The next day, the sisters ventured back to the base of the volcano, one reluctantly, one with a great deal more enthusiasm. Thren had chosen to remain in town, showing Eanah pictures of sunny rooftops and ignorant, delicious birds when she had asked why.
"You could have stayed behind with Thren," Eanah finally said, breaking the silence that had stretched between them since they'd left the inn.
Finres shook her head. "No offense meant, but your drakein is horrid," she replied, earning a chuckle from her sister. "Why are you laughing? It's true!"
"I never thought I would hear my sweet, happy keindred referred to as—" She pulled up short as a sudden rumble of nearby rocks warned of a dragon's approach.
"What? What is happening?"
Eanah's scepter was in hand before she spoke again, the jewel perched at its end already swirling with bright power. "A dragon is near. What we came here for? There is still time to run, Finres."
"No." The younger girl shivered once despite the heat of their surroundings, her arms wrapping around her torso. "I will make sure you emerge from this fight alive. There are things you do not know that you must—"
"Save your breath or I will never learn them!" Eanah pushed her sister to the ground as a large Firani winged its way toward the girls, sending a plume of tightly controlled fire right at the spot where they had stood a moment before. The mage scrambled away, casting a bolt of return fire over her shoulder with ease. Last night, she'd heard giddy talk of the blood moon over dinner, and although it was disappointing to learn her new-found magical prowess was due to an outside influence, Eanah was determined to get as much use out of the season as she could.
As the dragon passed close to them once more, she rose to her feet, jutting her arms forward away form her body. Out of her right palm shot a thick gout of flame, but rather than injure the Firani, her assault seemed only to irritate it.
"Right. Fire dragon," the girl muttered. She raised her scepter again, its end glowing, this time with the murky power of Soudana. When she let this second bolt fly, it caught the dragon squarely in the chest and sent it spinning away. It shrieked in rage as it fought to regain the upper hand, but before it could, Eanah struck it again. The Firani crashed into a rocky outcropping with a sharp crack, and from behind her, Eanah heard her sister gasp. She waited half a minute before turning to face her, giving Finres time to compose herself.
"So. What is it you have to tell me?"
Before she could finish her sentence, the other girl had already begun shaking her head frantically, as if to deny what she had just seen. To her credit, Finres eventually clasped her hands together, belatedly holding her reaction in check. "No. I can't tell you here. The time isn't right."
After a moment of silence, Eanah shrugged and turned away, much as she had the day before. Whatever her sister was hiding, she would learn what it was in due time.
"Are you coming?" Eanah asked as she approached the dissipating corpse. "If you hurry, you can catch one of the bones for carving."
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