I was halfway asleep, and my outstretched wings touched both Amanda’s and Drake’s wings as we sunned ourselves.

“Serena! Are you alright?” Our heads lifted as we all looked in the direction of the panicked mindvoice, although they were much too far away to see.

“It hurts…” Serena’s stunned mindvoice was laden with pain and shock. I folded my wings as I sat up in concern.

We heard the ex-spy call out, “Tom, Serena, what happened?”

Tom was panicking. “A big tree just fell down as we were sleeping. She couldn’t get out of the way in time, and it fell on her. It’s huge, and I can’t see her! I’m trying to dig, but the tree roots are slowing me.”

The ex-spy immediately replied, “I’m on my way.”

I glanced at Drake in slight frustration. “Unless she needs medical attention or wants Kymari help, it’s best if I stay here.”

As much as I really wanted to go help dig, the chances of Taureen following me if I went further into the forest were simply too great. It grated on my nerves to remain here.

Drake nodded and took off with the others, and I listened to them via the general mindlink in suspense. They weren’t too far away, but far enough that I hadn’t heard the tree fall.

“Serena, keep talking to us while we dig you out. What hurts?”

“My side really hurts. I may have broken some ribs since it hurts to breathe.”

“I’m getting tons of big roots in this spot. Is anyone else having better luck?”

“Serena, how tightly are you trapped? Can you move at all?”

“I can move my wings a bit, but my chest and sides are pinned by the branches. One is pushing on my chest. I can’t wiggle out, and the pain when I try is too much.” Her voice was faint, and we could tell that she was trying to keep the pain out of the mindlink and failing.

Tom’s voice was full of worry as he kept talking to her. “Stay awake, Serena. Don’t leave me.”

The ex-spy spoke, “Serena, do you have any idea how bad your injuries might be? Will you be able to fly?”

“I don’t know how bad the damage is… I won’t be able to fly, though; my chest and side hurt too badly.”

He sighed heavily across the mindlink. “You realize that if the Kymari see you, that they will likely take you away right?”

I closed my eyes as her sadness flooded across the general mindlink. Her voice was fainter, but this time it wasn’t intentional – it was due to the extent of her injuries. “Yes. But I don’t think I could stand being separated from Tom.”

Mates tended to become quite dedicated to each other and were rarely apart. Tom’s worry and desperation were clear in his voice as he declared, “I don’t care if I have to be a Kymari pet in order to be with you. I will stay by your side, regardless.”

I felt her love for her mate flow into the link. She hesitantly asked, “Tasha, would the Kymari separate us?”

“No. Unless you two tried to kill one another or something similar.”

After a long pause, she asked, “Tom, were you serious?”

His voice was firm. “Yes, I will never leave you.”

Those who were mates were truly devoted to one another, and I couldn’t remember seeing these two apart at any point in the last four years. The conversation was heartbreaking to listen to, as Tom declared his love once more when I knew that both were about to end up in the Kymari’s care.

She whimpered in pain. “Then you better get the Kymari, because I’m coughing up blood and it’s getting harder to breathe.”

I launched into the air and flew towards where Serena was trapped as fast as my wings would carry me. I told them, “I have a tracker, and they will likely follow me. Can someone else go check to see if they are coming or if I have to go drag them back here?”

Drake volunteered, “I’ll go.”

I was worried for Serena. If she was coughing up blood, a rib must have punctured her lung – and the branch was still pushing down on her. If the tree settled further, it could crush her beneath it.

I entered the clearing and blinked in surprise. The tree was big; even if I wrapped myself around the tree, my nose would have been unable to touch the tip of my long tail.

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Almost two dozen dragonets were frantically trying to dig Serena out, but the trunk had fallen beside another tree and the ground was full of large roots. They were slowly shredding the roots, but even if we got her out, it wouldn’t help her if her injuries were as bad as we feared.

Drake was worried. “Tasha, all four are still sitting where we left them. Taureen is watching the device on his wrist closely, but that is it.”

With a hiss of frustration, I aborted my landing and sped off towards the benches. “Coming. Wait for me, it may take two of us to get them to follow us.” Of all times for him to not follow me around like a paranoid parent…

I bolted into the clearing as the Kymari looked up in surprise. I banked sharply around the bench Taureen was sitting on before screeching in an urgent tone and heading back the way I came.

He wasted no time in following me, and his three friends swiftly joined him. I had never made such a noise before, and they might think that I was leading them to another sicora. Either way, they were following us.

Drake joined my flight as we sped back towards the trapped scarlet dragonet. I glanced over my shoulder to see the Kymari quickly gaining on us.

I was surprised by their speed and commented to Drake, “I knew they were fast, but I didn’t realize how quickly they could cover ground if they chose. They are catching up, and we are flying at a good clip.” I called ahead, “Start making a bit of fuss and dig. You can scatter the second we enter the clearing.”

It wasn’t long before we heard distressed noises of dragonets. We entered the clearing to see many of them tearing at small roots while attempting to dig around a certain section of the tree trunk. Most scattered into the nearby trees the moment that the Kymari came into view. I landed in front of where Serena was trapped and clawed fiercely at the frayed roots before glancing back at the Kymari.

Taureen kept an eye on the surrounding dragonets as he watched for aggressive or defensive behavior while he slowly approached. They kept glancing between the Kymari and the tree, worried for Serena, but nervous about the new visitors. Some chittered anxiously or hopped from branch to branch nervously, but none of them dive-bombed the Kymari.

He glanced behind him. “Tkael, Soranto, lift the tree. Alec, see how close they will let you come. I might need your assistance.”

Alec nodded as he examined the situation. “This tree hasn’t been down for long. I will put a call in for a shuttle and a vet team, just in case.”

Taureen slowly approached, keeping his body language passive. All of the dragonets, except for Drake, Tom, and me, had scattered into the trees to watch in worry. I was kind of surprised that Drake remained so close, although Tom barely noticed the approaching Kymari as desperately tried to get to his injured mate.

As Taureen got closer, Drake took to the air and landed in a nearby tree, too uneasy to remain. The tree groaned as Tkael and Soranto lifted it. With a cry of anguish, Tom darted under the tree.

I heard Serena’s faint sigh of relief amongst her pain. “The worst of the pain is gone…” Her voice was much fainter now. She was not in good condition.

Taureen kneeled down by the tree and looked underneath before carefully reaching under the trunk to lift Serena out. I heard her whimpers as he brought her out from under the tree. My heart sank at the sight of the red bubbles frothing out at the side of her mouth with each breath.

Tom leaned on Taureen’s knees and nuzzled Serena’s head in worry, his concern for his mate overshadowing his fear of the Kymari. A humming noise from above made me glance up as a shuttle slowly descended through the trees. Most of the dragonets fled the scene, relying on the remaining few to send mental images over the mindlink to keep them appraised of what was going on.

Taureen remained where he was, kneeling with Serena in his hands. Alec approached the shuttle before it had really landed and came back with a flat board as several other Kymari came out of the shuttle. One was the vet who I had been to previously.

“Put him on that board,” she instructed Taureen

Taureen carefully placed Serena on the board that Alec held. The vet knelt beside Alec and held some sort of scanner over Serena as she read out the results. “Several broken ribs, possibly a fractured shoulder, but some bone shards have pierced the right lung. She is female, by the way, you’ll want to note that in the records. We need to get her into surgery now.”

Alec stood up with the stretcher board. Serena whimpered and whispered, “I’m scared.”

Tom picked up her distress and jumped into the air, hissing fiercely. I launched off Taureen’s shoulder to tackle him mid-air. He side-slipped from the blow, trying to regain his balance and stop his fall.

I banked as I circled the group while shouting into Tom’s mind, “Anything you do to stop or harm them delays Serena from getting the help she needs. Do you want her to die?”

I hated to use that word with him, but it was the harsh truth. The last time I had seen blood frothing from the mouth of a dragonet, it had been when someone had been pounced on by a fox. His flame has scared the fox away, but the initial strike had clearly broken his ribs. Despite our best efforts, he had died within hours.

Tom undoubtedly remembered that terrible day too. With a whimper of anguish, he landed on the fallen tree and clawed at the bark with his agitation and inability to do anything to help. He fanned his wings helplessly as he stared at his injured mate, who lay in the hands of the Kymari.

I looked at Serena and spoke across the mindlink. “The painkillers they use will prevent mindspeech, so remember that even if we are right beside you, you won’t be able to hear or talk to us with mindspeech.”

I angled my flight to land on Taureen’s shoulder pad, and as soon as I landed, Taureen looped his finger through my harness to prevent me from possibly fighting with Tom. His precaution was unneeded though; my previous surprise tackle had jarred Tom out of attack mode.

Alec quickly followed the vet into shuttle. Taureen began following them, and I glanced back at Tom, who was still standing uncertainly on the log. “If you plan on hitching a ride, you had better act fast.”

He launched off of the log with impressive speed and ducked inside of the door before Taureen even got into the shuttle. He circled the small area chittering in fright and agitation, completely out of his comfort zone and nearly panicking.

I sighed internally before advising him, “Land on the back of one of the couches before you cause trouble. By the way, be forewarned, your next few days aren’t going to be the easiest. This is going to be a huge change.”

He landed uneasily on the back of an empty seat in a corner, although the Kymari were mostly ignoring him at the moment. Alec put the stretcher on a table, and the vet put a glass dome over Serena before pumping some sort of colored air into it. Alec backed up to give the vet room to stabilize her while we were traveling to the clinic.