There was silence for a moment, but she could read the thoughts on their faces. Fairy had disguised herself as the empress and walked straight into what she knew was an assassination attempt. Broomstick had barged into a god’s lair to help steal his treasure. And Daemon had stood by Sora’s side from the very beginning, risking everything to go undercover on the Dragon Prince’s ship, to save Sora from the grips of genka, and train with his newfound powers to beat back the biggest threat Kichona had ever seen.

All three of them understood what it meant to be a taiga.

“We’re agreed, then?” Sora asked.

They all nodded, even Daemon.

“Good.” She stacked her fists over her heart. “Then I think the League of Rogues has a plan.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Let’s go,” Sora said.

Daemon shifted into his wolf form. She climbed onto his back and held out her hand for Fairy.

He tensed when Fairy touched his fur, but it was a little less obvious than earlier. Maybe Daemon was starting to make peace with the way things had ended between them? Sora could only hope. She needed the League of Rogues as strong as possible.

When all three of them were on board, Daemon took a running start and hurtled into the sky. He kept his sparks muted so they could approach Dera Falls surreptitiously, but it didn’t douse the thrill of soaring through the cold night air. Sora smiled as they picked up altitude, the wind gusting through her hair.

Her nerves came back, though, as they neared the eastern side of the island.

“I’ll land just past the waterfall,” Daemon said.

“No need,” Broomstick said. “Dip down briefly, and Fairy and I can jump off.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Don’t lose your momentum. Every second is going to count once we begin our attacks.” They unfastened themselves from the harness.

“All right. Then here we go.” Daemon veered around the waterfall, arcing out wide enough that the skeletons wouldn’t notice him, then curved back inland. He slowed a little but not much as he flew close to the ground. “Jump in three, two, . . .”

Fairy and Broomstick leaped like acrobats and tucked themselves into their bodies. They hit the ground in somersaults, rolling rather than hitting the rock face hard.

“Beautiful,” Sora said as she and Daemon rose back into the sky.

She watched as Fairy sprinted toward Dera Falls and Broomstick scaled the side of the rocky island to a vantage point where he could see the ships.

“They’ll be in place soon,” she said.

“Let me know when,” Daemon said. “They’ll need some light, and so will we, to find Skeleton and Skullcrusher.”

They circled above for a few more minutes. Fairy found a cluster of bushes to hide behind at the top of the waterfall.

“Fairy’s ready,” Sora said.

“Broomstick?” Daemon asked.