“Were his wings always that big?” Hew asked. “The coat barely hides them.”

“I think Aellis taking over is doing something to him,” Faith said.

Hew looked into the kitchen. “Umbris seems to have gone.” He looked at Faith. “Suzie controlled water.”

Faith nodded. “That was more than she’s done before.” She didn’t know what it meant. Was what Suzie could do getting stronger somehow?

Hew looked down at Vallen. “We’ll take him to my house.”

Faith and Hew got Vallen on his feet, with his arms over their shoulders. By the time they got him to Hew’s house, Faith was soaked with sweat, but Hew wasn’t even breathing hard. They sat Vallen down in a chair by the fireplace. Hew went and found some rope and tied Vallen to the chair. Faith and Hew waited, each sitting on an arm of the other chair.

It wasn’t long before Vallen stirred. When he opened his eyes, they were their usual dark brown. Hopefully that meant Aellis no longer had control of him. Vallen pulled against the ropes a little, then he looked at Faith and Hew.

“Aellis saw what I saw when Suzie controlled water,” Vallen said. “He sees her as a threat.”

Faith had been worried about that. “Is he going after her?”

“Not yet,” Vallen said. “Umbris is more of a threat to him for now.”

“Why did he release his control of you?” Hew asked.

Vallen grimaced. “He realized he was killing me, causing me to change too quickly, to become like him.”

For a moment, none of them said anything.

“Is there a way to stop that from happening?” Faith asked.

Vallen shook his head. “It would be alright, other than Aellis being able to control me. Do you have a plan?”

Faith looked at Hew.

“I know of someone who might be able to tell us more about Umbris,” Hew said. “Someone who studied Quivis and the others. There were notes passed down through her family.”

“Whoever passed down those notes must have been with Sky and Sea at some point,” Vallen said.

“Her name is Heather Summerhill. She works at a university in Gull Bay,” Hew said.

Faith hesitated. “Is it safe to untie you?”

Vallen nodded. “For now. I’ll have some warning before Aellis takes over again.”

Faith untied him, but he stayed in the chair.

“I’ll go with you to Gull Bay,” Vallen said.

Hew frowned. “I’ll keep an eye on you, so you won’t wake the wyvern blood in Faith.”

“Why would you help us?” Vallen asked.

Hew sighed. “I’m not your enemy. I owe Riley this and a lot more. Aellis won’t give up on getting what he wants.”

Faith hadn’t thought he would give up, but she was trying not to think of what it would mean if he succeeded. Aellis wouldn’t go to all the trouble of waking the wyvern blood just to put it back to sleep again. He would want her to entirely become like Vallen. Then there would be no going back.

“We’ll leave for Gull Bay in the morning,” Hew said. He looked at Vallen. “I only have one spare bedroom. You’ll sleep in here, on the floor. Faith’s room isn’t far from mine, and the floorboards creak, so I’ll know if you try to get to her.”

Vallen nodded, not looking at either of them.

It was getting late, and Faith could hear a storm picking up outside. Vallen got to his feet. He seemed about to say something when the lights flickered, then went out. The front door was flung open. The storm outside had gotten worse quickly, becoming a sheet of windblown rain. Westby…Umbris, stood in the doorway. Riley stood beside him, his pale blue eyes distant. His hair was still white, and the pale blue scales were still there. Umbris and Riley came inside.

The rain followed, throwing Faith, Hew, and Vallen. Hew hit a chair, falling to the floor with it. Vallen had hit the wall, and Faith was thrown to the floor. Riley pulled Faith to her feet, his eyes still distant. His grip on her arm was tight, too tight to pull away from. He dragged her toward the door.

“Riley!” She pulled against him as hard as she could.

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That distance in his eyes stayed. He pulled her out into the pouring rain, leading her away through the alleyways. Faith knew where they were going. Was he going to drown her in the harbor? Waves tossed violently against the harbor wall and the docks. Riley led Faith out onto the dock, then he jumped in, pulling her in with him. The water was a cold shock. The waves pulled the two of them under.

Riley let go of Faith, swimming away, further down into the water. Faith fought toward the surface, but the water seemed to grab her, holding on tight and pulling her further under. Umbris. Faith fought against him desperately, but she couldn’t get free of him. Her lungs burned. She couldn’t hold her breath any longer. Water rushed in through her nose, then her mouth when she panicked.

Darkness was closing in, but not fast enough. Just before everything went black, Umbris let go of her. Faith woke up with a wet gasp, coughing up water and spraying Hew in the face with it. He moved away quickly, having been leaning over her where she lay on the ground. They were in an alleyway. His hair was white, his eyes were bright blue, and he had small blueish scales all over him. The rain had let up a little, but it was still drizzling.

The alleyway came further into focus, the same one she and Hew had slept in the night before. Vallen stood not far off. Faith sat up slowly. They were far from the harbor and far from Hew’s house. The rain slowed further, then it stopped entirely. The white faded from Hew’s hair, starting at the roots. His scales seeped back into his skin. He blinked and his eyes were back to their usual color.

“What happened?” Faith asked, her voice a little hoarse from the near drowning.

“Riley pushed you to the surface,” Hew said. “If he hadn’t, I might not have found you in time.”

“Umbris controlled the rain,” Faith said.

“He controlled it, but he wasn’t a part of it. Not yet.” Hew held out a hand. “We shouldn’t stay here. Umbris may come looking for us again, even if the storm has let up.”

Faith let him help her to her feet. She leaned against the alleyway wall until things steadied. The three of them went back through the alleyways and narrow streets of Billen in silence, back to Hew’s house. They didn’t go inside. They got in the car and Hew drove them back through Billen, on the main roads. Faith sat up front with Hew. Vallen had the backseat.

Riley had pushed Faith to the surface. She didn’t dare hope that meant he was free of Umbris. If he was, then where was he? She worried about Suzie, Bradley, and Hannah as well. Had they gotten away from the sea? Wherever they were, was it far enough from Umbris? Faith, Hew, and Vallen didn’t talk on the way out of Billen, or across the stretch of plains between Billen and Baylis. When Billen had been out of sight for a while, Hew pulled over to the side of the road.

“We’ll stop here for the night,” Hew said. “We should be far enough from the sea to get some rest.”

Vallen opened one of the car doors. “I need to stretch my wings.”

As soon as Vallen was outside and the door was closed, Hew looked at Faith.

“Don’t count on Riley being able to fight off Umbris’s will again,” Hew said. “Umbris won’t let that happen again.”

“I know,” Faith said quietly.

Hew said nothing for a moment, but she could tell he was considering his next words carefully. “Getting Riley back will be nearly impossible if you can’t breathe underwater.”

“I’m not giving Aellis what he wants,” Faith said.

Hew shook his head. “I know you’re avoiding the past. I’m sure Riley is as well, or Umbris wouldn’t have been able to take him over.” He frowned. “I had hoped Riley would try to contact me, and when he didn’t, I knew he was trying to pretend what happened didn’t happen. I’m not suggesting you become a wyvern. I know you and Riley want to get on with your lives, to live as normal of lives as you can, but that’s not going to happen.”

“It definitely won’t if I become a wyvern,” Faith said.

Hew nodded. “You can have a good life, even if you acknowledge what happened. Riley will always be what he is, just as I will.”

“What have you been doing the last four years?” Faith asked.

He smiled a little. “I’ve been living. I have a house, a job I enjoy, and I have control of what I am.”

Faith couldn’t help but wonder. “What’s the job you enjoy?”

“Private investigator,” Hew said. “I always wanted to do that. The two of you could have a good life too.”

Faith wanted to believe that, but she couldn’t ignore her doubts. “Not if Aellis succeeds. Not if we…” She didn’t want to say it. “Not if we can’t get Riley back from Umbris.”

“We’ll find a way.” Hew didn’t look certain, despite his words. “As for Aellis, I could protect you from him. I could make you how I am, how Riley should be.”

Faith was about to refuse on reflex.

“I know you’ll need time to think about it,” Hew said. “I want you to think about it. Don’t refuse or accept based on fear. I was afraid too, of Quivis and Altunei.” He looked out at the dark plains beyond the windshield. “I was a coward for joining them instead of fighting.” He looked at her again. “Think about it.”

Neither of them said anything more. Faith didn’t know what to think of his offer. Was that the only way to get Aellis to give up on her? Eventually Vallen came back. He was asleep in the backseat before long, or at least his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply. Faith closed her eyes as well, slipping into a restless sleep. She was sinking through dark water again, the darkness below reaching for her, preparing to swallow her.

She woke up sweaty, but at least she hadn’t coughed up water this time. The light of the rising sun streamed in through the car windows. Hew started the car, pulling back onto the road to Baylis. Baylis was two hours away from Billen. Gull Bay was another hour past Baylis. When they reached Baylis, Hew stopped at a gas station. He insisted Faith go inside with him. It wasn’t a good idea for her to wait in the car alone with Vallen. Vallen agreed.

Faith and Hew got breakfast and coffee for the three of them, then got back on the road. Hew seemed to know where he was going. Had he often visited Heather at the university? How well did they know each other? They reached Gull Bay an hour later. Faith hadn’t been back there since they fought Quivis. It looked just the same as when she had lived there with Collin, Suzie’s father. There was no sign of the massive flooding Quivis had brought when he woke up.

Hew took them to a hotel and got them a room. He used the phone in the room to call Heather. They didn’t talk long before he hung up.

“Is she going to meet us?” Vallen asked.

“We’ll meet her in her office at the university, at six,” Hew said.