ѕуԃηєу ηαтιση: вσσк тняєє

Chapter Twenty-Two

Fawn led the group through Del Bar and down the last street from the castle, to where the empty house with the portal was, an empty fireplace filled with dust. Fawn let everyone file in first in a line, and they all went one by one through the portal, their bodies shimmering through the illusion like they were walking into water. Ember first, then Urchin, Raven, Astro, Peril, and now Fawn-who still held Glory firmly against her body. She walked slowly through the portal, her body feeling the cool chill of the gateway that only lasted a few seconds until she stepped the rest of the way through, joining everyone else on the other side.

It was entirely dark out now, and the forest gave off an eerie and suspenseful feeling, and it made Fawn shiver despite the warm temperature. She hugged Glory closer to her chest. The rest of the group were all huddled in a small circle just beside the portal, and they were all ready to go when Fawn announced that they were all okay to make their way through the forest. The night sky was dark blue, and full of stars, but Fawn smelled smoke in the distance, since her sense of smell was far more powerful and adaptive than everyone else's.

Fawn walked in the middle of the group, so she could shield Glory if any danger lurked nearby, while Ember, Peril, and Urchin took the front, and Raven and Astro took the rear. They couldn't see a thing, but they were all relieved to find no fallen twigs that crunched in half under their boots. The only noise that was made was everyone's faint breathing and Nightmare's snores in Fawn's backpack. Ember had forgotten that the baby dragon was with them the whole time, since Raven had been taking care of him ever since Glory was separated from the group in Del Bar.

They all agreed to stay put in Nightmare's cave until Fawn covered every inch of the Nation's borders to make sure no enemy ships or camps were around to endanger them all. Until then, everyone else was to stay hidden and safe, leaving her to clear everything away. They worried for her safety, so she told them that she wouldn't be too long and that she'd be back soon. They all shuffled into the small cave, and Fawn gently set Glory on a blanketed bed, and laid her head on a pillow. Then she took off her backpack and let Nightmare jump out with a yawn.

The baby dragon stretched and jumped up next to Glory, laying down in the crook of her arm and falling back to sleep. It would've looked cute if Glory hadn't have had a huge bloody bandage wrapped around her torso, then Fawn would've passed out from the pair. Ember sat next to Glory's bed, now fully overprotective of her, and never thinking about anything getting to her while he was around. Raven tended to the fire until Ember gave up in impatience and shot a small flame into the tiny pit, creating a flicker of heat.

They all grabbed blankets and scooted in together against the wall, creating a cute group cuddle where they all rested their heads on each other's shoulders and fell asleep, sleepy and full of exhaustion. Urchin stayed a fair few feet away, not wanting to get into the chummy physical contact. Ember stayed next to Glory too, scared of leaving her side and letting something happen to her if he looked away for a second. Fawn smiled one last time at all of them before she pulled her hood up over her head and disappeared through the mouth of the cave, into the night.

When everyone was asleep, and Ember listened to Peril's soft snores, he blinked back his heavy eyelids and looked up at Glory, at her sleeping figure. She didn't look peaceful, but she looked calm enough. Her tiny frown and shut eyes made him envy sleep more, but he pushed past it and kept watch over her. When he kept looking over to the mouth of the cave for what felt like a half an hour, he flinched when he heard a soft grunt. He looked around--none of the girls or Raven had moved--and he saw Glory stirring awake slightly, her body shifting by an inch and turning on her side to face him.

Her eyes squeezed shut tighter, like she was having a nightmare, and she started whimpering in her sleep. Then her arms flew up to her wounded ribs and held the bandages tightly, and Ember knew in that instant that she was in a tremendous amount of pain. He stood up and straightened her blanket before he gently put one hand on her forehead and another on her hands. She started breathing heavily, and she clenched her teeth with a hiss. He didn't know what to do, seeing as their only doctor was gone now and she needed help.