But Eione’s face was flushed and she was still talking, louder and louder. “They think they’re so superior, when they’re so dependent on their dragons for every—”

“Enough, both of you,” Neela said. “She’s hurt, she’s wet, and she’s scared. We need to help her back home before her people panic. You know they’ll assume the worst. Get the stretcher beneath that storm beast.”

All three of them worked together to unroll a hammock-like sling that was wrapped around two poles, and then to shift Pixit onto it. “On three. Careful now. Easy with the wing. One, two, three!” Pixit grunted as they pushed him into the sling. His eyes fluttered open.

Pixit? Are you all right?

His sparks flared.

The rescuers jumped back. “Whoa!” Eione cried.

Mina crawled to him. It’s okay. She stroked his neck. They’re helping us. Look—​they bandaged your wing. And they’re going to help us over the mountain. She felt him calm as she talked to him. His sparks settled down, sizzling in the rain. It’s going to be fine.

Neela and Varli hefted Pixit into the air, resting the poles on their shoulders. Carrying the strange lantern, Eione led the way up. There was a narrow path that zigzagged around the rock. It was nearly invisible in the dark and the rain, which was why Mina and Pixit had missed seeing it earlier. Mina had to concentrate on stepping carefully—​the pebbles shifted under her feet, and the mud was slick—​but at least it was walkable. Twice she had to catch her balance on the rocks. Her rescuers didn’t pause, proceeding up as sure-footed as mountain goats, as if they’d done this a dozen times.

Maybe they have. They’d said she wasn’t the first to cross. But she’d never heard of any storm guardians crossing the border before. All beasts stayed in Alorria. It was just the way it was. Their duty was to their people.

But these are people too, she thought. The guardians who’d summoned the storm should have checked to make sure the way was clear.

At last, the rescuers halted.

“We aren’t allowed to cross into Alorria,” Neela said. “Otherwise we’d never dream of leaving an injured child and her beast alone up here.”

“Your country’s laws,” Eione added.

Wait—​there was a law about this? She hadn’t heard that. She’d thought it was just a school rule that she and Pixit weren’t allowed to leave the barren lands. She hadn’t known there was a law forbidding others from entering Alorria.