In order to save the world from eternal night, Red must find a way to unlock the dormant power of the Sun Goddess running through her veins without killing herself and everyone she loves.
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Thunder ripped open the sky and its guts slopped out, pelting down on the small party of four. Rana lifted her wings and spread them like a shield, offering the warmth of her side. Red huddled against the wyvern's ribs, teeth chattering as a fell wind swept down from the mountains, seeping through her sodden clothes and making the little hairs on her arms snap to attention... among other things.
The Wraith averted his gaze, riding a wave of shame. The transformation had taken care of his injury in a matter of seconds and the bandages Red had so painstakingly wrapped around his shin were in shreds, along with the splintered stick. He felt bad for entertaining the ruse of being injured for so long, but it was the perfect excuse to be close to Red after the rift had opened between them. At first he'd tried to give her some space, to spare both of them the pain of an unrequited love, but his feelings had only waxed stronger with the distance. For some Goddess-forsaken reason, Red didn't seem to hate him for it and had thrown herself into dressing his wound, doing everything in her power to help, while he'd lapped it up like a simpering fool.
The least he could do was return the favour.
Sebastian edged closer, offering her the warmth of his wolf form as well. Gretchen shot them all a look of reproach, shoving the leather journal into her bottomless satchel. He wasn't sure why she seemed so tense whenever Red was around, but he certainly didn't like it.
The wyvern nudged the witch with her snout, looking pointedly at the sky. Gretchen sighed, casting a spell with a dismissive wave of her hand, an invisible roof that kept the rain at bay for everyone — at least for now.
"Where's Eddy?" Red asked abruptly, whirling around in panic.
Gretchen pointed at the craggy wall of the ravine. "She wanted to make her own way down, and frankly, I think she can make her own way home, too. It's only a day's trek through the mountain and Rana can't carry all of us for long."
The kirin foal looked like she'd almost doubled in size since he saw her last. Eddy navigated the steep cliff like a sure-footed goat, licking salt off the walls and pulling up juniper trees that deserved to live for their tenacity. Her palomino coat had almost completely given way to hardy scales, and they shone just as brightly as the insufferable wyvern who'd talked Red into jumping off a cliff and had the audacity to call it help.
Sebastian's hackles rose at the thought of the golden giant, the possessive glint in his tawny eyes. As if Hunter wasn't bad enough to contend with! Sebastian was still trying to make sense of what she'd been saying right before they were interrupted by Rana's descent and Gretchen's tidings of war. His stomach had dropped at the mention of Hunter's name, but when she implied that the Orchid Mantis had taken on another, more effective form...
