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"Will you at least carry me to the entrance?"

"I’ll carry you to a spot near the entrance None of the other dragons pay attention to me, and I can be fairly stealthy, so I’ identified near the temple But then I’ll have to take off"

"I understand," Kendra said She tried to keep her voice even She had asked Raxtus to risk death and humiliation, and he had denied her Could she really blame him? At least he would provide a lift to her destination He had already been ht to expect Even so, she felt disappointed "You never explained about hydras"

"Right Sorry I’, row back Hydras technically aren’t dragons They don’t work ic or have breath weapons They’re fauardian is a hydra, but that is the ruuardians"

Hoas she supposed to get by a hydra? Let alone the other guardians She was alone Raxtus was right Going to the Dragon Temple would be suicide Inside the knapsack, Warren had the unicorn horn Should she ask Raxtus to take her to the ht be there, but maybe she could hide in the knapsack and have Raxtus turn invisible Theyher tea their quest Seth would never run away Would any of the others abandon her? No, she could at least investigate the dragon Te the mission She owed everybody that o?"

"Should we? No way But I’rabbed her with one of his front claws and soared into the air This time he perforround, staying near cover whenever possible Kendra saw the finger of stone approaching just like in the vision the Fairy Queen had shown her When they landed in a grove of tall pines, Raxtus set Kendra on her feet The dragon reonit, now is as good as toh No offense, but you really are I o down this slope, walk around the nearest bluff, and you’ll see the entrance Can’t et inside?"

"No doors You just stroll in I have no idea how far in the first guardian will be situated Careful, getting outThese types of places tend to be designed that way"

Kendra nodded She had received similar advice back when she had ventured into the vault containing the Sands of Sanctity at Fablehaven The re at the first guardian She would have to consult Warren

"Thanks, Raxtus I appreciate your help I better go talk to Warren about our next move"

"I hope he talks you out of this Tell him I’m sorry about the beard Be careful Nice to s

And then she was alone

Kendra sat down Did she really want to go down and talk to Warren? He would tell her to wait to enter the te? They could hole up in the knapsack for a few days--even weeks, if necessary They had plenty of food Theup

She stretched out on her back and stared up at liood cover The air was cool but not frigid Her uely hoped a brilliant idea would occur Inspiration refused to strike

Eventually she sat up She should find a place to stash the knapsack while she talked with Warren Was it good enough to set it beside a tree? What if so a shallow hole Or at least cover the knapsack with some branches Maybe she could stow it on a tree branch If so, would she still be able to cli for an ideal spot Nothing juround had no usable irregularities, and it was too hard for digging

Fluttering wings caused her to turn and crouch beside a tree She fu to hide before she was spotted, but relaxed when an astrid glided into view The golden owl perched on a branch above her

Your friends are with Thronis

"My brother?"

They are alive and well Apparently the giant plans to help them

She felt hope awaken inside her "How did you learn this?"

Two of us flew into the ht Thronis was protected by spells"

Astrids have been ignored for centuries The sky giant has warding spells against dragons and other perceived threats We are beneath his notice

"Then I should just sit tight?"

We will continue to scout for you If you go into the hidden rooan to ith relief The astrids could help her hide the knapsack, her brother and friends were alive, and she on Te herself to the fact that she would have to retrieve the key on her own Her probleer felt entirely hopeless

Chapter 24 Te froth of his forearm, the streamlined insects hovered and darted above the reedy pools near the entrance to the Dragon Telanced down at the cos, and the sliht, joining the swarms

Had he not drunk powdered ht have suspected the insects were , shi in every color of the rainbow Until now, he had never onflies

The yawning entrance to the Dragon Temple loomed before him The temple was basically a natural ravine covered by an arched stone roof Matching granite dragons nearly the size of Thronis flanked the ht sight of a griffin ski theriffins had flown off to continue the search for Kendra Earlier that e where Kendra had fallen the day before Those tracks went a long way up the gorge until they tangled with the tracks of a very young dragon Fortunately, there had been no blood or other evidence of a struggle Mara had identified more of Kendra’s tracks near the Fairy Queen’s shrine, once again converging with dragon s From there, the trail went cold

As unlikely as it sounded, Mata’s best guess had been that the dragon was transporting Kendra Trask agreed Since Kendra had already visited the Fairy Queen’s shrine, she presuon Teon Temple, they had discovered no further traces of Kendra or a young dragon Could she have braved the teon had learned where Kendra was heading and turned on her Trask, Mara, and the others had all fanned out to search the vicinity, leaving Seth near the entrance with their gear

"I’ve got her!" Gavin called

Seth spied Gavin scraht of the entrance, causing little rockslides as he went Kendra followed behind, picking her way more carefully, the knapsack over one shoulder Seth checked the sky, relieved to see no dragons While searching for Kendra, they had been exposed If a dragon spotted theon Tean

While waiting for Gavin and his sister to reach him, Seth considered the immense temple What kind of creatures raised a roof over a canyon and called it ho, and such vast space inside, who knehat ons out front seelad you’re all right," Kendra said as she approached Seth