The Wyvern's Gift

Chapter Nine

Evander slapped his palms together dramatically. "And I had no choice but to jump from my ship as it splintered to pieces under my feet. Not even the Ulmarans were ever able to sink me, and they've got ocean in their veins. But one little Granatall ship was all it took to destroy the glorious Wisteria, may she rest in peace." He sighed loudly and glared at Yophiel.

"I've said it before, Evander, I wasn't on the ship. None of that was my fault, and it wouldn't have been my fault even if I was. You were the one transporting stolen goods," Yophiel said without meeting his gaze.

The midday sun glinted off the river to their left. A full day had come and gone since discovering the dead wyverns. Isra and Evanora had taken frequent trips over the trees to keep them on track. The closer they got to the second nest, the shorter their flights became. Haelyn feared what the wyverns might do if they considered the mage and dracontix a threat to their nest. She hated to think of what would become of someone who came between an egg and its parent.

The question of who had managed to destroy the first nest ate at her in every quiet moment.

Isra rubbed her scaly side over a tree to relieve an itch. Bits of bark rained down and she showered them across Haelyn when she shook the splinters out of her scales. "Is, watch it, scalebutt," Haelyn scolded.

The dracontix flexed her wings and hopped, gliding until she was walking alongside Evanora closer to the front. Her tail snapped to the side. One eye blinked lazily when she looked back.

"Looks like you have a child on your hands," Wren said. One of Isra's discarded lilac scales shined between his fingers where the light hit it. He held it out to her and she took it. "What are your plans for her anyway? I doubt you'll be allowed to keep her in the city again."

Haelyn shrugged, shoulders drooping further down after. "Maybe I'll leave, travel until I can find a safe place for her."

"She's a wild animal, you should let her go." Wren adjusted his quiver on his back. The arrows clinked together in their leather case. The look Haelyn shot his way stopped him in his tracks. She stopped beside him and he raised an eyebrow. "What? She's survived out here on her own all this time without you. All of her kind before her have done the same, and they'll continue to do so after, ''You aren't her savior."

"Obviously you grew up without family, because family members don't abandon each other," Haelyn said through grit teeth.

"Even when they'd be better off separate? That sounds selfish," he pointed out. The tip of his bow made a thwack noise as he tapped it against his leg.

"Look." Haelyn grabbed his shoulder and forced him to stop. Her forefinger jabbed at his chest and the thin silver ring on it glinted in the sun. "I get that not everyone has a plethora of happy childhood memories to pull from. Clearly your family was less than ideal if it could produce someone as sour and distrustful as you. That doesn't give you the right to dictate how I handle my family life." She shoved her finger into his chest one more time and turned back to the trail.

Wren was left staring after her back, storming after her second later. "Don't talk about my family as if you know me. A spoiled little princess like you wouldn't know about family problems if it had their hands around your throat."

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

"I'll call you whatever I want, princess," he spat.

Neither of them had noticed their audience watching them from up ahead. Yophiel approached, hand on the hilt of his sword. He wasn't sure which of them he was going to have to fight off. Isra nudged his hip, following close behind him. At least he would have backup. "Is everything alright back there?"

The pair had only gotten louder in their arguing. Wren had the polished tip of his bow pointed accusingly at Heaelyn. It thunked against her chest and she shoved him back.

"That's enough now," Yophiel had to match their shouts to be heard. He grabbed Wren's bow to move it away from Haelyn, who looked ready to break it like a twig. The three of them continued to shout back and forth to be heard not only over each other, but also over Isra's impatient growls.

Wren was the first to go quiet, pulling his bow to his side. "Haelyn, shut up," he urged her. He reached back to his quiver and pulled out an arrow. His shoulder pressed into hers, guiding her back to the rest of the group.

Following close behind, Yophiel looked between the trees. Shadows shifted in the underbrush. None of them had noticed the growing quiet amidst their shouting match. Even Isra was slinking close to the floor while she moved alongside Haelyn.

"Eva," Haelyn called back, waving the small mage forward. She was glad to see they were on the same page as Evanora clambered onto Isra's back. It seemed to settle the dracontix.

The first arrow whizzed by Weylyn's nose.

"Down!" Wren shouted at the same time Haelyn shouted for Evanora and Isra to take off.

Dracontix and mage rocketed through the trees in a shower of broken branches. Haelyn looked away from them in time to see a fist flying for her face.