Page 92 of Hunting for her Heart
She laughs a little and shakes her head. “You and I might have started our journeys here, but that’s only because this is where our doppelgangers were. If your sister’s is in a village in the North, that’s where she’ll come through. Or an island to the East. She could come through anywhere.”
“So how do I help her find me?” I ask in worry.
She shrugs. “You don’t. That will be in her hands. You just have to hope that Aribella sends her through with enough information to help her navigate her way to you. She didn’t tell me much, but it was enough to get me to Ria.”
The blond man beside her laughs, speaking for the first time. “Yeah, right. You almost got yourself killed a dozen times.”
She rolls her eyes at him. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Did you, or did you not, jump on a skyreacher with no saddle on your very first day here and nearly plummet to your death?”
“Well, you were there to save me, weren’t you?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.
“You seem happy,” I blurt out.
She looks back at me and nods. “I am. I’m beyond pleased I found Ria, but her life is on the sea with her pirates. We are much happier on land. We actually have a home nearthe base of these cliffs,” she says, gesturing out of the cave. “My other mates are home now with our girls.”
“Other mates?” I ask, eyeing the men with her.
She laughs. “Yeah, seven is a lot, but it makes things a lot more fun too.” She winks at me and I’m unsure what she means but decide to skate over it.
“You don’t miss the other world?”
“Sometimes I miss TV and my cell phone, but I wouldn’t give this life up for anything.”
Her larger mate pulls her back against his chest and kisses her head.
I glance up at my own mates and smile. “Yeah, me neither,” I say, even though I never had a television or phone before, so I don’t really know what I’m missing. “But if you ever see my sister, Izzy. Tell her I’m in Redmere.”
Her eyebrows raise in surprise as she glances at my men. “Isn’t that…”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “They aren’t cannibals. That’s just a rumor.”
“Oh,” she says, not looking like she completely believes me as her mates press in a little closer to her. “Right, well, yes. If I see her, I will definitely tell her that. We have to get going. We’re taking these birds home and finding them new owners,” she says, gesturing to the skyreachers.
I wonder if their previous owners were men who my Vikings killed in the Mating Hunt, but push that thought aside as I say goodbye. “It was nice meeting you, Penny.”
“You too, Willow.” We wave goodbye, and Ronan guides me toward the cave entrance.
“Would you like me to bring your riding gear outside?” a young man asks, or perhaps he might even be a teen.
“Yes, please,” Bo says with a nod of his head, and wefollow him out of the cave to the large clearing. He stands in the middle and lets out the loudest whistle I’ve ever heard.
The boy comes over and gently places some saddles on the ground near Bo, who then tosses him a small bag that clinks when he catches it. It sounds like coins. I realize there is still so much I don’t know about this world. Do they have money? How do my guys even have any if they live on an island?
“Now we wait,” Bo says as he places his hands on his hips, and the three of them search the sky.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Willow
We only have to wait for about ninety seconds before three large silhouettes come into view from behind the peak of the mountain. I watch in awe as they move closer, circling as they approach. Their wing spans must be over fifteen feet wide. Their beautiful brown and white feathers shine as they dip down and land in a line in front of Bo.
“Wow,” I whisper as Ronan grabs my hand and leads me toward the center one.
“This is Valor,” Ronan introduces us as he takes my hand and places it on the top of the bird's beak.
“Hi, Valor. You’re a pretty boy, aren’t you?” He dips his head and presses his beak further into my hand.
