock prison in the inner Rocklands. Whip and Silver got taken by Drakons on purpose, and now they've been taken somewhere else. Jay, we've got to free the Coppertails before Winter comes to see them!"
Hearing the fear rising in her voice, Sethral shut her eyes. She had to control herself. They could do this.
Jay smacked the ground and Sethral startled. She looked at him.
'Are the twins coming?' he flicked, probably for the second time.
"They should be."
A wind blasted in the window and Jay wrenched back, hissing.
"Jay—"
Another gust smacked her wings. Jay darted down the main tunnel.
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Whipper had no idea if Sethral had seen his signals. He was not even sure if Sethral was still free, but as he looked back, he thought he could see a tiny dot in the sky over the prison hollow. Something about it felt safe, so he guessed it was her.
The Drakons broke cover at the edge of the inner Rocklands. They were met by a single Drakon from a spire up ahead, who exchanged a few coarse words with the flight leader before dismissing all but Whipper and Silversand's captors. They followed her around the spire. A hole yawned near its tip like a maw. As they dove down its throat, Whipper could hear Drakon claws on the walls around them. Their three sped down a twisting, turning passageway barely wide enough for Drakon wings. They had scarcely left the light behind when the Drakons pulled up in a large space. There was a scrape of metal on stone, and a sharp chattered word in the darkness. The Drakons' grips vanished. Whipper heard Silversand squeak as the two of them dropped into nothingness, while above them a heavy grate fell back into place with a clang like a death knell.
