Flight of the Five Swans

Feathered Chapter 27

On the third morning, Raia was packing up her few belongings to begin walking again when she realized that something was different. She stiffened, glancing around the clearing nervously. There, Ayden was kicking dirt over the campfire in an attempt to extinguish the still glowing coals. That couldn't be counted as out of the ordinary. There were no odd sounds in the vicinity—not anything she could hear, at least. And if there were anything nearby, Raia was certain that her sisters would have made a fuss long before she would have sensed it, anyway. But they remained oblivious to any disturbances, scratching at the ground and snatching up weeds in their beaks. So what was the problem?

Then it hit her.

Her gaze swept over the swans wandering the campsite and she counted them mentally. One, two, three, four...

Raia's mouth dropped open in horror. Where was Cliodne?

She dropped her pouch and spun around, looking wildly in all directions for any sign of her fifth sister. Why were the other swans not as worried as she was by Cliodne's disappearance? Had they really not noticed? Or didn't they even care? Panic filled her chest. Where was she?

"Looking for something?"

Ayden's voice sounded amused, and Raia turned to face him with her face filled with anger. Did he find her panic funny? Then she followed his gaze, and her legs buckled under her in relief.

There was Cliodne, perched on the saddle of Ayden's horse and looking for all the world as though she had always been there. Raia nearly cried at the sight of her. Her worry had been brief, but intense nevertheless.

Ayden stood with his hands on his hips. His lips quirked to the side as he regarded the swan with an expression that was highly amused. He glanced back at Raia.

"I think at least one of your bodyguards might be warming up to me, don't you think?" He commented with a small laugh.

Raia's smile was faint, and her mind was racing. She knew her sisters better than anyone. While she knew that Ayden spoke the truth in regards to how they—and she—were slowly coming to trust him, she could also read between the lines, and knew that Cliodne's choice of perch was anything but coincidental. She recognized the colossal hint that her sister was trying to send her, and had to admit to experiencing profound relief at this evidence of her elder sister's blessing.

Raia picked up the pouch she'd dropped and walked over to the horse, stopping only when she'd drawn level with Undertow's stirrups. Cliodne tilted her white head to look down from her perch on the saddle, and then jumped gracefully down to the ground, fluttering her wings to keep balance. Raia turned to look at where Ayden stood watching her with a bemused expression on his face. She touched the saddle lightly with one hand, and then placed the other on her own chest.

Ayden looked puzzled for a moment, but then comprehension dawned in his eyes.

"We'd reach the castle mid-afternoon if we rode. On foot, it would take another couple of days." He told her. Raia nodded, and then patted the saddle decisively. She—they—would ride.

For a moment, Raia thought that Ayden looked almost disappointed at the idea, but his expression quickly cleared. He smiled at her just as cheerfully as ever, and walked to stand beside the mount as well. He looked apprehensive, and Raia suspected that he was expecting her swan sisters—or more accurately, Thaleia—to attack him at any moment for daring to approach so close to her. But that morning, Ayden remained unscathed.