Simma and Goody circled back towards Sarah and Lucy.
When they reached them, Goody tucked his wings neatly and swooped down, landing with the elegance of a dancer on the forest floor. His claws touched the ground so lightly that not a single dry leaf cracked beneath him.
The horse, startled at first, stamped once but quickly calmed down under Lucy's steady hand. She still held its lasso rope tightly, as though afraid that at any moment it might bolt away from the dragon's unnerving presence.
Lucy broke the silence. "Did you guys see it?"
Simma nodded, brushing a stray lock of hair away from his damp forehead.
"But the place is very far from here," he replied, though his voice carried more weight than his words. As he spoke, his eyes kept darting to Sarah, a quick, stolen glances that he thought were subtle.
