72 • Beyond The North

Everyone was silent at first, glancing at each other with vocal eyes.

"Who's Talon?" Nero asked with a grimace. "The raven?"

"Yes, my raven. Have you seen him?"

Cerene's eyes suddenly glistened with realization. "Oh no, after the Prowler struck you so far off, Talon swooped in. He tried attacking it, but—"

Spheris didn't want to hear anymore. With a surge of fear gripping his chest, he bolted out of the warm shelter of the cave, into the biting whiteness of the outside. "Talon!" he cried out. "Talon!"

With every yell, his voice echoed against the crystalline mountains, his frightened eyes scanning the snowy landscape frantically. "Talon!"

He was trying so hard to think, but the sound of his heart pounding in his ears blocked his thoughts and each beat was like a desperate plea for his missing friend.