The Sentinels

10: Leadership

The tall, massive trees of Everett Forest shook with fear, birds crying out as they flew out of their crowns and into the sky. Reagan was scouring the woods from above, while Tyrion was out hunting any kind of prey, and Ryker... Well, Ryker was in one of the many gorges around here, claiming to be washing himself.

What he thought he needed to wash was beyond Dante's comprehension.

He, compared to his siblings, was doing something useful. He was concocting a plan on how to snatch up the rogue pack of wolves and bring them to Polla'Nisia.

Dante was sick and tired of following them, day after day, without getting anywhere. They'd encountered at least seven immortals and four wolves, attempting to bring back the rogues to Everett Valley. That too seemed an illogical thing to do. What did their council wish to achieve by capturing them?

Chaos had already washed through their little town. There wasn't much to salvage in the wreckage the storm had caused.

When Dante moved his massive body so his forelegs were beneath his heavy head, the ground continued to shake lightly. What if the wolves just shifted and divided each other to sit on their backs? Or lay in a row so that Dante and his brothers could grab them with their talons?

The flow of air that traveled through Dante's chest came out as a dark cloud of smoke. It sprinkled out of his nostrils as if he were doing it on purpose—but the dragonfire he let escape earlier left traces of smoke in his lungs that always came out hours later. It scratched his throat and caused him to cough, a few sparks of fire escaping along with the smoke. Once all of the residue was out of his lungs, he could breathe properly again.

When Reagan finally returned from circling above, Dante thought of speaking to him about a proposal he'd been wanting to make for the past few days.

Reagan landed on the ground, his massive weight provoking the earth beneath his talons to fight back. It rumbled beneath them, Dante could tell it was stronger than usual by how heavily the trees tried to withstand the force. Those that couldn't were uprooted and crashed onto the ground. Reagan probably tore one down with his tail, but Dante didn't care much at the moment. He just heard a screech and then a tree falling.

Dante tried not to think of Kendra, losing her balance and breaking those fragile bones of hers. Instead, he tried something that was much more difficult: reasoning with his brother.

"We've been wasting time, you must realize this, brother. It will take weeks until they cross the mountains and months until they get to the border of the Denhid Forest", he said, staring at the black-scaled dragon with the sharp, golden eyes. He had his head resting on top of his forelegs—quite like Dante himself—and stared into the distance.

"We can not rob them of their free will, Dante. We need to give them time to find their path until we can make ourselves known."

"But why? What does that matter? They'll have a heart-attack either way."

Dante huffed, feeling annoyance creeping into his words. His patience was already wearing thin. No matter how long conversations went with Reagan, they were always infuriating. He was stubborn and Dante just couldn't stand him. At least, not most of the time.

Reagan turned his head, finally, to face his brother. There was determination in his glowing eyes, but Dante wouldn't give up easily. They didn't have the time Reagan wanted to give the furry wolves. And as unreasonable as Reagan could be, Dante would prove him wrong, no matter the lengths he had to go to.

"Perhaps. Still, they aren't emotionally stable enough to find out about the world they've been hidden from."

His tone was smooth, controlled. Relaxed. It made Dante's blood boil with anger. "They'll never be stable enough, they're wolves! All shifters are controlled by their emotions. We don't have time, Reagan, we need to get going! We need them in Polla'Nisia. Are you even aware of the pressure the queen is facing? She's been keeping Polla'Nisia under control for the past months without us while everyone has been on edge. You know of what will come to pass. It won't be long until they know exactly where we are."

Dante tried hard to keep himself and his emotions intact, to steady the boiling anger simmering through his veins. He tried to imagine Kendra's face in front of him, her soft touch on his rough scales. Her sweet smell filled his nostrils. Her love fulfilled him, giving him purpose.

He breathed through deeply, calming his nerves as he thought about his promised.

"Dante, they've just left the only home they ever knew. Bringing them to Polla'Nisia right now would only put them closer to the edge. We will spend more time calming them down and explaining everything than we are following them until they're ready."

He took another deep, deep breath.

Kendra. Kendra. Kendra. Brown curly mane of hair. Beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. Freckles.

Oh. Those freckles.

Dante's voice came out uncharacteristically controlled, void of any emotions. "I will say it again—they will never be ready."

"How would you know that?" Reagan scoffed.

Scoffing back, Dante rolled his eyes. "How do you know they will be ready?"

Holding his stare for only a few moments longer—Reagan finally gave in. He looked away, shifting his gaze, and closed his mouth.

Reagan arose, standing on all four of his massive legs. Dante didn't take long to follow his lead.

"Fine. I will call Catherine and then we'll reveal ourselves to them."

So what did you guys think of Dante and Reagan's conversation?

Who's right?

How do you think Catherine will handle this?