Wade.

The name was spoken slowly and with difficulty, as if the user still struggled with the concept language. Wade ignored it, gazing blindly over Ember's head. The horse was still moving at full speed, racing across the uneven ground.

Wade.

Ember leapt over a root; Wade had to grab Asher to keep them both on the horse. His friend had fallen limp at some point, his breathing shallow and rapid.

Wade, listen to me!

A dark shape hurtled directly into Ember's path, forcing her to skid to a halt. Wade lurched forward, hitting his nose on the horse's neck. He looked up, blinking, jolted back to alertness. Aurum was glaring back at him, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light of the stars.

What? Wade asked.

We need to stop.

Wade shook his head. The bandits—

The bandits are gone, and we've travelled miles already. The horse is about to fall over, and Asher is losing blood. You and Henry aren't much better. Aurum shifted, and Wade glimpsed his father sitting on the dragon's back, his face pale but determined. We must stop.

Wade opened his mouth to argue, but the only thing swirling through his foggy mind was an instinctive, desperate urge to run. He was defenseless against the dragon's cool logic.

"Fine." He caught himself. Fine.

Good. Follow me. Aurum blinked and slid between two trees to Wade's right. Wade guided Ember after him, letting her slow to a trot. Her feet dragged at the ground, and her sides heaved in tandem with her labored breathing. She stumbled over a shallow dip in the ground, and Wade nearly fell over her side. He had to grasp Asher's arm again to keep his friend from the same fate.

"Just hang on," he muttered, not quite sure whom he was reassuring.

Aurum finally stopped in the middle of a dense thicket, where they would be hidden from the eyes of any passerby. Wade's father shakily jumped off the dragon and ran to Ember.

"Here," he said, gently lifting Asher off the horse. Wade helped as best he could before dismounting. His legs were numb; he fell awkwardly to his knees before staggering upright again.

Wade's father carefully lowered Asher to the ground, laying him on his uninjured side. Asher stirred, his bleary eyes snapping open. He moaned and twisted around, weakly groping at the arrow lodged in his back.

Wade reached out and grabbed his friend's wrist. "You'll make it worse, Ash."

"It hurts like . . ." Asher trailed off and swore. "It hurts to breathe."

"Just breathe, son. We're here," Wade's father said, examining the arrow.

"What should we do?" Wade asked, leaning forward. His heart sank; the wound was much worse than he had first thought. The arrow had gone almost entirely through Asher's body, and had definitely torn through his intestines.

"I . . . I'm not sure." Wade's father looked like he had been struck. "If we pull it out, it will cause more bleeding."

"Take it out," Asher said, clenching his teeth. "I can heal myself once . . . once it's gone."

"Are you even strong enough to do that?" Wade asked. "You could hardly hold the bandits off."

"That . . . wasn't a matter of strength," Asher mumbled, his eyes momentarily sliding shut. "Just concentration. Turns out . . . being shot is very distracting."

Wade's father nodded after a moment of hesitation. "It's the best chance we have. Wade, grab something to stem the blood." He looked at Asher and frowned. "I can't push it through. Asher, you'll have to heal yourself quickly."

"Okay."

His father still had some cloth in his bag; Wade took it and stood next to Asher. "Ready."

"Don't move," Wade's father warned Asher. Then, slowly, carefully, he grasped the stem of the arrow and began to pull.

Asher screamed and jerked violently. Wade jumped forward and briefly wrestled with his friend, using all his strength to hold the boy still. Asher's hands trembled as he forced himself to not fight back.

It only took a few more seconds for his father to remove the arrow, but it felt like much longer. As soon as it was gone, Wade released Asher, snatched up his cloth, and pressed it against his friend's back. In seconds he could feel blood soaking through it to his fingers. He applied more pressure, eliciting a pained yelp from Asher.

"Asher, now!" his father growled, throwing the arrow to the side to help Wade.

Asher let out a wordless cry and pressed his forehead into the hard dirt, screwing his eyes shut. A feeble, silvery glow began to spread around them, though Wade couldn't tell where it came from.

A single, agonizing minute passed. Wade folded the cloth on top of itself over and over again as blood continued to leak through the thick material. Asher flinched a few times but otherwise held still. Wade's father stayed by his side, muttering words of encouragement whenever the boy began to falter or lose focus.

Finally, Asher relaxed. He pushed Wade aside and rolled onto his back, panting. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his gray eyes were glazed over. Wade let his hands swing loosely to his sides and sucked in a deep breath, only dimly aware of his relief.

"Done," Asher gasped.

"Don't do that to me again." Wade's father held a hand to his forehead and sighed. His gaze wandered to the discarded arrow, and he picked it up. It was drenched in blood, and seemed oddly short without the part of the shaft the smith had snapped off.

Wade stared at the projectile with a sort of professional detachment. The arrowhead—thankfully not barbed—was long and thin. He'd helped his father craft many just like it.

"This is for piercing armor," he said, carefully taking it from the blacksmith. "Not flesh. Those bandits must have stolen whatever supplies they could."

"And they're not very good at using them. At least, not the man who shot this." His father frowned at the arrow. "If he'd used any decent amount of force, it would have gone completely through Asher's body."

"Sounds like they're woefully unequipped," Asher said, still sightlessly watching the night sky.

"That would make sense. They are bandits."

A shadow loomed over Wade's head. He turned and saw Aurum sitting behind him, his gold eyes bright with worry.

He's alright, Wade said.

I know. He just told me.

Okay, good. Wade sighed. I guess we should—

No.

What?

No, you are not going to keep going. Aurum growled. Ember can't go any further and Asher is too weak. You all need rest.

But—

Aurum snarled; Wade's father jumped. Stop arguing and sleep. All of you. He looked at Asher as he spoke. The corner of the boy's mouth twitched, and he obediently closed his eyes.

Wade sighed and looked at his father. "Aurum wants us to rest."

His father looked at him, then Asher. "He'll stand guard?"

"He always does." As soon as the words left Wade's mouth, a great wave of weariness crashed over him. He made himself as comfortable as he could on the rocky ground and rested his head on his arms.

"Sleep well, son," his father said, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

Wade grunted in response and closed his eyes. He'd expected himself to have trouble relaxing, but it took mere seconds for him to be swept into the blissful darkness of sleep.

<><><>

Something nudged Wade's side. He opened his eyes and saw Aurum's head hovering above his own. The sky beyond the dragon's silhouette was still dark, layered with heavy-looking clouds.

Did something happen? he asked, wiping sleep from his eyes.

Time to go.

It took Wade a moment to remember what had happened. Right. He rolled over and got to his feet, blearily looking around. His father was awake, already gathering up their few supplies. Asher was still asleep beside him, but the instant Aurum padded over to the boy his eyes shot open.

"What time is it?" Asher yawned, struggling upright.

"Early. Very early," Wade replied. He watched carefully as Asher stood up and stretched. He seemed much better; in fact, the only sign he'd been shot in the first place was the dried blood that spread across his shirt.

Aurum paced around them in a tight circle, his wings twitching impatiently. Now that you're awake, he said, I'm going to go find the bandits.

What? Why? Wade asked. He glanced sideways at Asher, who looked equally confused.

I want to find out where they are. If they're still following us . . . Aurum bared his teeth. They won't be much longer.

Wade turned to Asher, who was already opening his mouth. "Don't."

"He can't just go on his own."

"Yes, he can. He's a dragon. Besides, we need you to find this magi."

Asher hesitated. "If they're close by, I want to talk to them."

"Don't be ridiculous. They want to kill us!"

"No, they don't. And I want to know why. After all these years, it doesn't make sense that the Valkir would want a magi brought to them alive."

Wade frowned; he hadn't thought about it much, but Dean's comment about taking Asher alive did seem rather strange. His own curiosity rose up, annoyingly strong.

What are you talking about? Aurum suddenly asked, annoyed. Why does Asher want me to wait?

Give us a moment.

Aurum let out a puff of air and continued pacing.

"You want to go talk to those people?" Wade's father said, clearly struggling to follow the conversation.

"Only if they're close by." Asher lowered his head, hiding his face. "I just want to know what's going on. What they want with me."

"You're not talking about the bandits anymore." Wade observed, narrowing his eyes.

Asher bit his lip and looked away. "Rivas mentioned talking to the king. To Soren. I'm just . . . confused."

"There's no point in questioning a couple of bandits, Ash. I doubt they'll know anything."

"But what if—"

Aurum snorted. That's it. I'm leaving. Asher scowled and took a step forward, but was pushed aside as Aurum sprung into the air and drove his wings down. Wade stumbled, the blast of air nearly sending him spinning to the ground. By the time he had regained his balance and looked up, the dragon had vanished from sight.

Asher muttered something unkind at the empty sky, looking both disgruntled and embarrassed. Wade, after a moment of stunned silence, doubled over laughing.

"That was not funny," Asher snapped.

Wade's father looked utterly bewildered. "What is going on?"

Wade quickly explained what Aurum had done. As he spoke, he reached through the bond and touched the dragon's mind, monitoring his progress. Aurum acknowledged his presence but otherwise ignored him, keeping a sharp eye out for the bandits.

Wade's father raised an eyebrow. "Asher, there's no point in trying to talk to them."

Asher wouldn't meet their eyes. "I guess so. Either way, we should keep going." He was silent for a moment and then pointed east, deeper into the mountains. His brusque attitude had given way to nervousness. "We're closer now. Much closer."

"Lead the way," Wade's father said.

Asher sighed and started forward, bushing past a large thornbush and disappearing behind a tree. Wade glanced at his father and followed him. They all walked as fast as they could, the memory of the bandits fresh in their minds. Ember trailed after them, silent as a shadow.

After a few minutes, Aurum contacted Wade. I've found them.

Show me.

Suddenly Wade was seeing through Aurum's eyes as the dragon circled above a small group of dark figures. They were gazing up at him with pale faces, eyes and mouths wide open. A single arrow whistled his way, and Aurum twisted to the side to avoid it.

They probably think I'm going to eat them, Aurum said smugly.

. . . Are you?

I'm debating it. Aurum paused. They've begun going back to Norstarn. I think Asher and I scared them off.

Wade breathed a sigh of relief. That's one less thing to worry about.

I'm not so sure . . . Aurum stopped; the bandits were hurriedly gathering up their belongings and sprinting away, heading towards Norstarn. They think they can outrun me. How cute.

What are you going to do now?

Return. Aurum flew another slow circle over the fleeing bandits and then turned back around, taking a roundabout way back to them. I'll fly low so they don't see where we are, but I don't think they'll be following us.

Wade blinked a few times, and he was back with his father and Asher. "Aurum says the bandits are running," he said.

"Good," his father replied.

Asher had stopped in front of them, his posture stiff and rigid. "They aren't running; they're going to tell the Valkir about us. That's why they're headed to Norstarn."

Wade's relief vanished in an instant. "Oh."

"Should Aurum go after them?" his father asked.

"No," Asher said. "No, we should go. Hunting them all down would take forever, and he could get hurt." He began walking again, his steps a little jerky.

Wade jogged over to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Asher shifted away. "Yes. Let's get moving." He squinted up at the sky. "If we hurry we might be able to get past this mountain by nightfall."

". . . Okay."

Freed of Wade's grip, Asher strode away, his face set. Wade looked at his father, uneasy.

"He'll be fine," the blacksmith said, but he was frowning. "Come, let's make sure we don't lose him."

With one last glance at the sky, Wade sighed and ducked under the thick canopy once more, his father and Ember close behind. They had a long day ahead of them.