Page 191 of Until the Dragons Fly

I jerk back as something light and powdery hits my mouth. It tastes like… well, I don’t really know. Something pleasant, and unlike any texture I’ve ever experienced.

“Close your mouth now, please. It reeks of your poisonous drink.”

I snap my mouth shut, giving her a scowl. “Now what?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

She tilts her head. “Are you sure you didn—”

“My hearing is fine!” I snap, a little too loud. She flies off my hand and creates some distance.

“That is it. You ingested my fairy dust, and the effects will be felt soon.”

“Couldn’t anyone track a fairy down and eat some of their powder in order to win that bond?”

She scoffs. “When someone unwanted catches a fairy, the seas will dry.”

“Literally?”

“No, not literally.” She rolls her eyes.

“I mean, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.” I gesture to the veil above us. It wouldn’t be the first devastating curse to plague our land.

“No one would catch us. And besides, it wouldn’t work. I must speak the sacred words of the bond first, which I did. In my head. Otherwise, the dust does nothing.”

“Oh.”

She places her hands on her tiny hips.

“Well, I’m going to take a nap. I’ll let you know if anything starts feeling different.”

With that, we part ways. The responsibility of what I just took on weighs heavily on me as I walk through the halls. I’m about to go looking for a drink when a cold realization washes over me. I run back outside in search of Kezra, a heavy knot forming in my stomach.

I just realized—I don’t know where she goes when she’s not pestering me. Stupidly, I hadn’t thought about it at all. I don’t think about much of anything.

“Kezra!” I yell into the cold air.

Not a soul is in sight. The military barracks and training facilities are on the far side of the island, just a cluster of small structures from this vantage point.

“Kezra!” I yell again.

“Already?” she asks, appearing from somewhere behind me.

“Where do you go?”

“Please rephrase the question with a better reference.”

“When you’re not here, where do you go? You can get off this island.”

“I can. But I haven’t strayed far since I revealed myself to you.”

“You can go to him and help. Go to all of them. Why waste your time here?”

“You needed me most.”

“I did?”