In the short time Megaera had waited in the cavernous sanctuary, she’d felt a panic creep into her heart, a mixture of the confusion about the darkness that was spreading over the land and fear for Alina. Meg had not seen her dear little friend since her own incident at the burning pit of Helovia’s Hart, and the little white mare had not had not journeyed to the caves with the rest of the herd. The earth colored mare was a warrior in the making, and she had grown sick and restless at the thought of sitting out the danger in those caves, waiting for news, waiting for rescue. Everything in her was repulsed at the thought of doing nothing, of allowing her dear little friend to survive the horrors on her own, so she d left. Abandoning safety and worry, leaving the rest of the herd under the care of more seasoned warriors like Hector and Gaucho and Midas. They were the strength of the Dragon’s Throat army, no denying, and one day Megaera would be the speed.

The mare raced through the grasslands, south toward the Throat. She was quick over land (running seemed to allay some of her clumsiness) but it was nothing to her speed in the air and in her haste she sorely missed the use of her wings. They would repair themselves in time, but until then she was grounded. She ran headlong southward, the cooled flames (like those that had sprung from every member of Dragon’s Throat herd) rippling in her mane and tail as they streamed behind her; around her speeding hooves they burned around her scars and the shone bright a string through the feathers of her clipped wings. They had frightened her at first, she’d had flashbacks to her accidental plunge, but now they seemed a natural part of her, a talisman of light against the darkness.

In her focus and determination, she might not ever have seen, but by some grace of fate, some luck or destiny, she glanced toward they sky and saw the dove descending. The little white mare seemed to crash in forward and to her right, “ALINA!” came the shout, higher pitched then was usual for meg’s voice, but only because it was gripped by a mixture of relief and apprehension. She altered her course and was skidding to a halt in front of the little thing within minutes. The poor thing looked gripped by fear and Meg could guess why, even without the current state of the land. They had both been marked by fire, and it was fire that lay before them.

It took only a second for Meg’s eyes to rake over the white mare, and she saw no trace of The Sickness upon her sister. With a cry of relief and joy, she rushed forward and flung her neck out over Alina’s to embrace the girl. “Well met, Little Sister!” her voice nearly broke and it seemed her heart might burst, it had been beati ng so very hard in her chest “I have been so worried over you. Why were you not at the meeting Goucho called in the Throat? We all learned there of the Darkness and the herd made its way to the sanctuary. “She stepped back to better see the dove’s face, and a wide smile covered her own. “You must come, Alina, we can keep you safe in the caverns.”