3. We Have to Try

Iwake with a start, slightly disoriented, with the strong feeling I slept too long. I roll over and find Lukas's bedroll empty. Blinking in the dim blue haze that glows through the canvas walls, I rub my hands over my face and push myself up and out of the tent.

Lukas sits by the fire with Nico and several crewmen I don't know by name. He smiles when he sees me. "How did you sleep?"

I'm hit with a strong dose of relief. I half-worried he left without me even though he promised he wouldn't.

"Too well." I clear my throat. "Why didn't you wake me? We need to get supplies to Davyn."

He makes room for me on the log next to him. "Felicity, Dax, and Patches already left."

I blink at him, certain I heard him wrong. "You expect Felicity to direct them there?"

He merely nods, knowing things I cannot—which is annoying, especially when I'm still half-asleep. "As soon as Patches returns, you and I will go up to the surface."

I rub the back of my neck, feeling guilty for the eagerness I know he can sense. I desperately want out of this cave system. "Why?"

"I've been thinking. We both know the dragon won't be able to fly out on her own. I wondered if you and Gregory could lift her out with your magic, but I fear the distance is too great. However, that gave me an idea—what if we create a harness system out of rope and hoist her from the cavern?"

"We'd have to get to the top of the pit—outside the monolith. I can't fly, Lukas. Can you?"

He gives me a roguish smile that's hesitant around the edges. "We can't, no. So, we need something that can."

"No." I realize where this is going, and I don't like it. "The male voltaic won't talk to you, Lukas. He'll kill us if we try."

"We'll take Flink. His nullifying magic worked on him before. I only need a few minutes to send my message. He'll help us once we explain—I'm sure of it."

And I'm sure it's a fool's errand.

Shaking my head, I reach for his hand. "Lukas…"

"It'll work." He interlaces our fingers, pressing his palm flush to mine.

"How are we going to find him?"

"Loric knows which island the dragons have claimed."

It all sounds so reasonable—except the part where we're trying to communicate with a dragon who wields pure energy and has tried to kill us with it before.

"Say we convince him to help. And that he can actually pull the female dragon from the cavern. How do we get her to their island?"

"He should be able to carry her," Lukas answers. "The archipelago isn't large, and he's much bigger than she is."

Especially now. The poor female dragon is practically skin and bones.

"Lukas…I don't know."

"We have to try, don't we?" he asks earnestly.

Flink wakes up, yawning out his sparkling element. When he realizes I've joined the fire, he blinks at me and then stands. Stretching, he comes over to lay his head on my knee. His eyes gaze into mine, slightly mournful.

"You're in on this, aren't you?" I murmur, stroking his head.

"It'll work," Lukas says.

"It might work."

"Look—Patches is back." He stands, squeezing my hand before he drops it.

"Felicity and Dax made it to the tunnel," the mercenary says when he reaches us.

"Did anything see you?" I ask.

"I don't think so. I hid in the woods for a while to make sure nothing went in after them."

"Did you hear any whistles or chirps?" I ask.

"No."

"The mole trolls are still at the cave-in," Lukas says.

"For now," I add darkly. "But we need to hurry."

Walkingthe lower mine tunnel is more unnerving than crossing the bluewood. I listen for whistles, expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

I don't trust this silence.

By the time we reach the lift, my nerves are frayed. Flink, too, seems nervous, though the dragon might be picking up on our apprehension and not any unseen threats.

We step onto the platform lift, and I remember what Gregory said about the mole trolls scaling the mine shaft walls. I send up my magelights, fully prepared for a monster to leap down on us.

But the mine shaft is empty.

"I swear I'm losing my mind," I mutter.

Lukas rubs his hand over my back. "We'll be out of the tunnel soon."

I won't feel better until I step into the daylight. Rain, mosquitoes, an angry dragon—I'll take all that over this smothering darkness.

When we arrive at the upper mine tunnel, I send my magelights ahead. The deserted pathway stretches in front of us, perfectly silent.

It's eerie.

Flink pauses beside me, lowering his head as he stares down the tunnel.

Nervous, I ask the dragon, "What do you see?"

"He doesn't know," Lukas answers. "Perhaps nothing."

We continue in silence. When I glance at Lukas, I find his hand on his sword.

"Do you sense something?" I whisper.

"Maybe."

That one word causes goosebumps to prickle my arms.

I summon a flame, every one of my muscles tensed and ready to fight. I turn to Lukas and whisper, "Do you think?—"

Something moves ahead of us, catching my attention from my peripheral vision. Flink goes still, listening. I freeze, scanning the dark mine tunnel. We're near the entrance cavern now. I can see the dim glow of light from farther down. Surely the monsters wouldn't linger this close to the daylight?

"Now do you sense something?" I ask Lukas, my voice barely audible.

"Yes."

We wait, but all is silent and still.

Lukas draws his sword. "Let's keep moving."

We pause just before entering the cavern near the mine entrance. It's brighter here. Morning light filters in from outside, and the gentle patter of rain echoes in the hollow space.

"There's something in there." Lukas says the words so quietly, I can barely hear him. "It's wary of us."

"Do you think it will attack?" I whisper.

"I'm not sure."

Lukas edges forward, and I follow, preparing a flame. My eyes sweep the edges of the cavern room as we enter it. Then I look up, bracing myself. But no monsters hang amongst the stalactites like overgrown bats. If something was here, it's gone now.

"Maybe it went down one of the other tunnels?" I whisper, my attention moving to the dark passages that split off this space.

"It must have," Lukas says.

We continue toward the entrance, neither of us eager to turn our backs on the cavern.

And then…we're out.

I gulp in a lungful of damp air as soon as we leave the mine, blinking in the diffused light that seems so bright after the eternal night of the cave. I hold my hand above my eyes to shield them from the rain, taking in the landscape around the mine entrance. It's all as it was when we left it.

It feels like waking from a dream. Or, in this case, a nightmare.

After pulling up our hoods, we walk to camp. It's quiet since half our party is in the cave. But this seems a little too quiet.

My steps slow. "I don't see anyone."

"They're probably avoiding the rain in the mess tent," Lukas answers.

But as we enter the camp, my stomach drops. Several of the tents lie lopsided, their rope supports pulled free. Personal belongings have been strewn into the rain—bedrolls, blankets, and other odds and ends. Everything is soggy and limp. A tinderbox lies open in the mud, filled with rainwater.

There's no campfire and no one watching the perimeter.

There is, however, a dead mole troll lying near the mess tent's entrance.

Grimacing, I step over it. Dread coats my throat when we enter the space and find it empty as well. Several pewter plates and broken earthen mugs lie on the ground. The flour and sugar barrels are open. The small pouch of salt is tipped over, its contents spilling onto the ground.

Another dead monster lies halfway under the side of the tent—like someone stopped him as he tried to escape.

But other than the few lifeless monsters, the camp is completely deserted.

"Where's Loric?" I ask.

Lukas doesn't have an answer. Solemnly, he says, "Let's return to the Serpent."

We leave the mess tent and stand near the fire pit, surveying the mess once more. As the sun momentarily breaks away from the churning clouds, a gleam in the dirt catches my eye.

I kneel, brushing the wet dirt aside, uncovering a small golden disk. "Lukas," I say urgently, offering him the coin.

"Another Tilloran tolbit?" A thoughtful frown etches his face. "What's it doing out here?"

I rise, shaking my head. "I don't know. But right now, I think we have more pressing concerns."

Namely, where are all of our men?