Approaching them were two figures so massive, so imposing that they must belong to the realm of myths rather than the mortal world. Stone giants, each standing four times taller than the tallest trees around them, their skin looking like jagged rock, moved toward them with deliberate, thunderous steps. Green moss grew over large parts of them, as did flowers—the taller of the two even looked like he had a small tree growing from his shoulder.

  “Okay, where were those things hiding?” Bruni asked, staring with wide eyes at the giants.

  “When they lie down, they look like hills,” Emberion said. “Makes them really hard to find.”

  “I wasn’t really asking,” Bruni said.

  “Then you should not pose it as a question, dwarf.”

  Despite the pain in his arm, Theo had to smile—he liked that Bruni was put in his place by Emberion and Freya.

  “Are we going to greet them?” Theo asked.

  Emberion chuckled. “Only if you wish to be smashed into pieces. The giants are protective of their lands and they do not speak.”

  At least when Emberion explained, he didn’t make Theo feel like an idiot the way Bruni did.

  “So, what are we doing?” Freya asked.

  “You are getting back on my back, and we shall fly around the giants and look for signs of them being affected by the darkness that surrounds Bruni,” Emberion said.

  Freya stared over at the giants. “I think they look pretty formidable. And I’m not sure I like the idea of Theo getting anywhere near them.”

  Emberion smiled. “He is safe on my back, knight Freya, I assure you. You all are.”

  With some difficulty considering his aching arm, Theo hoisted himself back onto Emberion’s broad, scaled back. Freya, though clearly unhappy about leaving the ground again so soon, followed suit, her movements efficient. Bruni clambered up last, muttering about the indignity of it all, though only barely loud enough for Theo to hear it. Was he just a little afraid of whining too much in front of Emberion? If so, that was a good thing.

  Still, Theo noted the way Bruni trembled. Was at least some of his attitude because he was feeling sick? Despite his behavior, Theo wanted to explain it away.

  Then again, being sick did not mean carte blanche to behave like an ass.

  Perhaps it would help if Theo thought of Bruni’s comments as funny, rather than just rude. If they didn’t hurt anyone, was it actually so horrible?

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  As Emberion took to the air, the stone giants’ enormous forms became even more imposing. Their jagged, rocky exteriors blended so seamlessly with the natural environment that, from a distance, one could indeed mistake them for part of the landscape. They had no real faces, just a shape somewhat like a head, and Theo wondered if they could see, or if they were blind.

  Emberion soared skillfully around the giants, maintaining a safe distance but close enough for his passengers to observe the worrying signs of decay. The giants seemed slower than perhaps they should be, like each step was a monumental effort—but then, Theo had never seen them before, so perhaps that was just the way they moved, what with being made of solid rock.

  Theo noticed that one of the giants had a swath of moss on his leg that had turned a sickly brown, and flowers that once might have been bright and cheerful now hung limp and lifeless.

  “They look sick,” Theo called to Emberion. “Or do they usually have wilting flowers on them?”

  “Not in the height of summer,” Emberion said. “They are affected, just like us dragons and the dwarves.”

  As they circled, one of the giants, perhaps taking them for a threat or merely annoyed by their presence, swatted at them with a massive hand. Emberion dodged just in time, the rush of air from the giant’s movement buffeting them violently. Theo clung tighter, his heart pounding and his arm aching from the effort, painfully aware of how small and fragile they were in comparison to the giants. Freya held on with an iron grip around Theo’s middle.

  Another sweep of a giant’s arm sent them spiraling, and Emberion twisted in the air to stabilize. “They do not appreciate us coming here,” he said. “Let us leave this place behind.”

  “No argument here,” Theo said. He had decided the moment he walked into the spider web that Grimpeak Wilds was not his favorite place in the world—in fact, it might be his very least favorite place ever.

  “Yes, please,” Freya said, her voice barely above a whisper, terrified. Her knuckles were white where she held on around Theo’s stomach.

  Emberion rose higher, out of reach of even the giants. Below them, the landscape rolled and shifted with each movement of the giants, small avalanches of stones tumbling down their backs with each laborious step they took. It looked like they were falling apart. Now that he was a safe distance away, Theo couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness for the creatures.

  “We have to get that amulet back,” Theo said. “We need to stop the witch.”

  “Indeed,” Emberion said.

  “Easier said than done, unfortunately,” Theo said.

  “Most things are easier said than done, are they not?” Emberion asked, turning his head to frown at Theo, the movement making Freya yelp. “Words across lips are surely always much easier than action.”

  “Yes,” Theo said. “It’s another saying. That it will be more difficult than merely making a plan.”

  “Ah, another saying,” Emberion said. “Yes, it is more difficult, yet we have to try, because what is the alternative?”

  “Are you always so positive?”

  When Emberion answered, Theo could hear the amusement in his voice. “Yes—what is the alternative?”

  Theo huffed, a smile crossing his lips. He liked Emberion’s outlook.

  They headed away from Grimpeak Wilds, and Theo tried to enjoy the feeling of the warm sunlight against his forearms. But his arm hurt, and the giants were wilting, the dragons were attacking Astoria, and the dwarves were sick—so even though the world around him was beautiful, it felt like everything was falling apart.

  As they headed toward the sunset, Theo leaned forward and asked the dragon, “So, where exactly are we headed? Just going toward the Empty Plains until we find the witch’s castle?”

  Emberion chuckled. “No, we are going to see my mother.”