I am exhausted. It was dark when I went to sleep, and it is still dark now. I yawn and stretch my arms above my head. A shame the capital proved unfruitful as far as coffee goes. A hot pot of coffee would do the trick right about now. Roharu, Zika, and Katsuro are off to the side discussing something. They’re probably going over how to move without drawing more attention to ourselves. If the attendants at the temple haven’t noticed their saintess missing, they will soon, once the sun rises and chases away the chill of st night.

  “So how are we doing this?” Chloe asks. She rubs her eyes and drags her hand down her cheek. “You think he has some kind of transportation system in his magic bag?” She pinches her cheeks and then sps them to wake herself up.

  “Maybe, but that isn’t sneaky?” The capital had some wagons going in and out, carrying goods. Zika looks strong enough to lift one, so maybe he has one in his bag, but that doesn’t factor in how we would get the wagon to work. Apollo is in no condition to pull all of us. He’s doing better now that he is away from the capital, and I don’t want to risk his health by pushing him any further. “Or he turns into a dragon for us to ride.”

  “There’s a thought.” Chloe chuckles. “Nothing like a fall to wake you up.” She turns her head. “What’s with her?”

  Edith, the saintess, runs her hands up and down her arms. She stands away from us, near a tree, watching the men. Despair rolls off her in waves. It’s more than obvious she is miserable by these turns of events. I don’t understand why. She’s dressed in some baggy bck pants and a long-sleeved white top, and a pair so simple shoes. The clothes aren’t fancy by any means, but they are warm and it’s a lot better than that thin nightgown she showed up in.

  “She just needs time to adjust,” I say slowly, not sure if I believe my own words. “Trauma affects everyone differently. We don’t know what they did to her at the temple or how she came to be in this world.”

  Yeah, some of her behavior is probably trauma, but can she stop watching Roharu so intently? Yeah, he went to break her out of the temple, but that’s only because out of all of us, he’s the more skilled with stealth. I frown. Shouldn’t she be a little thrilled at finding other humans like her from our world?

  Roharu looks over his shoulder and motions for us to come over. “Zika is going to transform. I will use my shadows to keep us steady in pce of a saddle.”

  My lips twitch. “A dragon with a saddle?” The visual alone is enough to wake me up.

  “I don’t make it a habit to keep one on me,” Zika jokes. He crosses his arms. “Ya gonna owe me for this, Roharu.” Taking a step back, Zika unfolds his arms and cracks his neck. Fmes, almost golden, erupt from around his feet until it fres up, growing in size until dissipating like mist.

  In pce of Zika, is a dragon as golden as the sun. Even squatting, he is massive. His tail whips around and lies ft in front of us. Surely, he doesn’t expect us to climb up his tail? His scales look smooth to the touch, but I’m sure they are as strong as a shield. I don’t know if we can climb up his tail without sliding down.

  In this form, Zika could do a lot of damage. I see why dragons are so feared.

  Roharu’s shadows wrap around me, a warm, welcome embrace. He lifts us and settles us on the back of Zika. I clench my fists to stop myself from stroking Zika’s scales, though I really want to know if the scales are as smooth as the look. Roharu wraps an arm around me, despite his shadows still being wrapped around my waist.

  The fpping of Zika’s wings is as loud as a stadium. The trees tilt to the left and to the right. He could uproot the trees with his wings alone. I blink and we are far above the trees. My stomach churns. There’s something about being able to look down on the trees from this height. I pce my hand on Roharu’s for comfort. While I know we won’t fall because Roharu’s shadows remain strong.... maybe I should just focus on the view in front instead of looking down.

  The wind sps my face, pulling a grunt from my throat. Ouch. The difference between being on a pne and riding a dragon is the pne at least keeps the wind from trying to tear my skin off. The shadows rise and thin out enough for me to see through them. Oh. The wind is no longer hitting my face.

  “Thanks.” I lean my head back against his chest and look up at him. His eyes darken.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Zika’s voice rumbles like thunder. “We will be there shortly.”

  “Land further away from the vilge so you do not tear the roofs from their homes,” Roharu yells.

  That fast? I peek a gnce at the ground and grimace. Still too high in the sky. If it only takes this short ride to the vilge, how long will it take for us to reach the eastern region?

  “Wouldn’t this draw attention?” Though we are pretty far up, but not so far, it’s hard to breathe.

  “We will be gone long before they can catch up.” He lowers his voice. “The saintess said there was screaming in the temple. They may be too busy covering their tracks to look for us, or they may chalk it up to their god’s decree.” He pauses. “Has that god contacted you since leaving the temple?”

  I shake my head. “No, I haven’t heard from him since. If he cared, he would have stopped us.” I should be more freaked out about a god speaking in my head, but strangely, I’m not. Maybe it was the ck of malice in his tone or I’m just too tired to care. “Do you want me to try to contact him?” The guy is a god so surely, he can be talked to outside of his temple.

  “No,” Roharu says sharply. “Let us not get caught up in any schemes.”

  I nod, not knowing how to answer that. It feels like we don’t have a choice in the matter. Something is already in motion, and we are twelve steps behind. This isn’t the time to announce that, though, I’ll wait until Roharu and I are alone. No need to get everyone else in an uproar and I’m not sure how to feel about Edith. Back at the temple, she was cooperative, ready to leave that pce and seemed genuinely happy to see Chloe and I. But now? Now, she’s withdrawn and keeps gncing at Roharu as though there’s something more than him rescuing her.

  Is it fear we’ll be like those at the temple? Or is it something else?

  I keep my thoughts to myself and enjoy the rest of the ride. Roharu’s shadows keep us steady. My heart lurches to my throat when Zika makes a dive to the ground. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them when my stomach settles.

  Should have known. Of course, we have to get down somehow. Why did I think we would just coast down?

  Roharu flicks his wrist, and the shadows lift us off Zika’s bag and down to the ground. I wiggle my toes in my shoes to wake my feet up. I can’t believe we’re here so fast. It took like two days to get to the capital from here and that was from us staying on the beaten path. The sun is higher in the sky, but there’s still a sleepiness to the air. The birds haven’t started their song yet and the leaves still have that morning dew on them.

  Zika changes back into his more human-like form. I blink and then avert my eyes. Got it, the clothes don’t transform with him.

  “Oi!” Katsuro calls. “Put some pants on.”

  “Hm? Oh, this bothers you?” Zika asks. There’s some rustling. I assume he’s putting clothes on. “Alright, lead the way.”

  Roharu pces his hand on my lower back. “We do not all have to go. I am simply giving them their coin.”

  “That’s too bad, I’m still going.” Zika locks his fingers behind his head and smirks. “Wanna see what kind of vilge can get you to do something for free.”

  “It was not for free. They housed us and...” He sighs. “We were going to settle there because it is close to the capital.”

  “But the capital is too dangerous now,” Zika fills in. “What about you, saintess?”

  “M-me? I don’t have a preference. Wherever you guys are going, then I guess I’ll come to.”

  “Hm? Really? You don’t have a family to get back to or a lover?”

  “No, I don’t. Well, I have family, but I don’t think it’s possible to get back there. Unless you guys know a way?”

  “We were hoping the temple, or you would have some answers,” Roharu says. “There were other women like you that were taken from their world.”

  “What?” Zika’s question goes unanswered.

  “I don’t know anything,” Edith snarks out. “It’s far too early for you guys to be grilling me like this.”

  “No one is grilling you?” I rub my forehead and count to ten, but it isn’t working. I get it. She’s under some pressure and she isn’t sure if she can trust us or not, but damn, that doesn’t mean she has the right to jump down our throats. “We’re just trying to piece together what we know because someone is pulling others like you and me from their worlds and bringing them here. And not all of them have survived.”

  If she keeps this up, then we might just drop her off at a vilge and be done with it. No, that’s not right. If something were to happen to her and I caught wind of it, I’d feel pretty awful about it. It’s clear Edith has been sheltered since she’s come to this world. Maybe she was pulled into the temple from the start?

  “Sorry. I’m just not used to being up this early or walking this much.”

  Chloe snorts.

  “As I said, there is no need for everyone to make this trek. I am simply giving them their coin owed and pressing forward.” Roharu rolls his eyes and gives me a look. He’s just as annoyed as I am. The conversation dies down and despite Edith’s compints, she continues to follow along, choosing to go with us instead of staying.

  Either she’s afraid we will leave her behind or... well, she’s probably just afraid.

  It doesn’t take that long to make it to the vilge, though we cut through the forest and come across the fields where the pnts are still thriving. Suzun, looks up and waves with one hand. She has a basket full of vegetables and fruits in her other.

  “Odd,” Zika starts. “I’d heard this area was going through a famine.” His eyes seem to sparkle with a curiosity wishing to be nurtured. I don’t dare look at Roharu.

  “Perhaps you heard wrong.” Roharu heads for Bazur’s hut. He pushes the fp away and holds it long enough for me to go through. “Bazur, here is the coin promised.”

  Bazur yawns and rubs the back of his head. “You could have waited until ter today?” He pauses and stares past us. “Is something the matter?”

  Roharu shakes his head and pces the bag of coin down on the floor. “No, but we will not be staying here.”

  “Leave?” Bazur struggles to his feet. The impact of Roharu’s words must have shaken him. “But you were going to...” He squeezes his eyes shut and breathes out of his mouth. “We will go with you.”

  I blink. Go with us? Zika is massive in his dragon form, but surely, he can’t carry the whole vilge? Never mind the energy Roharu would have to use to keep everyone from falling off.

  “We are going east. You know of the dangers the east poses. Would you still follow us?”

  “Yes.” Bazur inhales. “Wherever you go, we will follow. The vilge would have perished if not for you.”

  Is he serious?

  Oh.

  He is.

  AutumnBanks

  Thanks for reading! I got a review on another site that wished there more sex scenes, so I figured I would ask if anyone else is bothered there aren't more of those scenes.