It felt good to have my wings slicing through the wind again. With Addison curled up against my body, and her arms around my neck, I glided through the air. I wish I could stay up here forever, but that wasn’t possible. Even worse? I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it back to Black Harbor.

I didn’t know what came over me as I dove off that cliff after Addison. What did I know? She didn’t deserve to die crashing into those rocks just under the waves. She didn’t deserve to fall to her death when I was perfectly capable of flying. It hurt like hell, scaling midair like that. The process, in general, was nothing to sneeze at, but coming off of that gas and the serum made it feel like the first time all over again.

I felt weak. My head was spinning. The wind didn’t feel like it was keeping me afloat anymore. It felt like an anchor on my back. We were so close to the shore. I could see the long dock and abandoned warehouse off in the distance. My eyes felt heavy. Addison began to slip from my grasp. I tried my best to stay up, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I roared into the air as we fell into the ocean. The cold water shocked us both as Addison’s screams sent chills down my body. Staying awake wasn’t even an option as I sunk under the current. I could hear her calling out to me, but there wasn’t anything either of us could do.

Serenity and peace danced around me as I felt like a feather drifting in the breeze. I didn’t have to be anything but happy as visions of a family and me, that probably belonged to me, lived happily on some land in the woods. I liked the woods, and I liked this family. To my surprise, Addison came out of the house as I worked in the yard. Her belly was enormous as she called something out to me. I smiled and told her I’d be right in. Then I woke up.

Smells of sage, cinnamon, and salt water greeted me as I opened my eyes. I expected to be floating in the shallows or washed ashore somewhere along the coarse sands of Black Harbor. However, I was in a bed. A comfortable one at that. Turning over to my side, I expected to see Addison lying next to me, but she wasn’t there. I was in this bedroom alone.

My eyes took a while to adjust. The room’s beige walls were plain, but the door was thick, heavy and dark. I was groggy as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Once again, I’d been stripped of the clothes I had on. The warmth of the floor was a stark difference from the cold one of the lab. I was glad not to have woken up there. Shaw and Eric would have taken turns torturing me.

Honestly, I didn’t feel scared. Comfort covered me like a blanket as I made my way toward the door. I heard Addison’s voice, but she wasn’t as calm as I was. She was begging for her life.

“Please,” she cried, “I didn’t know.”

“No, no, no,” a woman’s voice countered, “You steal from Aya, now Aya steal your life. No, no, no. No Anthro steals from Aya. No Scaler steals from Aya. You will die.”

“Please, I swear. Trevor gave me eight vials to create the serum. I didn’t know it came from you. I didn’t know they would bring Maverick into my lab. I didn’t know what Eric would do with it. That one you have is one he created, distorted from my original formula. It’s a gas,” Addison continued to plead with the Emerald Siren.

Her long hair, down to her feet, swayed as she moved around Addison mixing and stirring some concoction with a mortar and pestle, talking to herself.

“She’s not lying Aya,” I interrupted her, “She didn’t know that the base of the serum belonged to you until I told her it did. She doesn’t know that Scalers have to come here if they want to shave them. People like Trevor wanted a shortcut.”

“That is no shortcut to take. That is why it will never work the way they want it to,” Aya told me.

I shrugged as it made no difference to me, “I know that. I told her as much. She’s cutting out a journey every Scaler must take to get rid of their scales because if they make it to the end of it, that means it’s truly something they want. No quick fix. No easy way out.”

“I didn’t know,” Addison continued to cry.

I went to her, lifting her chin up to me, I kissed her tenderly while removing the ropes that bound her. Turning to Aya, I told her, “I owe her my life. It’s only right I save her.”

Aya stood there, freckles around her eyes like a mask that wrapped around her neck and down her body as she walked around in a sheer silk gown. She could always get the truth out of anyone. She nodded, “Fine but where the other vials, girl?”

“Whatever’s left of them are back in the lab,” Addison said, “I didn’t have time to go get my stuff and clear out both labs. I had to get back to Maverick. We didn’t have enough time.”

“But you have enough time to love, yes?” Aya eyed us both. I could feel the irritation burning from inside of her. She decided to let Addison go, releasing her from the ropes that bound her to the chair. Those brilliant light blue eyes with flecks of emerald stared us down. I didn’t have anything to say as she nodded, “Exactly. You do love, but all the while they turn something special into death. We must destroy it. We must destroy it now.”

“We can bring other Scarlet Wings with us,” I offered, “I just need to get back to Bart.”

“No,” Aya shook her head, “You love her?”

The question shocked me; so blatant and upfront. I answered as if Addison wasn’t even there, “Yes, I care for her deeply. I owe her my life.”

“Bart will kill her. We must destroy the lab. I need to see where it is to make sure it’s all gone. No remnants of my elixir shall remain. I must destroy it all,” Aya insisted.

Addison interjected, “I think I should come along. I don’t want you two getting lost inside there.”

“Do you have wings?” Aya asked her.

“No, but-”

Aya cut her off again, “Do you breathe fire? Or have scales and talons?”

“No, but trust me it can be pretty complic-”

Aya held her hand up to silence her, “Then you slow us down. You already make him crash into water on the way here. He was very heavy to pull out of water in scales. I’m not doing again. You stay here and wait. When Maverick come back, you go with him to settle up with Bart and rest of Scarlet Wings. Maybe he’ll let you live.”

I knew Bart, and the odds of him letting any Anthro live were slim to none. I didn’t want to think about that right now. We had something bigger ahead of us. Destroying that lab and everything inside was my primary focus. I’d deal with Bart later.

“So when do you want to head out?” I asked Aya.

She glanced toward the door, inhaling deeply, “The tide too high. We leave at dusk.”

“Okay then,” I agreed, “We’ll leave at dusk.”