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They didn’t.

We remained aloft, though she kept low and close to the cliffs, using the uplift to soar more than fly. Tarn flew behind us, Rua to our right. She kept studying us and even without skimming her thoughts, it was pretty obvious she was curious.

Why allow on back?she asked eventually.

Safer for both, Kaia said.She flame.

Flame?Rua asked.

Kaia described how she and I had battled the riders and defeated them, and Rua grew thoughtful.Share?

My kin, Kaia snapped.

Where find kin?

I grinned. It was just too perfect an opportunity... and it was doubtful Kele would object to me nominating her as a possible drakkon rider.There is another who can flame at our breeding grounds, but she cannot speak directly to minds like me.

Kaia help talk?

Will,she said.

Rua looked pleased, and my smile grew. Wait until Kele found out....

We flew on, and after a couple of hours, when it became very obvious the straps and seals were not going to fail, Kaia rose and headed inland, following the spine of the Black Glass Mountains back to Esan.

Dusk’s pink fingers were just beginning to claim the sky when I spotted the glint of gold. I swore, dragged the long viewer free, and focused the broken sight.

Riders, two of them, coming in fast from around the direction of the Throat, suggesting that at least one of them was the sentry I’d spotted earlier.

We fightcame Kaia’s unsurprising response.

We run, I said.Not to the aerie, because we can’t risk them finding out about it.

Then fight.

No. Fly to Esan.

What good that?

Esan have spears that can bring the riders down, plus Kele and a few others can flame.

Rua and Tarn no like Esan.

But they trust you, and will obey you, right?

Yes.

Then we fly into Esan and land in that courtyard.There will be room for all three.As long as all the humans got out of the way.

Kaia grumbled unhappily—a sound echoed by the other two drakkons—then as one they swept around to the left and increased their speed, arrowing toward the dark blot of mountain that housed Esan.

It seemed an extraordinarily long way away.

Ten minutes later, Tarn trumpeted a sharp warning. I twisted around and saw another two birds appear on the horizon to our left, their wings a golden blur as they arrowed toward us.

Keep going, I urged all three.

Their speed didn’t increase. They were already flying as fast as they could. Or rather, as fast as Kaia could given the condition of her wings.