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Declan
Declan and Christopher sat on their vessel, staring at the space where Brian had flown off. Of course, he’d just gone and flown off. That was Brian. He always felt like he had to save everyone. He always felt like he had to do everything.
Usually, though, he was calm and collected. Normally, Declan was the one who went off chasing half-cocked ideas. Brian was supposed to be the one who thought things through. He was supposed to be the one who was careful.
“Should we follow him?” Declan asked, looking over.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
“Well, then maybe we should.”
“He’s an idiot. We don’t need to be idiots, too.”
Declan growled, but sat back down. He knew that Christopher was right. Brian leaving them behind had been a brash decision, but it was his to make. Christopher and Declan could stay with their little boat, which was really more of a small ship than a large boat. They needed to make sure it didn’t capsize or sink or become damaged in any way.
They didn’t know what they were going to find when they reached their brother, and even though it might be lucrative to arrive in their dragon forms, they’d probably need food, clothes, and even medicine at some point.
Their vessel was loaded with everything they could possibly need on this journey, including something very important: the necklace from their mother. It held Felix’s essence, and it grew less and less bright every day.
Their father had stolen it from the witch who’d kidnapped Felix and brought it to Raya before leaving once more to go find their brother. He’d never returned from that trip, and their mother never knew what had happened to him.
Declan was certain his father was dead. He knew Christopher and Brian felt the same way. None of them would ever mention this to their mother, though. They didn’t feel like it was right to dampen the fact that she was hoping he was still alive.
Raya firmly believed she’d know in her heart when her mate died, and she hadn’t felt that yet.
Declan, Christopher, and Brian had only recently discovered their own mates, so none of them had the life experience to know whether Raya was being sweet or crazy.
Would there come a time when the three triplets felt that their own wives had died?
Would they know?
Declan closed his eyes.
“Let’s just keep following our course,” he said. “We mapped out where we wanted to go. Brian is flying ahead to the second island, so we’ll meet him there. Then we’ll head to the third island all together.”
The little group of islands they’d found had to be the answer. If Felix was still alive – and according to the glowing necklace, he was – then he’d be there. Declan and Christopher kept their concerns to themselves. They didn’t want to worry their mother with more problems, but there were so many questions about the situation.
What were they going to find when they got to the island?
Would their brother still be alive and in good condition?
Would he be trapped somehow?
Would he be in a cage?
He’d vanished years and years ago.
There was a distinct possibility that he wasn’t himself anymore. What if he’d gone feral or wild? What if the witch had stripped away everything that he was?
One thing was for certain: none of them knew what they were heading toward. No matter what it was, it was going to be dangerous.
As if on cue, the wind seemed to pick up a little bit.
“What’s that?” Declan looked toward Christopher.
“I think there’s a storm brewing,” he said. He frowned. “That’s not a good sign.”
No...no, it definitely wasn’t.
“Maybe Brian will find something.”
“Yeah,” Christopher said. “Maybe Brian will find something.”
The look on his face said he wasn’t holding his breath.