Faith barely slept that night. After she told Vallen what had happened, they’d decided to find Aellis in the morning. The wyvern had wanted to speak to both of them. Faith hadn’t seen him since he put the wyvern blood in her to sleep four years ago. The sun was rising when they left. Vallen had put his coat on before they left, but not the scarf, sunglasses, and gloves. They went back into the forest, walking for what seemed like a long time before they reached him.

At first there was nothing there, then the air stirred and Aellis appeared. He had done that the first time she’d seen him too. Apparently wyverns could go invisible, which explained why no one had spotted him in the forest or flying overhead. Aellis loomed over Faith and Vallen. He resembled a giant, scrawny wolf, but he was covered in big red scales in places and feathers in others. Aellis’s front and back legs were narrow and long. His head was the most wolf like part of him, with feathered ears. His long tail was feathered. His red feathered wings were pulled close to his sides.

Aellis stared at Faith and Vallen with bright amber eyes. He raised his head from where it rested on his forelegs. Even sitting, he towered over them. He grinned, showing many sharp teeth. The grin vanished.

“Who’s Umbris?” Faith asked. “He has control of Riley.”

“I’ve tried to warn you about Umbris’s return,” Aellis said. His voice was deep, seeming to rumble in the ground.

Faith thought about this. “Those nightmares came from you? How?”

Aellis smiled briefly. “The wyvern blood inside you is only partly awake. Enough I could attempt to warn you.”

“Not enough to make the warning clearer,” Faith said.

Aellis said nothing.

“Who is Umbris?” Vallen asked.

“Ancient. Powerful.” Aellis’s feathers bristled from his head to the end of his tail. His tail curled around his front legs. His ears flicked as though he was agitated. “Older than Quivis, and far more dangerous.”

“Can the wyvern blood stop him?” Vallen asked. “Does he fear it?”

“Umbris fears nothing, but together the two of you might be able to stop him,” Aellis said. “Before he fully returns to power. Once he is fully back to himself, there will be no stopping him.”

“How will we know when that happens?” Faith asked.

“When he spreads through the rain,” Aellis said.

“He can already spread through the sea,” Faith said.

Aellis nodded. “We would know if he was in the rain. It rained last night. He would have seen me here and ended me if he could have.” He looked between Faith and Vallen. “Wyverns have come far too close to becoming extinct.”

“Then you are the last of your kind?” Vallen asked.

Aellis grinned again. “You still have not recognized me? You were there when Sky and Sea came to me.”

Vallen frowned. “That was you?”

The wyvern nodded. “I survived my wounds.” His smile vanished. “The three of us are the last of our kind.”

“We aren’t wyverns,” Vallen said.

Aellis frowned. “Then what are you? I think I know. My blood flows in your veins. You may not appear as I do, but we are the same.”

That was worrying.

“You could have put the blood all the way to sleep, couldn’t you?” Faith asked. But he hadn’t.

“Indeed,” Aellis said. “Even then, I would have been able to wake it again. It just would have been more difficult.”

“You didn’t want us here to tell us about Umbris,” Vallen said, moving closer to Faith.

Aellis laughed quietly, watching Vallen. He sighed, almost blowing Faith and Vallen over. “When Sky and Sea came to me, they wanted only to stop Quivis and his allies, to put them into a deep, lasting sleep. You did not ask the price, but I did warn you there would be one. Though I had hoped more than one would survive.”

“Faith wasn’t a part of Sky and Sea,” Vallen said. “Our mistakes are not hers.”

Aellis stared at Faith for a long moment. “You are not fully one of us, but you could be.”

“Then that’s why you called us out here?” Faith asked. She took a step back.

“Very perceptive,” Aellis said. All amusement had vanished from his eyes. “When I am gone and Vallen is gone, wyverns will be extinct. With you, there is a chance they might not be.”

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Faith tried not to make a face, but Vallen did.

“You’re not suggesting…” Vallen sighed. “No.”

“How do we stop Umbris?” Faith asked. “How was he stopped before?”

“He wasn’t stopped,” Aellis snapped. “He lost power when Quivis and his pawns fought him. Umbris once ruled the sea, until he slept. When he awoke, it was because Quivis had taken over the sea. Come closer, Faith. The longer you delay, the less of a chance we have of stopping Umbris.”

“We can stop him without you waking the blood in her,” Vallen said, moving between Faith and Aellis.

Aellis glared, lips curling over his sharp teeth. He looked like he was about to growl, but he didn’t. “Don’t get in my way. You will only make this far more difficult for yourself.”

“We’re leaving,” Vallen said.

The two of them turned and hurried away. Faith glanced back, but Aellis hadn’t moved. He was watching them leave, his lack of expression giving nothing away. Why wasn’t he trying to stop them? Faith had a bad feeling about it, but right then she just wanted to get far away from him. Faith and Vallen went back into Billen, back to the hotel. They hadn’t checked out of their room yet.

Vallen paced, not taking off his coat. “He didn’t try to stop us.” He stopped pacing. “He’s up to something.”

“What do we do about Umbris?” Faith hesitated. “Is Aellis right? Is waking the wyvern blood the only way—”

“No,” Vallen said. “It’s not the only way. We’ll find another way. If Umbris is weak now, we can stop him before his power returns. He’s not in the rain yet.” He sat on the edge of the bed with a weary sigh. “We need to come up with a plan.”

“Can you go invisible?” Faith asked.

Vallen shook his head. “It’s something only full wyverns like Aellis can do.”

They might not see Aellis if he did come after them.

“Should we stay another night?” Faith asked, still exhausted from what had happened on the island.

Vallen nodded. “Aellis can’t follow us here.”

Faith went down and paid for another night, then she went back up to the room. Vallen had taken off his coat. He was lying on the bed with his back to the door, his wings pulled close around him. He seemed to be asleep. Faith sat at the table. She closed her eyes for only a moment, opening them when she heard a quiet cry. The cry rose to a scream.

Vallen was off the bed swiftly, pressed up against the wall next to the bathroom door. Faith stood. He was breathing hard and shaking, facing away from her. He turned to face the room and sat at the base of the wall slowly.

“Are you alright?” Faith asked. Clearly he wasn’t.

“Aellis must have done something.” Vallen’s voice was quiet. He didn’t look up from the stained carpet. “I saw what Quivis did. I saw him wipe out the other wyverns.”

Faith sat on the edge of the bed. “Why would Aellis want you to see that? Quivis is gone.”

“Maybe he wants to convince me not to fight Umbris,” Vallen said. “He doesn’t want wyverns to go extinct. Though he seemed to think we can stop Umbris if he hasn’t reached the rain yet.” He looked at Faith. “I don’t know how desperate Aellis is. I don’t know what he’s capable of. I don’t know how he showed me that.” He stood slowly, sitting at the table.

Faith sat across from him. The curtains were still closed, but there was a gap. She could see the sky had gotten dark with clouds. It was raining. Thunder rumbled, but it sounded distant.

“What do we do?” Faith asked. “Do you think he’ll come looking for us?” And what could they do about Umbris?

Vallen stared at Faith. His eyes looked distant.

“Vallen?” Faith asked. Had he gone back to sleep, with his eyes open?

“It isn’t so bad,” he said.

“What isn’t?” Faith asked. “Umbris?”

“Being this way,” Vallen said. “You don’t have to be alone.” He leaned closer, his eyes still distant. “We could be together.”

Faith moved as far back in her chair as she could. “Vallen, are you awake?”

“I know what I’m saying.” His eyes weren’t quite the right shade of brown anymore. They were lighter. Amber.

Aellis had said his blood was in their veins. What could he do with it?

“Aellis?” Faith asked.

Vallen smiled, but it didn’t look like his smile. “You’re as observant as I thought you were.” His smile vanished and he leaned back, away from her. “I’ve seen it. You have feelings for the other one.”

“My husband,” Faith said.

Vallen leaned on the table again, closer this time. “Once someone has been claimed by Quivis or his allies, they always belong to them. With them gone, Riley is still what he was. Now he belongs to Umbris.” He reached out a hand slowly. “Please, reconsider.”

Faith didn’t dare move at first. Could Aellis wake the wyvern blood in her through Vallen? Faith stood, moving away from him. The distance in Vallen’s eyes vanished for a moment, his eyes darker brown again. He grimaced, all of his muscles clenching. The thunder came again, rumbling louder. The sound of the rain against the window had gotten louder too.

“Vallen?” Faith asked.

Vallen breathed out slowly, but he was still holding on to the edge of the table tightly. His wings looked bigger than the moment before. His fingers were longer, more narrow. And his nails and teeth were definitely sharper. He didn’t look at her. “Run.” His voice shook. Red dripped from his nose and onto the table. He lunged at her.

Faith stepped back, his hand missing her. She ran from the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She heard a thud on the other side. He must have run into it. She ran down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the hotel. How long could Aellis keep control of Vallen? It had gotten dark outside, the lampposts not giving off enough light with the rain. Faith stopped and looked back at the hotel. The dim lobby looked empty.

Someone came into sight, running toward the door. Someone wearing a tan coat with the hood up. Faith ran further along the street, then down a narrow alleyway. The rain came down harder, feeling like ice against her skin. She shivered, but she didn’t stop running.