Page 116 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

The camp hinted at there being more than just the four. That is why we took so long getting back. But the search has been fruitless.

Everyone has their orders, and there is a flurry of motion in the camp as soon as we land. We break down the tents and pack up.

I let my gaze wander over the commotion around me, looking for Ara. I don’t think she encountered any troubles here, but I want her report nonetheless. I need to know she’s okay.

The fire started during the fight in the poachers’ camp when one of them grabbed a burning log to defend himself but let it drop and decided to run instead.

The area around Telos is always dry, and wildfires happen regularly. Since we haven’t had much rain lately, the dry stalks of grass and bushes from last summer burn easily. We only got out in time because we hadn’t been on foot.

Ara is probably helping with the tents.

I walk through the camp, taking in the progress. Ten minutes is all the time I gave everyone to finish packing. Everything else will stay here. I’m not ready to risk lives for stuff that can be replaced.

I can’t find Ara anywhere, and unease creeps in.

You only missed her in this chaos, I reassure myself. But this is Ara, and I usually miss nothing if she’s concerned.

I try to put myself in her position. Waiting down here with the smoke getting thicker.

Fuck. Would she go looking for us?

“Hey, Ilario,” I call out. “Have you seen Summer since we got back?”

“No, I haven’t seen him. Why?” he answers, looking around.

“Haven’t got the report yet,” I say casually. No need to worry him until I’m sure she isn’t here. I go through the camp again, asking if anyone has seen Summer since we got back, but no such luck.

The tents are packed now, and most things are stored in packs. I inspect every flight that leaves, and once only our flight is left, there is no point in keeping the hope up. Ara is nowhere to be found.

“You head back. I’ll look for Ara and come back as soon as I find her,” I tell Jared quietly. He’s reluctant to leave, but he has a runner to take back, and there is no visibility with all the smoke, so a search is pointless. But I can’t just leave either. Jared nods.

“If you aren’t back by tomorrow evening, I’ll come looking for you.” He holds my stare before he mounts behind the runner already sitting on Zephyr, and they take flight.

I get on Daeva, and we take off too.

I don’t know what I expect to find. I don’t even know where to start, but anything is better than doing nothing.

A feeling of urgency started the minute I suspected Ara was missing, and it grows and grows. She’s likely in trouble, and not being able to do anything drives me insane.

“Where are you?” I murmur under my breath. The wind steals the sound of my words as soon as they leave my lips.

We circle above the area where the camp was. Ara is on foot, so she can’t be far away. What prompted her to leave camp? Did someone kidnap her?

Now you are being ridiculous, I admonish myself. But her recognizing the mark on my chest means she probably has connections to someone in higher circles, and we are close to a border… But they wouldn’t have gotten her out of here without us noticing.

“We aren’t the only winged creatures out here,”Daeva reminds me, her voice surprisingly soft.

“I know that, but—you think the dragon came for her?”My eyes search the area around us for a flash of scales.

“At least he wouldn’t have had a problem with fire,”she muses.

“True.”But he couldn’t have known that Ara would be on her own. No, she still has to be around here somewhere.

“Keep an eye out for him, just in case,”I tell Daeva.

We continue flying rounds when Daeva perks up beneath me.

“I found her,” she swoops down, heading for the remains of our camp.

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