Silver looked away. She didn’t mention that if they didn’t find Kirja, Hiyyan might never learn to fly anyway.
“Underground the whole way?” Brajon rubbed his hands. “That sounds more like it.”
“Here.” Nebekker’s voice soared through the cavern. She toppled one of her baskets and rummaged through the objects that fell out. “Take these, and don’t cut your hands off using them.”
She handed them each a long knife, sheathed safely in hard leather. Silver swallowed hard, her throat dry. What would they need the daggers for?
Nebekker coughed. Then, as though reading her thoughts, she said, “For catching and cutting food.”
Silver didn’t wholly believe the woman, but she buckled the dagger around her waist.
“Now, just follow the river,” Nebekker said. “It’ll branch off here and there, but always stick with the largest flow. Don’t wander into side caves or follow streams. No matter what.”
“Why not?” Silver asked.
“Just do as I say and stop asking questions. Do you think I got to this ripe old age by wandering around like a desert beetle?”
“No.” Silver leaned down to kiss Nebekker’s soft cheek.
Although Nebekker waved her off, Silver caught a small smile. She blinked back tears as she realized that it might be a long time before she saw Nebekker again. The gruff woman had never been one for affection, but Silver impulsively grabbed her hand. Then Silver reached into her boot and pulled out a small object. When she opened her palm, light hit the blue gemstone so that it glittered madly.
Nebekker sucked in a breath. “My pendant. Where did you find that? I thought Sagittaria took it.”
Silver gnawed on the inside of her mouth. Guilt overwhelmed her. “I picked it up the day they took Kirja.”
“And you hid it from me all this time?” Nebekker looked wounded with disbelief.
“I didn’t know—”
“You kept it for insurance,” Nebekker said flatly. “In case I sent you away from me. No, from Kirja … from Aquinder. You wanted to be able to force me to—”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t trust you. I thought it was a chance to hold on to my dream.”
“So this is what you believe a dream is worth.” Nebekker sighed and cradled the pendant. “But it’s even more valuable than you know.”
Silver hung her head. It meant even more now to get Kirja back. To prove to Nebekker that she deserved to be bonded to an Aquinder. And prove that she could be a good friend to the old woman.
As the pendant warmed in Nebekker’s hands, Silver saw a hint of violet light glow from its core before fading again.
“What just happened?” Silver said.
“The stone is searching for Kirja.” Nebekker reached her arm out, then retracted it. Her brow furrowed, like she was fighting an inward battle. Finally, she groaned, grabbed Silver’s hand, and pressed the pendant back into her palm. “Take it. You need it more than I do.”
“What does it do?”
“As you get closer to Kirja, the stone will know, pulsing brighter and hotter,” Nebekker said.
“How does it know?”
“As with so many things having to do with bonds, the hows and whys are a mystery to me.”
“Where did you get it?”
Nebekker shook her head. “It fell into my palm at the conclusion of a sort of journey long ago. But there’s not time to explain more. You must go.”
Silver was filled with a renewed sense of determination. She tied the pendant around her neck, tucked it beneath her tunic, and straightened up. “We’ll be back soon—with Kirja.”
Nebekker closed her eyes and nodded. Without the pendant, her body slumped again. Silver bent and hugged the woman.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Nebekker nodded again but didn’t reply. She didn’t have any more words for Silver and Brajon. No instructions, no guidance, no sarcasm. She was already breathing deeply, sinking into meditation to stretch out her heartbeats until they returned.
“What’s next?” Brajon asked Silver as the cousins turned to go.
“To Calidia,” Silver said—with more certainty than she felt.
SEVENTEEN
The cousins faced the oasis lake.
“Are we going to have to swim to get past the lake? We don’t know how,” Brajon said. He put his fists on his hips, then set his jaw. “Not that I couldn’t learn or anything. Yeah, let’s just go. Jump in. Should be easy.”
He rushed headfirst into the water, but Silver grabbed his sleeve. “Hold it! Nebekker said the currents in the bottom of the lake are strong. They’ll spit you right back out into the cavern.”
“What do you suggest? Wait for Queen Imea to send her royal barge?”
“More like a Droller,” Silver said. “They’re the dragons that transport people.”
Brajon groaned. “Knowing useless water dragon trivia won’t help us through that lake.”
“I also know that water dragons are great swimmers.” Silver motioned to Hiyyan, who had swum down the river to the lake. “And that’s very useful knowledge right now.”
Hiyyan grinned.
“Oh, absolutely not. I’m not riding Hiyyan.” Brajon backed away.
Hiyyan lifted his head in the air, looking greatly offended. He turned his back to Brajon and pouted.
Silver patted his tail and scowled at Brajon. “If this is how you’re going to be the whole time, we’re not going to make it very far.”
Brajon kicked a pebble as he searched the area. Then he brightened and pointed. “Look, I think there’s a way to get around the lake if we can reach that ledge. Hiyyan can lift us to it.”
“Or, he could just swim us through the lake,” Silver said with a sigh.
Brajon scraped his boots a few times against the ground. Silver’s heart softened. She might want to soar in the skies, but solid earth was where Brajon was most comfortable. She reminded herself that the idea of being in dark, cramped caves made her nervous.
“Look,” she said. “I think we can climb those rocks part of the way, then balance on the stalagmites to get us to the ledge. Hiyyan can give us a boost, too. Then he can swim across the lake and meet us on the other side.”
Brajon broke into a relieved smile. “We can use Hiyyan’s head as a step!”
The Aquinder made a displeased snort but went along with their plan. He hoisted them up to the higher rocks, then walked alongside them as best he could as they balanced across the stalagmites. Brajon reached the ledge first and pulled himself up.
“Perfect!” he said. “This goes all the way past the lake. It’s a little low, so we’ll have to crouch. At least, I will. A little desert beetle like you should be fine.”
Silver was concentrating too hard to shoot back a retort. She placed her foot against the ledge, but her boot hit moss, and she slipped backward, her arms wheeling in the air. Brajon reacted quickly, grasping her wrist. Her body swung swiftly to the side, and her rib cage slammed into the tip of a stalagmite. Silver let out a cry of pain, and Hiyyan whimpered in sympathy.
“Ungh.” Silver wriggled like a scorpion in Brajon’s grasp, her boots trying to find a grip on the slick wall.
“Stop. Moving. Like. That,” Brajon grunted. “Give me your other hand.”
“I’m trying!”
“Try harder!”
Silver looked over her shoulder. She had a long way to fall. The cavern, a place of beautiful shadows before, now gaped menacingly at her. She was sure the stalagmites were thirsting to impale her.
Silver stopped squirming and dangled in the air. She closed her eyes. They were supposed to rescue a dragon like this? There had to be a better way.