Page 62 of Cloak of Night
“Shh.” Wolf stroked her hair. “He’s not going to die. And we’ll fly to Naimo Ice Caves as soon as we’re packed.”
Fairy pulled away and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. “I don’t want to waste another minute. He needs me.” She hurried over to fold her sleeping mat and gather her weapons. She packed up the wild persimmons she’d found on a tree that morning during foraging, then grabbed her copy of the map from the Dragon Prince’s study and rolled it into a scroll, placing it safely inside her bag.
Beside her, Wolf also packed his bags, but instead of stashing knives and other weapons into his sleeves and hidden pockets, he unloaded all of them into a satchel.
“Aren’t you going to need those?” Fairy asked.
“Can’t use them when I’m a wolf.”
Oh, right. How else were they going to fly down to the other side of the kingdom? Worrying about Broomstick was clouding her head. But the thought of Wolf in his demigod form lifted her spirits a little.
He began to lay out a system of straps he’d been working on while they were stationed here in the forest. It was a harness to allow him to carry their supplies.
When they were ready, Wolf shifted in a glow of soft blue light. His transitions were smooth now, after all thepractice Liga had put him through. “You know how the harness works?”
Fairy nodded. She threw the straps over his back, then lay on the ground, scooting to slide under him and secure the harness around his belly. Another set of straps looped around his front legs. Then she tied each of their bags onto his sides, making sure to evenly distribute the weight.
“Does it feel all right?” she asked.
Wolf walked around the chestnut grove, testing out the harness as he moved. He wiggled his shoulders, shifting where the straps dug in.
“All good. Hop on.”
Fairy jumped up and lay a strap across her hips, pulling to tighten it. That had been another of Wolf’s ideas, to create belts like makeshift saddles, so his passengers wouldn’t plummet to their deaths. She leaned forward and hugged his neck, allowing herself the comfort of nestling into his fur.
He took off at a run and leaped into the air. They sailed up easily, as if he’d been doing this his entire life.
She supposed he had, at least in his previous one. Fairy wondered if he still regretted giving up his right to live in Celestae.
As Jade Forest and the Imperial City grew smaller below them, sadness ached in Fairy’s chest. This might be the last time she saw the place that had been her home for eighteen years. Even in the best of circumstances—where they succeeded in killing Prince Gin and stopped the impending war—she wouldn’t get to come back here for a while.
Then something dive-bombed at them, and Fairy shrieked.
Wolf dodged, but barely. “What in all hells was that?”
Fairy scanned the air. A massive buzzard flapped its wings, pivoting to come back at her and Wolf again. She cursed under her breath.
Wolf let loose a shock of electricity, throwing bolts of lightning toward the buzzard. It dove out of the way.
Something moved in the periphery of Fairy’s vision, below on the forest floor. She whipped her head around to look at it.
“Wolf, watch out! Someone’s down there!”
The ryuu shot flames at them. Wolf tried to dodge, but they grazed his fur. He howled in pain.
“Stars!” Fairy smothered the fire out with her cloak and poured some water from a canteen to cool the singed skin. Wolf sucked in air through his teeth.
More flames barreled toward them. But Wolf flew higher, and the fire arced back down to the ground.
“We’re out of range,” Fairy said in relief.
She spoke too soon. A figure materialized out of nothing and stood next to the fire ryuu. Fairy didn’t need to be close to know who it was.
“Spirit’s sister...”
Wolf growled. “I just saw Hana, too. How did she find us?”
“I don’t know,” Fairy said as they flew farther. “But it looks like we got out of there just in time. They were laying an ambush.”
