Violet Stormwing's Arc

Chapter 37 of 46

The crystal hoard held the wild dragon still, but Violet had no way to watch it. She could not live in the valley. She could not read the dragon's moods from three days' flight away. It had settled for now. Tomorrow it might grow bored and climb the rim to hunt. She needed a warning. She needed eyes in the valley when she was gone. She sat by the pond and studied the pale wolf. It lay in the grass near the dragon, ears up, watching everything. Kira Plum had told her to trust it, and the wolf had led her here. It had lilac eyes and a black tail, and it moved through the valley like it owned every stone. It knew the dragon better than Violet did. Violet had no plan yet. Then a white deer stepped from the trees at the far slope. It grazed near the water, calm, unafraid. The wolf lifted its head but did not stalk. Both animals belonged to the valley. Both stayed while she came and went. Violet understood. She did not need to watch the dragon herself. She needed the valley to tell her when things changed. She walked to the deer slowly. It let her near. She tied a strip of red cloth loose around its neck, low enough to slip free. If the dragon flew, the deer would bolt through the narrow crack in the rim, the only path out. A deer running from the valley would be her signal. She marked the trail it favored so she could watch that spot from the ridge above. The wolf rose and came to her. Violet knelt. She held out her open hand. The wolf pressed its nose to her palm and did not pull back. She pointed at the dragon, then at herself, then made a low whistle. She whistled again. The wolf's ears turned. She hoped it would learn the sound and answer it. She could not know if a wolf could be taught this. She only knew it watched everything, and that was worth trying. Near the pond stood a small silver tree, its leaves shaped like moons and stars, catching light even in shade. Violet had passed it before. Now she hung her last crystal in its branches, high and bright. From the ridge above the rim, that shine would show. If the tree went dark, someone had taken the crystal, and someone had found the valley. She climbed to the ridge and looked down. The deer grazed. The wolf lay by the dragon. The silver tree threw back the sun. Three signs, all visible from where she stood. She could not stop the dragon from flying. But now she would know the moment it did. Violet turned south toward her brood. For the first time, she left the valley without fear of the silence behind her.