The Lost Siren: Rise of the Drakens Book 1 Raven Storm (books for 8th graders .TXT) 📖

jumped, then clapped her hands as though I had just played a rather clever joke on her. She looked younger than Georg, but I wasn’t exactly an expert as I had only ever seen human children as babies. Her hair was a ring of fire, tied up high and secured with precious jewels and ornaments. It nearly reached the ground as she looked at me with startled eyes so black and dark that it was unnerving. She wore a simple, shapeless white gown with no shoes. I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

“There are bad people looking for me, who want to kill me. I fell here when they hurt my—I mean, they chased me here.”

I was acutely aware that my continued survival depended on no one discovering what I was. The girl frowned, and I pushed ahead, my tone falsely bright.

“Is there somewhere I can hide? You live here—I bet you know all the good places!”

Her face lit up.

“I know the best places!” She grabbed my hand and pulled, and I tried to stand. My muscles screamed in protest, but I managed to stumble after her. She led me through the thick undergrowth as I hobbled and limped along, trying not to gape at the lush forest around us. We stopped along a small, bubbling stream and a massive willow tree that stood over it like a regal guardian. The woods here were surreal—quiet and soothing. The sun peeked out between the thick leaves that stretched overhead, and I breathed in the scent of the trees and flowers. It was so good to be outside again and hear the birds.

“Follow me.”

The girl jumped and flung her body at the tree, claws extending from her fingers and toes as she stuck into the bark a good six feet above the ground. I jerked, realizing there was no way she was human. I shifted enough to unsheathe my claws and climbed after her, slithering up the tree easily as if I’d been doing it my whole life. She tilted her head to the side, confused.

“You aren’t a witch, but we match!”

She held out her black claws, which were long and elegant, tapering off into a razor-sharp edge. My own were sturdier; thicker and more rounded. Did she say witch? As with anything outside of the breeding manor, my knowledge of witches was non-existent. Were they allied with the Overlord, or one of the neutral species Domik had mentioned in his history lessons?

We reached the split in the center of the trunk and she leaned down, carefully cutting into the bark with one claw. I watched in interest as she pried open a hidden door and pointed down in the darkness. A bird nearby let out a loud squawk, and I jumped. The girl giggled at me and pointed down again.

“You first.”

I was skeptical but didn’t have much of a choice. I jumped down and landed in a crouch, soft moss and rotted wood meeting my hands and feet. Dark, cloying air greeted me, and my draken instincts immediately panicked. Trapped! Closed walls! Can’t fly! Get away! I clamped down hard on my fear as the little girl landed next to me, pulling on a string to close the door above us. It was tight. The bottom of the trunk was completely hollowed out, barely large enough if I wanted to curl into a ball and lay down. With both of us there, it was hard to keep my draken’s claustrophobia in check. The girl was almost flush against me, her dark eyes appearing as vacant holes in her head. She smelled of chaos and ashes. I breathed out, dismissing such foolish thoughts, and felt around the trunk. A few indentations were cut into the bark, allowing for a few candles. The little girl lit them easily with a wave of her hand. I tried to control my surprised reaction and failed. The girl didn’t seem to mind.

“This is the best place to hide.”

I swallowed, not wanting my fear to overcome my gratitude. This was better than nothing. I needed somewhere safe to heal, hidden from the demon hordes. Even if the walls were closing in, the darkness cloying, and the—

I chased away the bad thoughts, focusing on breathing deeply and calmly.

“I don’t think there’s room for both of us.” I said evenly.

She giggled and shimmied up the tree and out the trap door. Her wide, dark eyes stared back at me, and I wondered if I was making a mistake by trusting her.

“I’ll bring some dinner and tell Grandmother and the rest of the coven!”

I tried to protest, but she was already gone. I couldn’t follow her out and risk discovery, so I was stuck trusting she wouldn’t say anything to get me killed.

I carefully sat. The moss was at least soft on my body as the candles flickered. I wondered if it would be better to blow them out—if I could calm myself easily if I thought of wide-open spaces…The real question was whether witches were neutral. I was embarrassing just how little I knew about the different magical creatures. As soon as I was in Lyoness, I would seek out Domik and learn as much as I could about every creature in Dorea!

I slid into my draken form, keeping my wings tucked in close to my back. Pain assaulted me immediately from the tear in my wing, and I wished in vain my mates were here to help me heal. My mates. I struggled to keep a sad warble from my throat as I thought of Benedict, who was likely dead, his body crushed under the rocks. The urge to screech and wail, to have my people find me was overwhelming, but I squeezed my eyes, keeping them shut until it passed. Benedict had to be alive, he had to be.

Carefully, I stretched on the soft moss floor of my hidey-hole, hissing as I tried to find a comfortable position for my wings. At least here,