On either side of her, she heard her friends calling to one another, giving encouragement and checking to make sure they weren’t being watched.

She and Pixit flew over the border.

Jyx, Ferro, and Zek, on Chauda, Brindle, and Ragit, followed.

They sailed above the other side of the mountain, beyond the border, and Mina was surprised to see that it was beautiful. The mountain itself was exposed rock with a few twisted pine trees wedged into the cracks, but the valley at its feet was overrun with green.

It was beautiful in the same way a tangle of colorful yarn was beautiful. Unlike in Alorria, the farms weren’t laid out in squares in a perfect patchwork quilt. Instead they were trapezoids and thin triangles, wedged in between rivers and streams that meandered across the land. There were no neatly laid-out forests with carefully manicured paths and bushes. Here the forests were clumps of trees wrapped in vines and greenery so thick that it knotted them together. And the roads were shiny black ribbons that wandered up and down hills like the streams did—​she couldn’t tell what they were made out of.

Mina spotted the outpost, nestled against the base of a mountain. It was small, a tight cluster of a half-dozen buildings that looked like sturdy metal boxes. She guided the others toward it.

One after another, the students landed. Mina dismounted and patted Pixit’s neck. Nice flying. How’s your wing feel?

«Perfect. I want to say thank you to Neela and the others. Will you speak for me?»

Always. Let’s find them.

Together, they walked toward the buildings.

A few people came outside—​five men and three women, wearing clothes similar to what Neela, Varli, and Eione had worn: sturdy, practical, and made of materials that Mina didn’t recognize. Guess we didn’t escape notice.

«This is what we want,» Pixit reminded her.

Yes, but she hadn’t thought about what she’d say to these people.

Luckily, she didn’t have to. She had Jyx. Bounding forward with a big smile on her face, Jyx said, “Hi! We’re looking for the search-and-rescue team who saved my friends! Can you help us find them?”

The men and women were eyeing them with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Mina guessed they didn’t get many visitors. Especially from our side of the mountains.

“Their names are Neela, Varli, and Eione,” Mina said.

Jyx echoed her, louder. “The people we’re looking for are Neela, Varli, and Eione.”

At that, one of the men scurried off, hopefully to fetch them, while the others continued to linger, staring at the four kids and their beasts and whispering to one another.

“I don’t think they trust us,” Ferro said under his breath.

«Can you blame them?» Pixit asked, and Mina relayed his words.

“What is this place?” Zek asked.