Sol allowed the trio to get into the air before he started casting spells at them. Anna understood his reasoning. If he was to keep an eye on Daniel and Lady Thalia, they would need to believe he’d actually tried to stop the Wisp Seekers from getting away. He’d told them to go ahead, and that he would start firing off spells once he saw the trio rise out of the canyons. They had all understood that as Sol described it. And Sol had warned Anna that he wouldn’t be able to hold back on some of them. She would need to throw the magic off for anyone watching to be convinced.

  She hadn’t realized what Sol not holding back would really mean.

  He had given them plenty of time, of course. Peter explained the whole thing to Jarnvaror before they took off. The Dragon seemed to think of it as some kind of game. He swung his head back and forth, apparently trying to spot Sol before the Archmage started launching spells at them. But he was looking in the wrong place.

  A bolt of lightning shot past them as Jarnvaror flew out from the cliffs. Anna looked and saw Sol hovering in the air over the ravine, his robes whipping about in the wind, his hands extended toward them. A second bolt flew at Peter, glancing off the armor Anna had enchanted before.

  “Come on, Jarn, we’ve gotta go faster. It’s like a race, remember?” Peter said, his voice rising. Anna couldn’t tell if he was excited or if even he was worried with the about getting hit by stray magics.

  The dragon started picking up speed. Anna turned back to Sol, focusing on the magic he was weaving. She managed to catch some of it. He was faster at making the spell than anyone she’d ever seen, but she knew that was his strong suit. She hadn’t expected he’d also outclass everyone in sheer power. Even knowing he was planning to let them slip through, she marveled at the genuine storm of whirling wind he sent out to block their way.

  All Anna had to do was cut through it. She’d been preparing to cast her spell that shielded from the wind since they’d taken off. She faltered as she felt the storm pass them and the dragon strain in the wind. She wondered if maybe Sol hadn’t believed them after all. Maybe he really was trying to capture them for Daniel and the others.

  She felt Halcyon’s influence fall over her. Taking a breath, she forced herself to complete her spell. She intentionally made it larger than she had before so that Jarnvaror could fly in its wake. She could feel her magic, bound to the air as it was, shaken by Sol’s windstorm. But it held. Jarnvaror stabilized in the air, and broke free of Sol’s spell. He beat his wings, accelerating toward the eastern horizon as the city fell away behind them.

  Anna relaxed, letting her spell collapse once Sol was out of sight. Now that they were through, she was once again sure Sol had gone easy on them. She wondered if it had been too easy. Perhaps Daniel would know that Sol had let them get away. Even now, he might be questioning the Archmage. He might suspect that Sol was not really loyal to him. And the one thing they couldn’t do was to go back and check to see if the ruse had worked. So Anna faced forward and tried to focus her mind on the task ahead.

  Of course, that held its own dangers. They had several days before they reached the pass in the mountains Sol had told them about where the Ryukyuujin had faced the Wisp Stealers. Anna resolved that she would be able to deal with any mage who might be with this group, even Sheil or Zech. So she spent the time in the air practicing her spell craft.

  Her first order of business was refining Peter and Andrew’s magical protections. She layered more and more defenses into the enchanted gemstones they each wore now. She was sure no spell would be able to touch them directly. Of course, trying to weave in protection from physical attacks as well was beyond her, at least not so long as they lacked more gemstones.

  Using her own, Anna tried to focus on weaving the few defensive spells she knew faster. Even if it was only for a few days she hoped the training would be enough to make up the difference.

  Before she knew it, the eastern mountains were in sight. They were approaching a little farther north than they had when they’d gone to the capital of Ryukyuu. The mountains rose green from the plains below. Rivers traced silver lines through the grasses and trees. The world rolled underneath the dragon as he flew, and Anna saw the coastal plain stretching down into the distance beyond the mountains.

  “Can Jarnvaror see anything out of the ordinary up ahead?” Andrew called to Peter.

  “How out of the ordinary?” Peter called back. Anna cast her spell to part the wind so they could hear better.

  “Does he see the army?” Andrew clarified. “Or anyone else close to the pass?”

  Peter put the question to Jarnvaror, who rumbled his reply back. “He doesn’t see much behind the mountains yet.”

  “Figures,” Andrew muttered.

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  “Is something wrong?” Anna asked.

  “I’d rather see the Ryukyuujin army before they spot us,” he said. “I’m not sure how they’ll react, especially if the Wisp Stealers are still hitting their supplies.”

  Anna nodded her understanding. “I wish I knew how to make things invisible,” she said. “I might be able to create an enchantment that would keep them from seeing us until we land.”

  “You wanna try that?” Peter asked.

  “I just said I don’t know how,” Anna said.

  “It’s not in one of your books?” Peter looked confused. “It seems like it would be really useful.”

  Anna shook her head. “It’s mentioned in passing, but there’s no explanation of how to do it. Apparently it’s pretty difficult.” She looked back at Andrew and shrugged in apology. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like we were planning to become invisible, anyway,” Andrew said. “Peter, just have Jarnvaror keep an eye out for either the army or any sign of the Wisp Stealers.”

  “Understood,” Peter said, and he gave the instructions to the dragon.

  Moments later they reached the mountains themselves. It only took a few minutes to fly over the high ridges. From here, Anna could see all the way to the ocean, which was only a thin line on the north eastern horizon. The coastal plain was covered in winding streams, shimmering lakes, and green pastures. A few roads stretched and crisscrossed like red serpents through the landscape.

  Anna followed the one that led through the mountains. It was long and solitary, and Anna wondered just how often it was really used. Then she saw the place where it intersected with another road running south to north. The woods of the mountains seemed to almost flow over its southern half.

  “I think that’s the main road that leads to the Ryukyuu capital,” she said, pointing it out to Andrew and Peter.

  Jarnvaror turned to fly over the road. Almost as soon as he did, he rumbled something back to his riders. Peter nodded and looked over his shoulder. “Seems like there’s a large group on the road. They’re mixed in with the trees a lot. Lots of horses and carts.”

  “That’d be the army,” Andrew muttered. “Why would they be mixed in with the trees?”

  “They’re probably still looking for the Wisp Stealers,” Anna suggested. “I doubt Daniel would have sent them all here. They probably don’t have the numbers to do much more than harass the army or raid towns.”

  “Why would they bother with the towns?” Peter asked.

  “The towns are providing the army’s food,” Andrew explained. “Attack those, and the army can’t march. It makes it impossible to ignore the group, and it slows them down. That was probably Daniel’s goal.”

  “Does Daniel really need that much time to prepare to fight?” Anna asked. “I’ve always thought one of the strengths of Grealand was its ability to raise an army quickly.”

  “That could be crippled with the king and queen missing,” Andrew said. “Even if it’s not, more time benefits Daniel more than it does the Ryukyuujin and Selasi. So if he slows them down here until winter, his position becomes a lot stronger, just tactically. Which is to say nothing of the havoc the Wisp Stealers would wreak as small mobile units during that time.”

  “Wouldn’t the Ryukyuujin know that?” Peter asked.

  Andrew shrugged. “What can they do? They have to protect their supply lines.”

  “Maybe we could help them with that,” Peter suggested.

  “Hopefully,” Andrew said, though he didn’t sound hopeful. “Our best bet is probably to make ourselves obvious, like when approaching a city, and hope they’re willing to talk.”

  “And if they aren’t?” Peter said.

  “Keep Jarnvaror saddled,” Andrew replied. He looked at Anna. “See if the Wisps will be able to reveal their mood to us before they get too close.” Anna nodded her agreement.

  Even without the Wisps, Anna could hear the armies reaction as Jarnvaror landed. Raised voices and a clamor of hooves met her ears once the rush of landing had faded. She hoped Captain Yamada would be with the company. Even if he was confused, she thought he would vouch for them, and they would be able to explain to the commander of this force that they were ultimately here to help.

  She saw a column of horses riding out toward them. “We should dismount,” Andrew said. “It will make it clearer that we want to talk.”

  They slid to the ground a little before the riders reached them. Anna scanned their faces. Many were wearing helmets, hiding their identities. She asked the Wisps to share their feelings, and most of what came across was fear, anger, confusion, and curiosity. The Wisps had only shared Yamada’s feelings briefly after the attack in Borac. She wondered if they would be able to recognize the captain and point him out to her. To her surprise, the Wisps responded with a negative feeling. It took her a moment to realize they were saying that Yamada wasn’t present. Her delight that they’d been able to communicate that was short lived as the leader of the horsemen drew to a stop.

  “You are the one’s called Wisp Seekers, yes? Why has Grealand sent you?” the man spoke from behind a visor that looked like a metal face, snarling. He stamped the but of his spear on the ground to punctuate his sentences. “Answer me!”

  “We’ve come on our own,” Andrew replied. “We heard that bandits using Wisps were assaulting people in this region. We wanted to help end that. All we want is peace.”

  “Of course they are. They are your men! Only the Grealish use Wisps.” Andrew exchanged a glance with Anna. Before he could reply, though, the leader continued. “Oh, I see. You’ve come to help them. You wish to sneak inside the camp and wreak havoc and destruction. Well we see you, and are prepared to stop that. You cannot fool us again.”

  “Sir, permission to speak,” said one of the other riders.

  “No, lieutenant Ban,” replied the commander. “Your concerns have already been noted.”

  A cord rang in Anna’s ears. Ban! Wasn’t that one of Yamada’s lieutenants? She looked at the rider, but she hadn’t paid much attention to Yamada’s subordinates before, and wasn’t sure she’d recognize him even without the helmet. Still, she was sure she knew the name. She stepped forward, and requested the Wisps contain their influence only to her, Andrew and Peter.

  “Sir,” she said, holding out her hands. “We only wish to speak. Is there anything we can offer as a sign of good faith?”

  The commander looked down at the trio. “Of course. If you do not resist, we can place you under arrest for the duration of the war. If you do resist, we’ll just kill you now.”