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“Let me try,” Reed says, and I watch curiously. He shakes his head, “Nope, I don’t have access to my wings either.”

“What about you guys?” Doc asks, looking at Rupert and Kylen. They’re the only dragons on the team apart from Coen, and we all know that he can’t shift.

I’m assuming that since Doc didn’t ask the other one, Jamie, I think he’s called, and that the last member is already out on the cliffside, that neither of them has wings.

“We don’t have to tell you fuck all,” Kylen starts.

Rupert rolls his eyes, and then looks like he’s concentrating before he shakes his head, “No, I can’t. Obviously, I can’t fully shift into my dragon in here, but when I called on my magic, I could feel that my wings wouldn’t transform.”

“So those of us who can fly have lost the ability to do so,” Griff says, with a slight frown.

“Well, that can’t be good,” I mutter.

After discussing the implications for a moment longer, it’s decided that there isn’t anything that we can do, and we were warned that we would lose parts of our gifts, so we’re going to have to work around it. We decide to carry on with the initial plan and get to the top of the cliff. We have no idea what’s waiting up there for us, and we need to get up there as quickly as we can so that we can assess the situation.

It shouldn’t be a big deal that some of them don’t have access to their wings anymore, since the rest of us do pretty well without wings.

As I climb, I can’t help but think that the Choosing has taken away their wings for a reason. I mean, obviously it has, but I’m going to assume that it’staking them away because we’re going to need them. I also wonder if anyone else has lost any of their magic or gifts, or if it’s just those that have wings. I guess we’re going to find out.

When Reed pulls me up and over the top of the cliff, I have to say I’m surprised at what I see. I thought there might be more forest, or even more of the rocky terrain from below up here, but instead, there’s just a huge expanse of pasture—mostly flat, all grass, except for a couple of trees dotted here and there.

It’s pretty.

Most surprisingly though is that I can see the portal in the distance. I have a feeling that it’s actually a lot further away than it looks, and I also have a feeling that it’s not as easy to get to as it looks either. It wouldn’t be much of a task if all we had to do were climb up the cliff and walk leisurely toward the portal.

The others are all quickly over the edge, and looking around just like I am, with the same amount of caution as well.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Neith

“Ithink this is deceiving,” River mutters, echoing my thoughts.

“Oh absolutely,” the Draconian member whose name I don’t know replies, earning a glare from Kylen simply because he’s agreeing with River, which is the most ridiculous thing that I have seen for a while. It’s like Kylen hasn’t left high school let alone fucking college.

“It can’t be this easy,” Raiden adds, as his gaze narrows on our surroundings.

Griff nods, “It’s most likely not, but we’ve got no choice but to go forward. It’s how we get out of here.”

“Griff’s right,” Evander agrees, once again taking a leadership role. “We need to move forward as quickly and safely as possible. There are no places up here for us to take shelter from the creatures if we’re still up here by nightfall.”

Rupert frowns, “It doesn’t look too far away.”

Jamie is the one who replies, “I think that might be an illusion.”

“Agreed,” Ransom says. “If the worst comes to the worst and we end up being exposed when night falls, my magic should have replenished enough by then that I should be able to put the ward around us as we move, I’m exhausted from holding it all night and not getting much sleep, so I have no idea how long I’ll be able to keep it up for. If it happens any sooner than nightfall though I won’t be able to hold it, I couldn’t do it right now. Especially, since it’s likely that since we’re exposed, the creatures are going to be attacking relentlessly.”

“That’s understandable,” Van agrees. “We’ll just hope that we get there before nightfall. If needs must, then we will have to fight our way through if your magic hasn’t replenished itself yet. We don’t want you to be using your magic at dangerously low levels.” He looks around at everyone, “Let’s go.”

“Who do you think you are telling my team and me what to do?” Kylen suddenly says.

Van raises his eyebrow, “Do you have another idea or plan?”

Kylen scowls and stays silent, and I frown. As they begin to go back and forth, I lean closer to Doc, and saying as quietly as I can, I ask, “Is it me, or is he slightly more unhinged than usual?”

Doc nods, “I did think that, especially after what he did last night, he can’t have thought that would have ended any differently, but to be honest, it could just be because of the pain he’s in from the mark on his cheek. There have been many stories where people have gone insane because of a ghost mark.”

My eyes widen, “Really?”