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The king addresses Kian.“What’s the status?”

Kian nods toward the rescue work.“We’re making progress.”

Just then, the second, third, and fourth families are freed through tunnels.

Everyone turns their heads toward them.Except Aruan.He’s looking at me as if he’s ready to storm over and rip me away in a second.I do my best to calm my erratic heartbeat and to show him through the bond that I’m all right.

After another beat, he tears his gaze away from me to look toward the village.The villagers and guards are stealing wary glances at the quetzalcoatluses and anurognathuses flying overhead.The queen looks equally uneasy.

“What about the other villages?”Kian asks.

“We checked,” the queen says.“Everyone is safe.”

Aruan may no longer be staring in my direction, but his attention lingers on me for another second, pulsing darkly between us, before he turns to the mountain.In a wink, the rocks and sand retract, falling to the wayside.

Holy macaroni.

The buried half of the village isn’t only uncovered but clean, not a speck of sand remaining.

Vitai takes off to the side where the injured are gathering.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” a man with white hair and a bushy mustache says with his face tilted toward the sky.“What if those dragons get hungry and decide to snack on a few Alit?”

“Don’t worry,” I say.“I can control them.”

Aruan turns a cold glare on the man.“Are you implying Elsie is incompetent, Incus?”

The man cringes.“Not at all.”

“Aruan,” I say in a gentle tone, imploring him to calm down.

He doesn’t have a choice as the rescue operation continues in all earnest.Luckily, none of the injuries are serious.Gaia explains that Lona is often plagued by landslides, which is why the houses are constructed from stone.

Everyone, including the royals, roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.The queen gives orders for an area to be prepared where food and water can be served.While we’re waiting for aid from the nearby villages, she brings staff with food from the palace.The king demands a large tent where Vitai can treat the injured, which Aruan fabricates with nothing but his mind.The villagers use their own powers, albeit clearly weaker than those of the royals, to lift heavy buckets of water and to light fires with their minds.

Seeing that everything is mostly back to normal, I let the animals return to their burrows, nests, and hunting.Aruan visits every house to repair any damage with his incredible power.I join Gaia in handing out bowls of hearty broth to the villagers while the queen ensures their stores and cellars are filled with fresh food and wine.

We work until late, helping with the chores and the children.When every single person has been taken care of, we’re weary to the bone.It’s late when Aruan takes my hand and transports me via a portal to his quarters.We step into his bedroom, facing each other with dirt-streaked faces and dusty clothes.The atmosphere is charged.With every second that he simply stands there, staring at me, the heaviness intensifies.

“I didn’t know you could create portals,” I say to break the awkward silence.

“Most of my immediate family can open a simple portal to a nearby location, but only Gaia and my mother can create them systematically and repeatedly, bending distance with their minds to create multiple portals over greater areas.”

I nod at his patient explanation, racking my brain for something else to say.

He surprises me by declaring, “You did well today.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Angry?”He advances on me.“I’m furious, Elsie.”Stopping short of me, he towers over my body.“Kian put you in danger, and you risked your life by following him.”

I crane my neck to look at him.“You can’t keep me locked up in your quarters forever and treat me as if I’m made of glass.”

“Really?”His lips stretch with a calculated smile, the gesture narrowing his eyes.“Watch me.”

“Come on, Aruan.”I blow out a breath.“You said yourself my power is strong.”

“The land was unstable,” he bites out.“A rock could’ve fallen on your head.”