Emberion didn’t take to the sky this time; instead, he and Theo walked through the forest toward the sound of Freya’s calls, with Nibblet perched securely on Theo’s shoulder. Theo admired the way Emberion moved with surprising stealth for such a massive creature, his scales shimmering slightly, blending with the natural hues of the forest.

  The sounds of Freya’s increasingly frantic calls grew louder—almost as if she cares, Theo had time to think, though it probably had more to do with the world of trouble she would be in if she returned home without him.

  Finally, they broke through into a small clearing where Freya was pacing, her expression one of relief swiftly chased by exasperation when she spotted Theo unharmed. Nearby, Bruni sat on his pony, arms crossed, glaring at Theo.

  “Theo, by all the stars, don’t ever do that again!” Freya scolded, rushing over to him. She stopped short of embracing him, respect for his personal space and her position as his protector evident in her pause. “We thought…” She trailed off, though Theo had no trouble imagining what she had thought—namely that Emberion had brought him somewhere to eat him.

  It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t passed through Theo’s mind about a thousand times.

  “I’m sorry, Freya,” Theo said. “Emberion was showing me stuff.”

  Freya’s gaze shifted to the dragon, an unreadable expression on her face.

  “And what did he show you?” Bruni asked. He did not look particularly happy about finding Theo, but then, Theo wasn’t particularly happy about Bruni showing up either. Definite mutual dislike.

  “The disturbances Theodore sought us out to understand are real, though apparently not visible to others than me,” Emberion said before Theo could respond. He gave Bruni a long, thoughtful look.

  Bruni muttered, “Maybe it’s just him who can’t see it.”

  Emberion gave him an unimpressed look. “My kin cannot either, dwarf.”

  “Then maybe you’re imagining things, dragon,” Bruni said.

  Theo noted that Emberion had dropped the respectful ‘master’ of earlier, which made glee fill him. He pushed down the urge to stick his tongue out at Bruni as the dwarf glowered in silence.

  “We need to find out more,” Emberion said.

  “Is it possible that someone who does know magic can be responsible for the disturbance?” Theo asked.

  “Possible, maybe even probable,” Emberion said.

  The wicked witch came to Theo’s mind again, just like when Bruni had spoken of the bells that could disrupt the heartbeat of the world. Could the heartbeat of the world that the dwarf had spoken about be the same thing as the weave Emberion had mentioned? Was it all some sort of magic innate to the land, intricately woven through everything he could see?

  But he did not want to ask Bruni about the heartbeat of the world again. He’d had more than enough of the dwarf’s contempt.

  “So where do you suggest we go from here?” Freya asked. “Would any of the dragons have an answer?”

  Emberion looked thoughtful. “Most of my kin think they are above being affected by anything; they believe themselves to be in complete control. They will not listen when I say they are acting irrationally, nor that there is a problem with the weave. But there is one…”

  Theo’s stomach chose that moment to rumble embarrassingly loudly. Considering that the sun had long since passed its highest point, it wasn’t strange—but for breakfast in Silvershard and the cookie he had shared with Nibblet, he had eaten nothing all day.

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  Emberion cocked his head to the side. “What made that sound? It sounded like a tiny dragon.”

  Freya snorted. “That was Theo’s stomach. He’s hungry.”

  Red-faced, Theo nodded when Emberion turned to him, and couldn’t find any words to say.

  “His stomach tells him so loudly when he needs to eat?” Emberion asked. “Curious humans. Well then, let us eat. There is no need to go hungry here.”

  Freya looked around, seeming unconvinced that this was a great place to sit and eat. Trying to see it from her point of view, Theo supposed there were too many hiding places for hungry creatures waiting to pounce—but then, they now had a dragon with them.

  “I will be back shortly with food,” Emberion said.

  Or not.

  He rose from the ground with strong beats of his wide wings, the tree branches and bushes whipping around him. Theo stared after him, wondering what it felt like to be so powerful. Was Emberion ever afraid, the way Theo had been pretty much non-stop since his father had told him to leave the castle for this quest? Surely, someone as strong and massive as a dragon would fear nothing.

  Then Freya was before him, dragging him abruptly back to the present. “What were you thinking?” she asked, throwing her hands out.

  Theo looked at her, and thought he saw fear in her eyes, too. “I wanted to know more, and he offered. And I’m still alive.”

  “You had no idea of knowing that he wasn’t just bringing you somewhere to have you for dinner,” Freya hissed, towering over him and yet shooting brief glances upwards. Did she imagine him still hanging around? And if so, how? He was a massive dragon.

  “It’s too early for dinner,” Theo said absently as his mind filled with the image of Emberion hiding among the bushes like a playful pup, waiting to pounce. “Besides, if he wanted to eat me—or any of us—he could’ve done so when he first met us. So could the other dragon.”

  “Perhaps he prefers to cook his food first,” Freya snapped. “Don’t leave me behind again. I’m supposed to protect you.”

  Bruni chose that moment to ask, “And what exactly is a knight of your caliber doing, protecting some merchant’s boy?” He looked between them with curious suspicion.

  “His father asked me to,” Freya said.

  Bruni narrowed his eyes. “And who is his father?”

  “No one,” Theo said. “Just a merchant who’s tired of having his goods burned to a crisp when the dragons feel like attacking. He asked me to go make them stop.”

  Bruni looked unconvinced. “Right.”

  “Let’s move back. There was a clearing that we passed just a few minutes ago,” Freya said, ignoring Bruni’s frown. “The dragon will be able to find us there if he found us here.”

  She took Ebony’s reins and led the horse back. A pang of anxiety passed through Theo—where was Brioche? Was she galloping back to Astoria, or was she hurt somewhere in the forest? He wanted to go search for her, but how was he supposed to find her? They were already far from where she had fled.

  He followed Freya and Bruni mutely and, as Freya had said, they soon reached a small clearing where a tiny stream cut through. Theo washed his hands in the cold, clear water, and splashed some on his face. It was no bath, but it was better than nothing.

  Freya and Bruni bound their horses and then they brought out food from their packs.

  Nibblet sniffed with interest at the bread Theo took out. He smiled. “You are a hungry little creature, aren’t you?”

  Nibblet chirruped and twisted to try to look extra cute—not that it was necessary, what with the creature’s big eyes and fluffy fur.

  Theo chuckled. “You’ll get some, I promise.”

  “You’re not feeding that thing, are you?” Bruni asked. “She’ll never leave you alone if you do.”

  “She?” Theo asked.

  “It’s a female glint,” Bruni said. He repeated, slowly, as if Theo hadn’t understood, “If you feed her, she’ll will never leave you alone.”

  Theo shrugged. “I already fed her. And I like her, so I don’t mind.”

  “And what use do you think she’ll be?” Bruni asked. “Just because her antennae are strong doesn’t mean she’ll do anything but eat us out of our food stores.”

  Theo glared at him. “She’s not here because she’s useful, she’s here because she’s brave and wants to be here.”

  “It’s a stupid glint,” Bruni said and scoffed. “Going up against a dragon?”

  Nibblet squeaked indignantly at him.

  “You know what? You can stop calling everyone stupid,” Theo snapped. “The only one here who’s stupid is you, because you just go around being rude to everyone.”

  He turned away from the dwarf, heart pounding. Would he get an ax in the back as a response? Would Bruni start yelling at him? But nothing happened, and Theo did his best to focus on Nibblet instead. He broke the bread apart and gave Nibblet a piece, to which the glint chirruped happily and began taking small bites of it. It did remind Theo a lot of a squirrel, with its long and fluffy tail. The featherlike antennae were, however, not something a regular squirrel had. He would have to read up on glints once he was back home.

  Freya handed him a few slices of dried meat and hard cheese, and he made a sandwich of it. He wished he could have brought butter too, but he would have to do without. Taking a drink from his waterskin, he smiled to himself. He had food, he had Nibblet, and he was possibly becoming friends with a dragon—and he had just stood up to Bruni.

  Perhaps things would turn out okay.

  A thump behind him had him turning and reassessing that thought immediately.