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39
Hollis clucks, “Fly, Tristeh.”
The dragon leaps into the air, pressing down with enormous wings. We swoop through the night sky and make a circle. Hollis encourages her to hover over our family on the ground stirring the flames of the burning village.
Tolliver hooks Kava, Angus, and then himself. They are strapped face to face. Kava wraps an arm around each one and they do the same in a little circle of arms.
“Ready?” Hollis calls. “To the sky!” She jerks her body to the southeast and Tristeh responds in sync. The giant wings gently lift us above the trees toward the midnight blue sky. The moon lights our way as we soar over brambles and streams.
I am surprised how far Ellery has drifted and how long it takes us to reach it. When it comes into view, relief trickles through me. Moonlight reflects off the top of the castle. The cool night air flows in and out of my lungs. I am at peace in the air. Exhilaration rises in my chest and I want to howl into the wind like a wild man. I keep it in, worried what Hollis would think, until she crows unabashedly into the night sky, “Waaaacaw!”
Shaking my head, I laugh at myself. What am I thinking? I can be myself with her. So I join her weird screams of delight. Letting all the joy and frustrations blend together and relieve me from hiding one for the sake of the other.
Hollis shouts something to me but it flies by with the wind and never reaches my ears. I ask her to say it again, but she doesn’t, guiding the dragon toward the surface of Ellery. Tristeh comes in for a slow landing, flapping her giant wings and hovering just shy of Ellery’s grand front entrance where the Sky People await our return. Tolliver, Kava, and Angus land safely and unhook their harnesses. Tolliver waves and Hollis nudges the dragon away from the island.
Tristeh’s wings flap powerfully and she shoots us toward the moon, like a sky flame. I think of Alouette and realize the worry in my gut is gone. She is safe. It is strange and new to see her among her people. Alouette belongs with her people. They have a lot of healing to do together.
Hollis and I lean with the dragon as she circles around the tiny castle below. My lungs plead for a breath as Tristeh dives back to Ellery. We lean to the other side and soar around the structure jutting from the floating island. Then round and round the jagged rock hanging below the surface.
Coming around the north side of Ellery, the dragon slows our approach and ducks through the opening to the cave. Her talons scrape on the gravel. There are torches all along the cavern lighting our landing.
Unhooking her belt, Hollis’s laugh echoes off the cave walls. My belly fills with her joy like a glutton at a feast. I detach my strap and crawl off the back of Tristeh. Hollis follows, balancing on her feet all the way. I slide down the wing and land feet first in the dust.
“Catch me, Ledger,” Hollis calls.
I turn just in time to raise my arms and catch her little body against me. I wince protecting the burn on my shoulder as my breath is stolen. Less because of my shoulder and more because of her. I can’t look away from her blue eyes and vibrant smile. I gaze at her lips and forget everything else. Leaning in, I press mine to hers. Warmth grows in my belly as I inhale the smell of her: strawberries and summer wind.
She leans away and looks into my eyes. “Ledger,” she says out of breath with a pleased shock.
“I love you, Hollis,” I say. She begins to speak, and I stop her. “I have always loved you, even when I was pushing you away. When you are gone, I am lost. You are my home.”
She tightens her hold and hugs me.
“It’s about time,” she giggles. “Everyone else knows it.”
I groan and let her feet touch the ground.
The sting of my burn returns as she pulls her arms from my neck. I draw a sharp breath and she says, “Oh, I’m sorry. Your burn. I guess jumping on you was not a good idea.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “I wonder who thought of that.”
We laugh together and Tristeh breathes a growl that echoes through the cavern. Hollis gasps, startled. I turn around finding five guardians with swords poised for a fight.
THANK YOU
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