The skin between my eyebrows furrowed as I shook the questions that began to build from my mind. I needed to focus on the present.
Kaida’s tail flicked around to lay at my feet and I stumbled toward the tip, eyeing the sharp points of his spikes. As soon as I attempted to lift my foot enough to step up onto the smallest part of him, my hip creaked with resistance. After multiple attempts, including trying to pull myself up with my hands on his scales, I heaved out a heavy breath, defeat hitting me square in the chest.
“I can’t do it. My body isn’t cooperating.”
The ground shook as he launched suddenly from it, the force from his wings sending a tidal wave of air over me, nearly knocking me to my ass. A whirlwind of snow flurries followed his sudden movement, and I reached up to shield my eyes from the sudden onslaught.
“Don’t move. I’m going to attempt to grab you with my claws.”
Fear spiked within me, making my chest clench with the lack of confidence I heard in his words.
“Are you sure you won’t impale me with a claw?”I asked, voice raising in pitch as he descended toward me once more.
“No. So, don’t move.”
My limbs didn’t want to move, anyways, so I didn’t think that would be our problem here.
“Maybe you should just leave me here,”I hedged as the tips of his talons gleamed above my head, extending out as he flexed them.
“Don’t be stupid, you will most certainly die here if I do that.”His sass took me off guard, yet it was exactly what I needed to relax as his clawed foot encompassed me.“Can you hold onto one of them? I don’t want to pierce you by closing them with you in the center.”
I leaned toward the talon in front of me, falling a bit as I wrapped my arms and feet around it to the best of my ability.“Okay. You can close them more.”
He did as I instructed, and suddenly I was encased perfectly, with only small slits between his claws allowing light and air in. I felt as if I were in a cocoon, and the thought comforted me. I wouldn’t fall from his grip unless he suddenly opened his claws. In my heart, I knew he would never do that.
Selfishly, I was happy that he’d decided on this method of transportation. As we launched into the sky and I felt the air grow colder as it flowed through the openings, I buried my face down against my chest. I couldn’t imagine how I would have managed to hold on with the fierce wind and freezing temperature making my extremities stiff and all but unusable. I ran my hands up and down against my pants, trying to heat them up with the friction. When that didn’t work, I settled on burying them behind my knees as I pulled my legs to my chest.
“Please don’t open your claw. I’m not holding on anymore.”
He screeched, making my wince at the sound.“I’m now wondering if you actually wish to die. Is that the case? Please let me know, so that I can stop making attempts to save you.”
My eyes rolled behind my closed lids.“No, I do not wish to die. I merely am trying to protect what littlewarmth my body is holding onto at present. Just warn me before we land and I will hold on again.”
“Anything else I can do to improve your flight, human?”
His sassy thoughts made me smirk. It seemed neither of us understood our draw to one another, yet we couldn’t fight or deny it. What existed between us felt like a genuine friendship. If only friendship could keep me warm.
Time passed quickly and I felt the shift in the air pressure as we descended. I got into position before he even warned me, so when he announced that the ground was approaching, I gave him the go ahead. Slowly, his clawed foot opened and I glanced down. Torches of burning fire lined the front of the castle and confusion stirred in me as I let my feet dangle from his claw. When the distance was safe, I dropped down, letting out a huff as my bones rattled with the impact.
I attempted to walk and found my limbs moving with a bit more ease now. Doing my best to hurry toward the entryway of the castle to get away from Kaida’s landing point, I managed to only stumble once.
Glee poured through me as I felt the warmth of the torches and wasted no time in lifting my hands toward one that was anchored to the icy archway.
“Do not go in there, human.”
The sudden fear in Kaida’s voice had me glancing back at him in confusion.
“Didn’t we both agree that we needed to come here?”
I gasped as his eyes swirled and sparked like the clouds that were suddenly gathering above the castle, filled with streaks of sparking lightning. No part of it felt natural.
“Answers you have been searching for will be found within but so will your death. Only you can decide if the price is worth the entry.”
His voice seemed void of his personality, as if he was completely detached.
I swallowed the lump building within my throat as I glanced back at the massive doors of ice beckoning me forward. It felt as if I was being pulled toward them by a force bigger than myself, and suddenly I stood at the base of the doors, without remembering even lifting my feet. A loud groan filled the air as they began to swing inwards.
I couldn’t escape whatever was waiting for me.
