Crystal Wing Academy- The Complete Series

by Marty Mayberry

  We started walking along the trail that gradually sloped upward, toward the mountains. Since I had no idea where I’d find a dragon bone and I wasn’t begging one from Donovan or his family, I’d start by talking to the Cerberus’s about a cupla stone.

  “You found a master.” Awe came through in Donovan’s voice.

  I loved how confident he was that I’d find a way. “Minerva. She’s Cloven’s mother, the matriarch of the sixth family.”

  “Whoa. How did you learn all this?”

  “I’ll explain as we walk.” I nudged my chin toward the trail. “We’ve got a long hike ahead. Or, I’ve got a hike ahead. You’ll float, right?”

  “I may be dreamwalking, but I’m still sorta here.”

  It was all I could do not to laugh at his affronted demeanor. “That explains the pack.”

  He hefted it higher on his shoulder. “I need clothes. Food. Blankets. For the journey.”

  “No snuggling up, then?”

  When he leaned in close, I could almost feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

  “I wish I could snuggle up with you, Fleur,” he whispered in my ear.

  Tingles. The guy always made me tingle. While I wanted to tell myself I was in full control of my reactions at all times, I secretly admitted—deep inside—that he made my knees shaky on a regular basis.

  And I liked it.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he gulped out. “It’s been lonely without you.”

  “For me, too.”

  “We’ll find a way. I can’t let things go like this much longer.”

  “Give me time. I’m getting better with my threads. Soon, I’ll unravel your spell.” No more would a Bespeller force actions on another.

  “That would be fantastic.”

  “Katya tricked me,” I finally admitted. It wasn’t easy saying it out loud, admitting my weakness.

  When he could’ve chided me, I was grateful he didn’t.

  “I’m sorry,” was all he said.

  “Yeah. Me, too.” My hair drifted forward when I hung my head. “Instead of five, I only have two days to find the objects and bring them back to her. Then, she’ll eliminate the Serum and heal my hand.”

  “Sounds like a decent trade except…I know Katya.”

  My lips twisted. “She’s a snake in disguise, and that’s being mean to snakes. She offered me a charm that would remove the Serum. You can’t blame me for being excited about that.”

  “Then why the journey? Why the pendant?”

  “She gave me the pendant, saying it would send me someone who could help on my quest.”

  His thumb jerked to his chest. “Makes sense it would be me.”

  As a dreamwalker. I’d have to wait and see how useful he could be. But I was more than grateful for the company and to have this small chance to be with him. Seeing him at the mall had felt like a first date, like I was getting to know a guy I kinda liked. If he’d been a stranger, I’d hope I’d feel the same once he started revealing his flaws.

  While I’d never regret being given fifty thousand new moments with Donovan, I’d missed him. Missed the boy who’d revealed the scarred, scratched parts of himself and still come out shining.

  And now I had time with him.

  “You only have two days,” he said. He reached out to snag a branch at my eye level, perhaps to pull it aside until I’d passed, but his fingers slipped through it. “Oh. Yeah.” He shivered. “Sorry.”

  “No problem.” I ducked underneath and kept going. “If I don’t bring Katya the items by day after tomorrow, there will be no going backward. I won’t just lose my hand, I’ll die.”

  And I wouldn’t be given a charm that would free Donovan.

  “Then let’s get going.” He tried to grab my hand, but his fingers jerked through me.

  He was right. The sensation of a spirit’s touch gave me the chills, too.

  Ignoring how much it hurt that we couldn’t hold hands, I walked beside him, my feet the only ones crunching through the snow. Donovan did float.

  “What do you need to bring Katya?” he asked, his voice grim.

  “A cupla stone.”

  “That won’t be easy to obtain but maybe Capria can help.”

  “My thought exactly.”

  “We’ll go to their caves and ask.”

  Would it be that simple?

  “But you said items, not item,” he said. “What else?”

  I stopped on the path, not willing to say it.

  I’d never be willing to say it.

  “Fleur?” He turned to face me. “Tell me?”

  An uncontrollable shudder swept through my body. “I need to bring her a dragon bone.”

  Chapter 31

  “I can get you one.” Standing—hovering—on the trail, he stared down at his fingers.

  Something inside me died at that moment.

  He’d sever a part of himself to help me.

  How could I be worthy of that?

  “I’ll find a way around it,” I said, sorta shoving past him. In reality, my shoulder flowed through his. But I couldn’t face him. Face the willing sacrifice in his eyes. Couldn’t let him see the tears on my face.

  “The bone will be easy.” He followed while I sniffed and wiped the wetness away. “That’s why I found the pendant. To be here for you. To help you.” He grumbled. “Fleur.”

  In my mind’s eyes, he reached to pull me around, but I couldn’t turn. Couldn’t face him. Not yet.

  “It shouldn’t be like this. Not—” My voice shattered. “Not. Like. This.” It would be petty to whine that this was unfair, not while he was the one locked away.

  “You can’t stop me if I decide to do it.”

  “Donovan.” Spinning on the trail, I tried to glare at him, but I knew my heart and soul shone from my eyes. And I didn’t care if he saw my vulnerability because I’d expose myself raw for him if he asked. “I can’t. Please. You’ll try to make me, and it will rip me to shreds.” The wind collapsed from my lungs, and I wanted to curl up in a ball and sob. “I can’t do it. Please.”

  His shoulders slumped just a little. “What if I want to?”

  It stabbed deep. He kept giving, while I couldn’t offer him anything of myself in return. I tried. Hell, but I’d tried to become a full Unraveler so I could set him free. I wanted it more than anything. But no matter how I forced it, begged for it, it wouldn’t come.

  “Let me find a different way,” I said. “Please?” And here I was again, asking him for something. Not a bone but his agreement to let this go, to let fate take me where it needed. Because I couldn’t bear it if he wrenched away yet another piece of himself for me.

  It created an imbalance between us.

  “For now,” he said.

  “For always.” I strode right up to him and lifted my chin. Fully facing him, stealing his gaze, I did not let him look away. “You will not do this. There’s another way, and I’ll find it.”

  His curt nod said he conceded for the moment but the steel in his eyes told me that, if it came down to the wire, he’d pull my own blade to do what needed to be done.

  Never.

  There had to be another way.

  “Let’s go,” I said softly, and we started down the path again.

  Moonlit shadows skipped along with us, created by light filtering through stark branches overhead that clicked together like skeletal fingers in the wind. We climbed up a steep hill and down the other side, each rise taking us higher into the mountains. The last time I’d come this way, I’d skimmed through the air astride Donovan’s dragon back, without a single care. Just savoring the moment. I’d been stupid not to see how quickly things I care about could be taken from me.

  Our uneasy truce gave way to companionable silence.

  I wanted to lean into his shoulder, hug his arm close. Touch him, because all I’d had to cling to for months were memories that grew stale and cold with each day without him.

  “How are you doing with your skapti?” I
asked him, because I had to talk about something. Think about something other than what we’d lost. “Churning up any storms yet?”

  He snorted. “Sure. Throwing hail around and diverting hurricanes on a daily basis. The usual stuff.”

  “I bet you’re doing awesome.”

  “I’ve achieved Level Three.” He didn’t sound conceited, only satisfied.

  I was grateful I could be happy for him, that not even a twinge of jealousy shot through me. We all took the same journey. Some of us just reached the destination ahead of the others. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t turn and wait for me to catch up.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” he asked.

  “Not really but…” Duh. Tugging my pack around to the front, I pulled out the Seeker Stick Tria had loaned me. While I wasn’t sure which end was the handle, I grabbed one of them and pointed it forward. With a touch in elemental magic infusing the word, I said, “Take me to the Cerberus caves.”

  The stick poked downward. Yeah, that wasn’t good.

  “Try the other end,” he said with a smirk.

  If I could sock his shoulder, I would. But…creepy.

  Pressing my lips together to hold back my smile, I took the other end of the Stick and tried again. “Cerberus caves, please.”

  The Stick jolted forward, dragging me along with it. “Whoa baby!” I laughed because, for once, something was going right.

  Donovan raced behind me, hooting.

  Up a hill, down the other side, then up another. Until my heart slammed behind my ribs, and my lungs chugged to keep up with my pace. Cold air burned down my throat.

  We reached a large cave opening.

  “This is it?” I asked. It must be. The Seeker Stick had slumped in my hand. I wanted to pat it like I would a loyal pet but tucked it into my bag instead. I’d need it later.

  “Any ideas how we’ll get one of them to give us their cupla stone?” Donovan asked. “’Cause I’m not sure I’m up for skinning one.”

  “We’re not killing anyone to save my life,” I said firmly, striding forward. I called light with elemental magic, and my finger highlighted the way.

  As we walked through the tunnel, my feet thumped softly on the stone cave floor. Donovan stayed close beside me as if he hoped to protect me from every tiny bug, giant, or random attacking creature. A challenge when everything passed through him.

  “Do the Cerberus hibernate?” I asked. Something I’d worried about when I set out on this quest. There had been no way to verify if they did or not. I couldn’t stroll into Cloven’s office and ask, and my friends hadn’t known.

  “They sleep but wake easily. It is a slow time for them. They’re vegetarians, and plant life is limited in the winter.”

  “My plan is to stroll in and ask for a stone,” I said. “That seems like the best strategy for now.” Like that would work?

  Hey. I wouldn’t need to worry about losing my hand if I lost my head first.

  “When did you last see Capria?” Donovan asked.

  “Not since the nightlace battle. Her parent took her back to the cave—here—and must’ve convinced her to stay.” I missed her. I’d wanted to come visit her but was afraid she’d follow me back to the Academy again. I’d hate for her to get into trouble.

  The tunnel gradually sloped downward and curved to the right, where it opened into a huge room with smoky crystal stalactites and stalagmites. About fifteen enormous nests had been built in a big circle, as if twenty-foot-tall ostriches had set up housekeeping across the cave floor. They’d been constructed from what looked like strands of dandelion fluff spun into yarn then stained in various colors. Pink, yellow, green, and…

  The nest spun from fluff exactly the color of my hair had to be Capria’s.

  A grin rising on my face, I rushed forward, weaving around the other nests to reach the one I hoped contained my friend.

  “Ladder, ladder,” I said, running around the circular nest. Nada.

  A head poked over the top, followed by two more, and Capria’s bleat rang out. I swore a grin bloomed on all her faces. She bounced up and down and, tipping all three of her heads back, squealed in excitement. Leaping up, she extended her wings and burst over the edge of the nest. She dove down and smacked into me, sending me onto my back, my breath rushing from me in a solid woof.

  Hugging her, I laughed when her heads nuzzled my face. It tickled.

  “How you doin’ sweetie?” I asked, nudging her backward so I could sit up. I patted her heads, her necks, and she leaned into my touch, huffing and softly grunting. “Good pup. There’s a good pupper. I’ve missed you!”

  She groaned and knocked me backward again, climbing over me to give me three-headed doggy love.

  A bit worried I’d be trampled—she was the size of a good-sized horse, now—I scrambled out from underneath her and rose to my knees where I could rub her cheeks and coo until she’d settled down and dropped back onto her butt, whimpering with joy.

  “I bet you want to play, don’t you?” I said, looking around for something I could throw. She’d had a lot of fun retrieving rocks and sticks when I’d first met her.

  “There will be no playing during naptime,” Grottin said in a strict tone. The right head of the parent Cerberus popped up and leaned out of their nest. “Capria, go back to bed.”

  “Come, now,” Gunner, the left head said in a snooty British accent, his doggy nose nudging toward the ceiling. “Let the pup greet her friend.” Gunner’s lips curved up slightly when he looked at me. “Nice to see you, Fleur. Always happy to welcome a friend who saved one of our pups.”

  “We were so close to losing her,” Grugeon wailed. “We would’ve if Fleur hadn’t been there to get her out of the cave.” Big fat tears rolling down his face. They hit the side of the nest and splattered.

  Donovan ducked, though I wasn’t sure the water would have impact. Would it pass through him like everything else?

  “I was just grateful I was there to help her,” I said, grinning at Donovan, who nodded, encouraging me. He must be thinking the same thing I was. I’d been welcomed. This could work out okay. They could have a spare cupla stone lying around they’d give me, and I’d be out of here within an hour.

  Figuring out the next part of the quest would be challenge enough.

  Capria flopped on the ground beside me, a solid thud that I swore made the ground shake. She wiggled over onto her back and kicked her feet up into the air.

  I, naturally, rubbed her belly while she squirmed and squealed, savoring my touch.

  “What are you doing?” Grottin grumbled. His neck stretched down until his face almost smacked into mine. “You should be leaving, not getting her all worked up. I’ll never get her back to sleep, now.”

  Yeah, he could deal. I’d missed my pupper friend and I was going to enjoy every second with her. I nudged Grottin’s head to the side so I could lean over Capria and use two hands on her belly.

  She moaned and squirmed when my fingers rubbed a particularly sensitive spot.

  Donovan stood beyond the pup, shaking his head with that half-smile I loved curling his lips. “She loves you, Fleur, and I can see why.”

  Around us, other pups peeked over the tops of their nests. So many familiar faces.

  “Falia,” I cried. “How’s the neck?”

  She’d hurt the right one while retrieving the stick I’d thrown after Capria escaped the cave. Donovan, in dragon form, and I had hung out with them for hours, giving out pats, throwing sticks, and generally fooling around. Like I’d spent a day at a ginormous puppy farm, I’d flopped on the ground and let the pups crawl all over me.

  Falia dipped her heads in unison, showing me she was feeling better. One of her heads disappeared into the nest but reappeared quickly with a stick in her mouth.

  Oh-oh. Cerberus pup games were going to make bedtime even more interesting for Grottin.

  “How about you, Brinsy?” I asked the Cerberus sticking his heads up in the nest next to Falia’s. “Did you
heal okay after I pulled the thorn from your paw?”

  He bleated. Scrambling up onto the side of his nest, he leaped off the edge and, wings extended, floated down to plunk on the ground on the opposite side of me from Capria. He promptly dropped to the packed-dirt surface, rolled over, and kicked up his feet.

  What was I going to do if all the pups gathered around me? Share the love, I supposed, one pup at a time.

  Scooting down onto my knees, I gave two rubs at once, even though it hurt my hand to use it.

  “Why are you here?” Gunner said. “While we always welcome a visit, this isn’t the usual time of year for wizards to come calling. Everyone at the Academy knows we doze through the cold months.”

  Grottin yawned. “I’m tired. I want to go back to sleep, not visit with a wandering wizard.” His head poked down again, into my face. “Leave.”

  “If you want me to go, I will,” I said.

  Capria whimpered.

  “I know, sweetie,” I said. “I just got here. But if they say I have to leave, I will.” Did I dare bring up the cupla stone?

  Falia lowed mournfully, her heads drooping onto the edge of the nest. The stick tumbled down the side and smacked on the ground.

  “Yes, leave,” Grottin said. “Then we can go back to sleep. I, for one, was enjoying an exciting dream where…Well, no need to share. You’ll steal my idea.”

  Like I could make myself dream his dream?

  “Don’t be like that,” Gunner said. “She just got here. Though…” He frowned. “You’re not staying long, are you? We really do need our rest. It’s going to take some time to get the pups settled down again. You’ve stirred them up.”

  The last thing I wanted to do was stress the Cerberus family.

  “They’re right,” I said to Donovan sadly. “It was fun seeing Capria again, but I don’t think this is going to work.” Tears smarted behind my eyes. Not because I’d leave without the stone but because this would probably be the last time I’d see her. I doubted her parents would let her come to the Academy and it was clear I wasn’t welcome here.

  And without a stone, I’d die.

  I straightened and grabbed my pack off the ground where I’d dropped it.