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the air. Shae’s heart raced, and she held on to Kai with trembling hands until the wingabeast’s flight leveled. Air washed over her in a rhythmic rush and flow. They must have cleared the trees by now, but she dared not look. She hid her face against the blue perse of Kai’s cloak and clutched him with such fierceness his hand covered hers to soothe. Their flight leveled, and the flapping of wings silenced for so long she opened her eyes in alarm.
    Vast landscapes unfolded on every side, just awakened by dawn. Pink-tinged mists undulated above hills washed in hues of green. The waters of Weild Whistan winked wavery light as they threaded in and out of the rich tapestry of the Maegran Syld, known by the Elder as the Hills of Mist. The weild passed into the Kaba forests and emerged to become the Elder’s White Feather River where it entered Norwood. Maeg Streihcan , the “Broken Mountain,” lifted its ragged head in the fore distance, where it floated and shimmered as if it might soon vanish. The other peaks of the Maegrad Ceid , the “Crystal Mountains,” sliced the air to the south, beyond the mottled green of the Kaba canopy.
    Whellein Hold dwindled behind them, its fields and lawns the only clearings of any size in the Kaba forest that ran to the foothills of the Maegrad Paesad , the “Impenetrable Mountains.” To the west and north, a nameless moorland stretched for lengths to reach salt marshes edged by sparkling sea.
    She sighed, lost in wonder. Nothing could have prepared her for such exquisite beauty.
    Flecht’s wings stretched into a glide, feathers rippling in invisible currents. Their shadow chased them on the ground below, but the feeling of motion was gone. It seemed they hung, suspended, above the morning sun, which sat on the shoulders of the mountains and stained all in hues of red and pink and mauve.
    As she relaxed against Kai, he released the hand he’d comforted. They flew lower, drawing level with the Kaba canopy where wingens and croboks darted and bushes rooted in the joints of the trees. Shae lost herself in the ever-changing vistas that unfolded below— plunging cascades, shallow rapids, and a wide place of many channels cutting between islets.
    Flecht spiraled downward, and the rush of air in Shae’s face roused her. They lighted on a small island where a flat shelf of rock jutted out to disrupt the current. Waves churned against their perch, only to curl around and lap the islet’s shore. Beyond the wash, underbrush and thickets tangled in profusion and croboks nested beneath a sheer face of rock.
    Shae stretched cramped legs and ate bread and cheese washed down with deep draughts of gamey water from elkskin bags. She wished they could linger in this pleasant spot.
    “Come,” Kai said all too soon. “We must press on while it is yet day.” He called for Flecht.
    As the wingabeast approached, Shae took the hand Kai extended and let him draw her to her feet, but then paused.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “My foot’s asleep.”
    Kai swung Shae into his arms. “Shall I lift you to Flecht’s back? I promise not to dump you in the water.”
    “I’ve heard those words before!” She referred to the time when she’d managed to take him with her into the brook at Whellein Hold. Her lips curved at the memory, and Kai’s eyes gleamed. But then her smile died.
    Two hooded riders astride wingabeasts dropped toward them, dark against a blue sky. Steel glinted along swords held at the ready.
     
     
     
     

4
     
    Along the White Feather
     
    Shae landed in Flecht’s saddle with a thump as Kai deposited her with more speed than grace. He bent and then straightened, and she caught the glint of metal.
    Kai pressed something into her palm, and her fingers curled around a knife’s hilt. “They’ll need to dismount to attack with swords. I’ll defend you, but if things go badly, take Flecht and follow the weild to the inn. You’ll see it just back from the banks. You can trust the