Jackal couldn't quite believe what Spectrum was saying. She seemed to talk in an accent, but it wasn't obvious. Maybe he just didn't trust her because his parents would tell him horror stories from their trips—dragons who would do anything to make you believe you can trust them. It was what worried him the most about them leaving; if they went on separate missions, at separate times, then his father would most likely get killed for many reasons.

But now, following Caldera, Mallow, and Spectrum, he couldn't quite put the NightWing together. Her wings were torn, he could see that much, but some were more like she had been clawed by angry dragons or maybe even scavengers, while other holes seemed like it was because they had been trapped under stones, then when she moved it tore it. He wish he had made his vision spell sharper. Then he could figure out if those were scratched on her scales or parts that he couldn't see because his eye-covering was slightly ripped and tattered.

He remembered what Spectrum called herself—mind-reader and seer. Maybe it was just the fact that he didn't like someone seeing what he was thinking. Maybe he could enchant something to protect Caldera and Mallow, just in case. He saw Mallow so much that she was like a big sister to him—Caldera was starting to also seem like a sister. He didn't want anything to happen to the dragons who actually treated him like someone who could take care of himself—or at least Mallow tried. Jackal walked a little faster so then he was beside Mallow.

"Do you think we can trust her?" He asked.

"There's no way to tell, but if she can read minds then there's no point in trying to run away, either." Mallow replied.

"But she wants us to go the the Kingdom of Sea!" Jackal exclaimed. "How are we supposed to get there, when none of us can pass as on their side of the war? I'm pretty confident the SandWing queens know who's on their side and who's not. And who's not on anyone's side!"

Jackal saw the small change of the shade of Mallow's scales. "We can think of it when we get there." She said. "The bright side of me being a MudWing is that they're trained since birth to fight other dragons."

"You haven't actually fought any dragon since you started watching me." Jackal pointed out. "And the fastest way to the Kingdom of Sea is through the Claws of the Clouds Mountains and the Mud Kingdom. Do you really want to see your brother's face?" Jackal himself had only seen Mallow's brother, Vervain, once. He was bossing around their sister, Alterniflora. While Jackal didn't talk to him, and Mallow refused to answer any questions, he knew that her brother hated her far more than anyone could ever imagine. While her hatred was dulled with sisterly love and restraint, she returned his hatred.

"There has to be another way." Mallow muttered, as if the idea just came to her.

Caldera walked closer to them, to join in their conversation, Jackal guessed. "We could go through the rainforest." She suggested.

"But that would take longer." Jackal argued.

"I'm a little offended that I'm not a part of this conversation." Spectrum said, still walking ahead of them. "It disappoints me that you're not asking my opinion."

"So you could lead us to death?" Jackal snorted. "Nope." He took the lead, walking in front of Spectrum. "We can stop by my house. My parents shouldn't be home for another week or so."

"What if they're home?" Caldera asked.

"Start thinking of a believable lie, then." Jackal said.