Líri’s body tightens, her talons gouging into stone, steadying us. She flings her head forward and screeches to the sky—a keening wail that echoes on and on, finally whittling down into something sharp enough to bleed my fucking soul.
Her neck folds, head sinks.
Wings fall limp at her sides.
She heaves blasted breaths as gilded clouds churn beneath us, lapping at the mountain’s peak. Such gentle quiet in the wake of her sorrow that something twists in my chest.
I loosen my hand, reaching up with the intention to stroke her neck when she whips around, spinning so fast I’m forced to grab hold of her tendrils again just to avoid being flung loose.
Líri clambers along the ridge poking above the storm like a crooked spine, stone and snow crunching beneath her with each perilous step. She comes to a flat plateau barely peeking above the haze, and her entire body tilts as she curls up, swoops her tail around herself, and tucks her head beneath her claw. She pulls a deep breath and releases it with a low whine that tapers into a silence too heavy to breathe beneath.
She’s not okay …
With slow, cautious motions, I slide off her back and begin edging toward her head—
She shoves up and curls in the other direction, snapping her wing back, then forward again, almost knocking me off the plateau. The clearest nonverbalfuck offI’ve ever received.
Right.
I look around, hunting for somewhere sturdy to settle until I can work out my next move, when Kaan’s words echo in my mind …
Though some dragons lust for vengeance in the same way as a bloodlusting fae, others simply yearn to be loved.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Líri still bound in a luminous knot, like she’s hiding from the world. Reminded of the way Essi curled on the seater with her back to me while she bled to death, trying to hide her pain. The way she faded in my arms while I wished with every bit of my being that I’d done more.Beenmore.
While I told her I loved her as a means of saying goodbye rather than—
Screw this.
I move closer, realizing I can’t get around Líri without potentially stepping off the plateau’s sharp, crumbly edge and into the clouds, risking another deathly plummet. Something I have no intention of repeating anytime soon, or at least until Clode and I work through the kinks in our companionship.
My only option is to clamber over Líri—quietly begging her not tobuck me into oblivion—just about to slide down into the crook of her coil when she groans, shifting again.
Holding position, I cling to her tendrils while staring out across the cloudy expanse, waiting for her to settle facing the other way. Wondering ifthisis how Kaan feels when I block him out.
Creators-bless that male for his unworldly amount of patience.
Feeling Líri’s breaths move through her body, I study the way her claw is curled over her face like a mask.
Like ashield.
Frowning, I recall the moment I broke down beneath the rainstorm in Dhomm, thinking of Kaan’s sturdy presence at my back. Of the way he wrapped around me while humming a song that pulled me back from the brink. That’salwayshelped me … no matter the circumstances.
No matter how cold and alone I’ve felt.
I stroke Líri’s hide as my calming song rises from the pit of my soul, up my throat, breezing past semi-smiling lips:
Liu ath na, juu ta ne guile no.
Too la too. Too la too …
Líri stiffens beneath me, then softens, like each slow word is kneading the knots from her muscles.
Quietly hopeful, I lift one leg and slide down her other side while moving into the next verse.
Liu ath na, juu ta ne guile no—
My boots hit the snow, relief coursing through me when she doesn’t move. Doesn’t roll or flick me through the sky.
