Tanin cracked his neck and rose to his feet upon the dragon's back. He wobbled and held out his arms for balance. Since leaving the southern coast, they had seen only water. Their packs—which rested behind him—held enough fresh water, ale, and food for perhaps another three days.

"We'll find land." He shielded his eyes with his palm and stared south. "According to my map, Eteer is near."

Maev growled. "A charcoal drawing on tattered old buffalo hide isn't a map." She sighed. "Maybe Grizzly was right. Maybe Eteer is only a myth. Maybe—"

"Oh, be quiet and get some sleep," Tanin said, interrupting her. With another yawn, he leaped off her back.

He fell through the sky, the wind whipping his hair and clothes. He smiled, enjoying the freedom of it. Somehow falling felt even better than flying. He was only a small seed floating in the air, trapped in a world of blue—the water below, the sky above, and his sister a mere little annoyance. Sometimes Tanin wished he could fall forever.

Yet the sea grew near, and his sister waited. Tanin sucked in his magic and shifted. Beating his wings and blasting smoke, he soared as a red dragon. The green dragon dived from above, positioned herself above him, and aligned her wings with his. She descended slowly, finally landing on his back, her limbs draped across him. The weight nearly shoved Tanin back down toward the sea.

When Maev shifted into human form, the weight vanished. As a woman, she seemed to weigh almost nothing. When Tanin looked over his shoulder, he saw her on his back, a human again.

"One more day!" she said, her hair streaming in the wind. "If evening falls and we still see no land, we turn back home. Agreed?"

He grumbled and spat out fire, knowing they had no choice. Failure was better than death.

And yet I don't want to turn back, he thought, and a sigh rattled his scales. What did he have to return to? Life in a cave? Juggling in town squares as people booed and tossed refuse his way? Flying south was dangerous. He had already battled rocs, and who knew what other dangers awaited. Yet Tanin was willing to keep flying, to keep fighting, to drown his fear under hope.

Maybe I have no home, he thought. Not unless I find others. Not unless we build a tribe.

He looked back toward the southern horizon. "Agreed. But I still say the map was accurate. I—" Tanin blinked. "Maev . . . what is that?"

Three creatures were flying toward them across the sea. Tanin gasped. Rocs? Other dragons? When he squinted, bringing them into focus, his breath died.

"Stars above," he whispered.

Wings beat and scales clanked above him—Maev shifting back into a dragon. She moved to fly at his side, the sunlight bright against her green scales. She wrinkled her snout. "The stench of them. What are they?"