The Lost Knight (Volume IV) The Lost Prince

Chapter 13: Hurry

We don't make it far, just circling the castle because Carfron won't tell me where we're going. Solara doesn't know that Carfron's riding with her, so I can't take the lead. I'm hovering nearby with everyone waiting for me, thinking I'm waiting on Solara, who is watching me watch her.

"What," she shouts at me through the pareixer. I can't tell if she's concerned or annoyed, or maybe a combination of both. However, as soon as she asks, she figures it out. "Is he with me?" She turns in the saddle, ready to attack, but quickly settles down and shivers. "Why is he with me?" 

"He doesn't like Gretchen."

"Who's Gretchen," she says, annoyed. I point to my hippocampus. "Why me?"

"You're the elf," Dathid says over the pareixer.

"May I speak?" Carfron asks at the same time. He's also talking through the pareixer.

"Did you hear that?" I ask the group.

"What? Dathid?" Solara asks.

"Never mind," I say, relieved they can't. If he could be heard over the pareixer, then he's not in my head. I try to ask Carfron where we're going telepathically, but he doesn't answer. I mumble, "Yes, you can speak." But he doesn't answer. Finally, I touch the pareixer and say, "Yes, you may speak."

Instead, he points. I match his gesture, and we head out in that direction. Once we're going in a general direction it gets easier to communicate with him. We fly in formation with me behind Solara. Gretchen doesn't like the giant butterfly, called a Foven-fij. It doesn't fly straight. It flutters in a zig-zag pattern that makes her anxious. Lenox loved following Solara. He would track the fluttery movements and went in for the kill a few times. He always settled down when he got in trouble, but it was fun and helped pass the time.

But now, I can feel the nervous twitching and uneven breathing beneath me. Patience, I remind myself. We need to get used to each other. I stroke her neck and scratch under her feathers. When I hit a good spot, she stretches her nose in the air and relaxes temporarily until something else freaks her out.

I can't sleep because I don't trust Gretchen to stay on course. Plus, if something scary appears like a fluffy cloud or a little bird, Gretchen freaks. It's nerve-racking and incredibly dull at the same time.

"We need to be done," Dathid calls over the pareixer. "Let's land in the meadow at the top of the second hill."

"No!" Carfron insists.

I ignore him as we coordinate our landing.

Solara's foven-fij and the faeries' elks are worn out and require rest.

We've flown far west. I've never been down this way before. It's hot and sunny. I remove my upper armor, so I can take off my sweater and just wear the t-shirt Albína made for me.

"You can go faster by yourself," Carfron says.

"I'm not going by myself," I answer.

"What," Qince says from behind me. "Oh, your boyfriend."

"You must hurry," Carfron says.

"Why?"

"Why?" Qince repeats. I shoot him a look that, hopefully, lets him know he needs to shut up.

"You must hurry," he repeats.

"Jonah," Qince calls out.

"I need more information. Why do I have to hurry?"

"You must hurry."

I growl in frustration. "You can speak clearly. I've heard you do it. Why can't you just tell me?"