Rook shifted uncomfortably.

“Are we finally leaving?” a girl’s voice piped up from the hall; clear and accent free.

Keeping nearer to Kissa, Rook approached the opening until he was at an angle to see the teenager around his age.

She wore dirt-stained sandals, once eggshell white, with a blue skirt and blouse. A scarf that would have looked fashionable around her neck had instead been wrapped around her arm, perhaps for warmth. Her skin was so pale, it should have looked sickly, but instead, leant an ethereal beauty to her features.

Unlike Rook and Violet, her flawless skin had no markings except for a soft, white scar, right in the middle of her forehead, partially covered by her long, wild hair. It was white as the twins’. It reminded him of angel hair pasta, and his stomach grumbled.

Her striking blue eyes locked onto him.

Vaughon ushered Violet to his feet. He looked at Brennan with a grin, though the older dragon remained stoic. “Did Ashton make you apologize for referring to her as wasted baggage?”

“Hardly,” the girl said.

"They rescued you too?" Rook exclaimed, then immediately felt silly.

What made him special? They’d even called Violet a cousin! He had a spot for wings! Perhaps Violet was a type of dragon too.

Wait! Why am I thinking ‘too’? I’m not a dragon. Not really.

What mattered was that they obviously came for specific people, and Rook saw nothing special about him when compared to the rest.

The girl mistook Rook’s quiet thinking as admiration. She preened. “They’re only bringing me along because they think it’ll help them with a group they’re calling Hooves.”

Rook narrowed his eyes. Her carefree attitude didn’t feel right.

“You,” he rasped, “have no scratches. They didn’t harm you?”

“I didn’t give them a reason to.”  She looked at Rook and Violet with a raised brow, but finally revealed a speck of anxiety by clutching her arm. The gesture eased Rook slightly.

“Glad he remembers to distrust unicorns,” Brennan said absently, losing interest and looking back down the hall.

Unicorn… But they’re supposed to be horse-like. Well, dragons are supposed to be giant lizards…

“On.” Kissa bent down and signalled Violet to ride on her back. Violet’s eyes widened. “I can tell you’re going to pass out soon.”

“Let me check the next room,” Brennan said. Heading down the passage, he paused at the next doorway. He peered in, “Never mind, a high elf,” and continued on.

Having followed him into the hall, Rook glanced into the room.

A barred metal cage stood against the wall. Inside sat a girl. Her hair was a rat's nest, her nightgown ripped, her face horribly bruised—nearly beyond recognition—but her eyes lit up at the sight of him.

“Rook!” she cried out.

Holding a quieting finger to his lips, Rook rushed in. “Gwendolyn, where are the keys?”

“The green man keeps them.”

“A goblin? The captain?”

Gwendolyn gave an uncertain nod-shrug.

A hand settled on Rook's shoulder. Rook jumped out of reach, half fearing Thruin had appeared at their mention.

It was Brennan.

“Leave her.”

Gwendolyn’s face twisted in alarm. “"You're not one of them, right? You can't leave me! Help me! They beat me, and..." She sobbed, growing progressively louder. "It's not humane! They'll kill me! They'll..."

“Noise,” Brennan growled under his breath, glancing back at the entrance. His fingers curled as he reached for Gwendolyn. Rook instantly knew it wasn't to help.

“Shut up!” Rook snapped at Gwendolyn, stepping in Brennan’s way. He tried not to look frightened as he kept his back to the dragon, but he could feel the heat radiating from Brennan, who'd stopped barely an inch behind him.

Gwendolyn’s mouth hung open and she stared at him dumbfounded.

Rook gestured towards the door. “Do you know where Dalia or Fanny are?” The rasp in his throat was no longer as prominent, as if it was being worked out through use. Gwendolyn shook her head. “Have you heard anything about them? Your cell's right beside an intersection."

“The monsters don’t say much. Ask that boy on the woman’s back. They dragged him by my door before they muzzled him. He’d charmed a few guards to tell him stuff, but I couldn’t hear what.”

Rook swore under his breath, licking his split lip. He ran his hand along a metal bar, glancing back at the entrance to confirm the others were there.

“Vaughon, can you unlock—”

"It's not worth it," Brennan interrupted.

“I can’t leave her,” Rook insisted, then quickly shut his mouth.

Would they leave him behind if he was pushed too hard? This was Gwendolyn, not Dalia.

Gwendolyn’s lips trembled on her battered face.

Taking in a shaky breath, Rook looked straight at Vaughon. “Please. I know I have no right to ask this, especially after you’ve freed me, but… I know her. We grew up near each other.”

Vaughon sighed, but knelt beside the lock and brought out his metal strips.

Rook retreated to a corner. Brennan, to his relief, had gone quiet, but the dragon’s fingers tapped impatiently. Unless it was Dalia, Rook wouldn’t push his luck further.

Gwendolyn released an exasperated huff when the door finally opened.

“Now, go run down the hall and distract the guards from us,” Brennan grumbled. "Or are you done yelling and alerting our presence to every being under this mountain?"

Gwendolyn darted from the enclosure and pressed right beside Rook.

Like I can do anything to protect you, Rook thought.

Brennan’s grim expression indicated similar thinking.

“Alright, I’m going to make this clear,” Brennan growled at everyone in a tone expecting nothing short of obedience. “No more distractions. No waylaying. You diverge, you’re left behind. We’ll head for the remote tunnels. Follow my point.”

Vaughon quietly positioned himself beside Rook. Extra close. No darting down another hall for him.

They encountered no one else as they navigated the passages, though Brennan did disappear ahead a couple ominous times to take care of obstacles. The paths became uneven and Rook had to pop his ears as they entered a more natural tunnel system. Kissa procured a couple small stones that illuminated when ground against each other, but the light they produced was measly.

Gwendolyn stumbled continuously, grumbling under her breath non-stop.

“I don’t deserve this. How could this happen to me? Wait until I get home.”

Rook was too nervous, both about Brennan’s threat and being caught, to help her.

After what felt like hours, Brennan had them rest. He focused on the twins.

“I left a marker at the last split so Ashton will know to catch up.”

“You don’t want to go back to meet him?” Vaughon asked.

Brennan shrugged, his gaze moving to rest on Rook. “I know he’d rather I stay vigilant here.”

“Who is Ashton?” Gwendolyn demanded. Seated on the ground, she began to massage her feet. She didn’t even have socks.

The three dragons looked unhappy hearing the name on her lips. “He’s our mission leader.”

“And who are all of you, exactly?”

Vaughon smiled. “How about yourself?”

“Gwendolyn Vanstra. The freaks holding me addressed me differently… high elf, like you have.”

“That’s what you are,” Vaughon said. He gestured to the rest of the group. “And this is a unicorn, a siren, and the rest of us are dragons.”

Gwendolyn narrowed her swollen eyes, though the effort looked comical in the dim light.

“I believe the elf statement because my ears have sharpened and I’ve been feeling… extra light. But you all look normal enough.”

“As in human normal?” the unicorn asked, sitting next to Gwendolyn gracefully. “The actual humans I've seen here are shorter than these guys. The lighting isn’t ideal, but you must see their eyes and teeth. Big, bad wolf scenario times ten. No way they’re human. I’m Whisk, by the way.”

Gwendolyn stared at the offered hand, then lifted her chin imperiously. She resumed massaging her feet. Her vanity was infamous at school, but was she truly feeling threatened by Whisk’s appearance? Something so trivial after a kidnapping? Rook wondered if her pride was all she felt she had left.

“I think these are secondary forms,” Whisk continued, unbothered. She flexed her fingers curiously, as though feeling for something beneath the skin. “I can feel something inside.”

Rook felt only hunger.

He pressed the corner of his eyes, around where Corruption had touched to get the blurry reaction. Nothing happened. It had to be a trick. Corruption really must have taken him based on appearance alone. However, he wasn’t going to mention that to these people; rescuing him for what he was now certain were species-based reasons.

Kissa nodded at Whisk. “We can appear quite humanoid when we want to. Sirens and high elves, however, cannot transform. Personally, I prefer my true form any day.”

“Why not now?” Gwendolyn demanded. “Can’t you, like, transform and eat anyone that gets in our way?”

Vaughon and Kissa shook with repressed laughter.

Brennan frowned. "Do you know how large dragons are, elf?"