RESCUE

18

Aria woke to the sounds of the rustling leaves above her, early morning sunlight peeking through the canopy. She rolled over to find Evelyn's large panther body curled up in a circle on top of a bedroll, still asleep. It was the most peaceful Aria had ever seen her look.

As if Evelyn could hear Aria's thoughts, her golden eyes opened lazily. Aria quickly looked away, finding Kam and Leah nestled a little further into the tree line, sharing a roll. Not wanting to disturb their privacy, she dared a glance back at Evelyn to find the panther letting out a large yawn, exposing her sharp fangs, her wide tongue curling dramatically in the process.

"Morning," Aria greeted the panther. "It's not often I wish I had a fur coat, but I definitely could have used one last night."

Evelyn shifted back into her mortal body, whatever innocence she'd held in her sleeping animal form now gone, replaced by her stoic features. She ran her fingers through her hair, undoing any tangles, and began working her long mane into a braid. "It does come in quite handy sometimes. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't sometimes think about what it would be like to have wings. "

A loud laugh came from the direction of the fire, one Aria immediately recognized as Taren's. The two women turned their heads toward the sound. "Guess we're late to the party," Aria teased.

"It appears we are," Evelyn actually giggled, a light, dancing sound. A lovely contrast to their usual interactions. Evelyn leaned down and picked up a small rock and hurled it in Kam and Leah's direction where it landed with a light thud against the ground and rolled into their feet. "Hey, you two, time to go!"

Aria watched in horror, but Evelyn guffawed when Kam raised a middle finger to her in response. In another life, she pictured how easy it might be to become part of this group's joyful dynamics.

Emerging from the tree line, she immediately met Luka's eyes across the clearing. She feigned interest in the wadded-up bedroll in her hands to avoid his piercing gaze.

"How was the second shift?" Aria asked Taren as they doused the fire with water, thick smoke rising from the ashes.

"Nothing to report, aside from Finn's snores," they taunted the blonde panther who promptly protested. Taren gestured facetiously in his direction with an extended thumb. "Someone can't hang."

"I nodded off one time ," he growled and left the circle to refill his water canteen in the creek.

In the panther's absence, Taren leaned into Aria and whispered very seriously. "I may have to break my dry spell for that man. He is deliciously broody." Luka, unable to hear them from where he stood, only looked at them with a raised brow.

"I thought you found shifters disgusting, you hypocrite."

"I know when to admit my errors."

Aria laughed and patted her friend on the shoulder. "You have my blessing." And she meant it. Whatever notions she'd had of shifters making a poor choice for lovers had seemed to dissipate over the last few days. In fact, their similarities to the fae were unending. She could admit Finn was an attractive man, no need to deny Taren the things she was withholding from herself, right?

Taren had a lot less riding on them than she did. She still hadn't told them the truth of the battle at the border, and honestly, she wasn't sure there would ever be a good time to tell them. Taren was roughly her age when the battle had occurred but was part of the Guard that remained at the castle and hadn't experienced the action firsthand. How do you break the news to someone that they've been lied to in such a massive way?

She needed to confirm with her parents, first—or at least from another source that was there—before discussing it with anyone else. Plus, it wouldn't matter what the truth was if they couldn't figure out a plan to defeat this unknown enemy.

Later. She would figure out the truth later. None of that would matter if they didn't make it to the Dragon Province first.

"Come, we'll pack up the satchel," Taren motioned for Aria to follow. The two made their way over to the heaping pile of packs and supplies while the rest of the group tidied up the site and stretched their legs for the trek ahead.

Luka called for them to gather. "Evelyn is going to lead you through the pass. She's navigated it more than anyone else. I'll fly ahead to drop our supplies and warn them of our arrival so no one tries to take you out in the skies," he looked to Aria and Taren. "I've never seen a fae come through the pass, so I don't know when you'll reach a point where you'll be able to fly. But once you feel safe doing so, you should. The rest of us can manage it on four legs."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and he stepped away, melting into his black scales. Aria wasn't sure she would ever get used to seeing him up close like this. He was truly massive. Incredible in every sense of the word.

Evelyn attached the satchel around his thick neck, his head resting on the ground for her to reach around him. And then he was gone, soaring over the nearby peak and out of view.

"Well, no time like the present," Evelyn said, leading them onward.

***

The shifters remained in their mortal forms as they climbed. Aria wasn't sure if it was easier for them this way, or if it was just in solidarity with the fae who had resorted to hiking on foot when the air became too thin to fly. She was breathing too hard to care. Everyone was panting as they ascended, using their hands to grip whatever they could around them to keep from tumbling back down.

"We're almost to the top," Evelyn called from up ahead. "Don't look down." Aria took the panther's word for it and kept her face pointed forward. Or upward, rather. As the spots for gripping became less and less frequent, Taren and Aria alternated pulling and pushing stones out from the ledges to provide hand and footholds for the group while the shifters bore their claws into the stone. The rock under their hands remained cold from the altitude despite the summer sun beating along their backs.

"We'll rest there!" Evelyn shouted, pointing to a platform that jutted from the stone face ahead. One by one, they pulled each other up and onto the flat rock, just large enough for all of them to stand shoulder to shoulder. Their collective breathing was heavy and ragged.

" That ," Aria coughed, "was… the… pass ?" Her words were segmented by her need for air. "I'd hate to see the rest of the mountains if this is the easiest way through," she sucked in another deep breath. She turned, following Evelyn's face that gazed out at the land they'd just come from. Whatever breath she'd just collected was taken away again by the vast beauty of Denover that stretched below them in every direction. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen, both terrifying and exhilarating from this new height.

"And that's why no one ever comes to this gods-forsaken province," Evelyn mustered a breathy laugh. "Technically that was the easy part. The descent is just around the corner. Great job everyone," she looked at Aria and Taren. Was that admiration on her face? "Watch the crumbling rocks on your way down. Don't let your eyes deceive you. Test every step before you take it, at least until things get less steep."

Aria gulped, grateful for her connection to the earth, her ability to sense the cracks and crevices. If she took a spill from this height, she wasn't sure her wings would be able to catch her in this thin air, even if she was able to generate her own gusts to slow things down.

They rested for just a moment, taking turns passing around a water canteen—one of the few things they dared to travel with over the pass peak. Evelyn rounded the corner first, just enough room on the other side of the ledge for her to shift and then pad her way down the first few treacherous steps.

She let out a low rumble to encourage the next shifter to follow. Finally, it was just Taren and Aria left. "Go ahead, I'm right behind you," Taren said, nudging Aria toward the corner. After saying a silent prayer, she made her way around the edge.

No amount of warning could have prepared her for what laid on the other side. As she neared the opposite ledge that looked out over the Dragon Province, she was met with such novel terrain that it took a few blinks for her to realize it was real. Before her stretched miles and miles of mountainous landscape, covered in deep, vibrant shades of green and brown. Far in the distance lay a small speck of civilization, right where the foothills seemed to turn to plains.

Even smaller dots of various colors, wings expanded, flew through the sky, barely visible from where she stood. A larger, black dragon aimed for the miniature castle, showing them the way.

She looked down, watching the wolves and panthers carefully navigate the dark stone beneath them, pebbles and bits of the brittle rock careening into the abyss with each calculated step. She forced her breathing into a rhythm, suddenly wishing she had a tail to help keep her balanced. As much as she wanted to use her wings for that purpose, she didn't trust herself not to brush them against the stone and accidentally knock herself off the cliff.

The descent was as hard as she'd imagined. Not a sound was heard from the group, aside from the occasional grunt or trickling stone dislodged from their feet. Each person followed in Evelyn's footsteps as much as possible, trusting her route down the pass.

Aria thought about trying to steady herself with pillars of rock but didn't dare disrupt the crags, lest it potentially impact her newfound allies below. One wrong movement could start a fatal landslide, unstoppable even with magic if it became large enough. Especially in their precarious positions. Instead, with her hands sensing along the stones, she felt for any gaps and breaks before committing to her foot placement.

The group trudged on, the bright sun creating haloed glares on the snow-covered peaks. After what seemed like an eternity, their breathing started to become a little easier, the slope a little less steep. She began to catch up to the others, feeling the vibrations from their careful leaps below her and the heavy steps of Taren behind her. They'd made it past the hard part, thank the gods .

She allowed herself to release a sigh of relief, but it was too soon. Before she'd even finished her grateful thought, the sound of claws dragging against stone grated from below.

Leah let out a howl, fear resonating through her voice even as a wolf. Aria looked to the shifters below and watched in terror as the thin ledge Evelyn stood on began to crack and splinter under her feet. The black panther scrambled, gripping the stone. But she was too late.

The ledge fell away, and so did Evelyn.

Aria didn't think twice before launching herself off the side of the mountain and into the air, her wings unfolding behind her. She quickly tucked them in to accelerate, closing the distance between herself and the panther as she dove straight toward Evelyn. Aria pulled a strong wind from below, trying to slow Evelyn's plummeting body as much as she could.

"Shift, Evelyn!" Aria shouted to the panther. There was no way she'd be able to catch the woman in her animal form, but she might stand a chance as a mortal. She prayed Evelyn trusted her, because Aria knew the panther would be much less likely to survive if she hit the rocks below with her soft flesh.

Evelyn's dark fur became pale skin, stark against the slate stone below her that rose closer and closer with every millisecond. She was almost there. Evelyn's arms reached for her own in desperation.

As she dove, Aria did her best to command the tumbling rocks out of Evelyn's path before the panther collided with them. She strained her limbs further. So close. She was so close.

Aria stretched and gave herself one last push of wind from behind and grasped Evelyn's hands, opening her wings wide and catching the air just before Evelyn collided with a jagged stone that jutted from the side of the mountain.

"I've got you," Aria said softly, disbelief still coursing through her. "I've got you." She assessed Evelyn warily, the woman clearly in a state of shock. "It's okay," she said. "Just look at me."

Evelyn looked up to the fae woman with tears in her eyes, the fear still rendering her speechless. Aria floated a little further until she came upon a ledge that looked sturdy enough. She set Evelyn's feet gently on the flat rock below them, her wings straining from the exertion. "Can you stand?" she asked.

Evelyn released herself from Aria's grasp to put a palm against the wall of stone, steadying her trembling limbs. Her already ivory face was now pallid, her breathing labored. "You're okay," she brushed a calming hand along Evelyn's arm. "Just catch your breath, all right? Wait here for the others if you need to."

Aria flapped her wings, keeping herself in flight and testing the air. Aside from her impulsive act of bravery, there was no unusual strain. "I think we're good to fly!" she called up to Taren, who immediately joined her in the air, unable to get away from the mountain fast enough. Aria glanced up to find the rest of the shifters peering down at her, admiration and relief clear in their faces, their eyes still emotional even in their animal forms. The entire scene had only lasted seconds, but it felt like a year had been taken off her life.

She drew herself away from the mountain toward the sprawling landscape below. "The Fulgara castle is there," Evelyn muttered quietly, pointing with a shaking finger at a tower now visible in the distance. "Luka will watch for you." Her voice was so small. It made Aria's heart ache for the usually-confident panther, still overcome by her brush with death .

"Be careful," Aria said gently, meeting Evelyn's cowering gaze. Evelyn nodded as the two fae made their way to the estate below, desperate to be back on solid ground as soon as possible.