Page 127 of Raven's Journey, Dragonis Academy Year 2
After half a day of reconnaissance, I find Iris where I left her. The queen has finished her correspondence, and a new scroll waits in Iris’s carrying harness—the response to Mina’s message, sealed with emerald wax that matches Giselle’s eyes.
“Island is safe for females.”I whisper into the queen’s mind, letting her hear the truth behind my words. I have searched every corner of her domain, and I have found nothing to threaten my Raven or her mother.
Only healing. Only hope.
“Always safe for females.” Queen Giselle’s voice is gentle, but steel runs beneath it—the strength of a woman who has built something worth protecting. “We take any and all who have been abused or hurt. This island exists for them. It will always exist for them.”
Iris looks at me, her amber eyes bright with understanding. She is ready to go home. So am I.
“Xero thanks you for kindness.”I push the gratitude into Giselle’s mind, letting her feel the sincerity behind the words.“Iris, too.”Adding in my silent friend, who cannot speak but feels just as deeply.
“You are the perfect emissaries to come here.” The queen rises from her chair and crosses to the balcony doors, pulling them wide. The night air rushes in, carrying salt and flowers and the distant sound of waves. “You and your companions are welcome whenever you wish to return. Tell your queens—they will find no enemy here. Only sisters.”
We take flight from the balcony, rising on warm currents into the star-scattered sky. The castle falls away below us, then the town, then the island itself—a dark shape against the darker sea, growing smaller with distance until it could be held in my paw.
Once we are far away, safely out of sight from any watching eyes, I fly over Iris and lower myself down. My paws grip her scruff, careful and secure, and I feel her relax into my hold—trusting me completely, as she always has.
I phase us both, pulling the void around us like a cloak.
The world goes cold. The world goes dark.
Then we are home.
Much to tell Raven and the Mina. A refuge found. An ally discovered. A queen who builds hope from ashes.
Mission complete.
