“There’s a nice ledge. You’ll be safe until your people come. Just rest.” Neela pulled out a satchel and handed it to Mina. “Food and water, enough to keep you for another day. And if for some reason your people don’t come for you, follow this path down to the Dern outpost. We’ll house you for as long as you need.” She pointed down the mountain to a cluster of amber lights—​lamplights, Mina guessed, or lanterns. It couldn’t be electricity, could it? How could they have electricity without lightning beasts? And outside a city?

“I—​I don’t know how to thank you,” Mina said.

Eione rolled her eyes. “Maybe quit it with the killer weather? That would be a start.”

Neela shushed her. “It’s our job to help, and the right thing to do. We’re just glad we were able to. Safe storms, child.”

“My name’s Mina. And this is Pixit.” She wished she could give them more than their names. Maybe she could come back and . . . I can’t return. Stop being ridiculous. It was unfair that the storm had hit their outpost, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. She was still just a student—​and not a very good one. She couldn’t even manage to hold a spark. “Thank you.”

She and Pixit crawled over the ridge of the mountain onto a ledge that was exactly where they’d said it would be. It was wide, flat, even comfortable. In the distance, she could see the three towers of Mytris, blazing with electricity. There was no trace of the storm left in the sky on this side of the mountains. The stars and moon shone brightly down on Alorria.

Behind her, the outsiders began their climb down their side of the mountain, back to their storm-ravaged home.

Chapter
Fourteen

On the ledge, Mina curled up against Pixit. He folded his unhurt wing around her, and they slept—​until a shriek startled them both awake: “Mina! Pixit! Where are yoooou?”

Mina pried her eyes open and shook Pixit. “Spark, Pixit! Spark so Jyx can find us!”

Groggily, he began spraying sparks.

More!

He concentrated, spewing sparks in all directions like he was a fountain of fire.

She heard Jyx call, “There! I see them! Chauda, down!” And then a moment later: “Mina, I’m so glad you two aren’t dead!” Jyx and Chauda swooped toward them, with two other lightning guardians behind her: Zek and Ferro on their beasts. It was still night—​a clear, beautiful night now—​and the electric lights still blazed at Mytris, far in the distance, so Mina knew she hadn’t slept for long. Zek waved at them. Ferro was carrying what looked like a bundle of ropes and couldn’t wave, but he beamed at them with a huge smile, visible in the bright moonlight.