Gyrak and the others drifted ahead as dark shapes among the stars, wings carving silent arcs through the night. Tsunami trumpeted and shook herself, a violent ripple that threatened to hurl me free.
Teeth clenched, I pressed my forehead to her scales.
Elohios, don’t let me fall.Prayer slipped from me unbidden, breath torn thin by the rush of wind.
Gyrak coasted closer with a short grunt and a snap of his teeth, warning flashing in the sharp line of his jaw. Tsunami fell quiet, the sound swallowed by the sky.
We climbed over the Craggs. My muscles burned from the strain of holding on. Fingers numbed inside steel. Each breath grew thinner than the last.
Cold settled in. Not the shallow chill of night, but a brutal edge that sliced through armor and skin alike. It seeped intomarrow, leaving doubt in its wake, a question of whether blood still moved.
Wings hammered a relentless rhythm as we crossed the far side of the Craggs. The flight stretched long enough for thought to creep in.
How would I get Nienna out?
Fire tempted me. I would let Vellos burn to cinders if it meant freeing her. Yet letting the Velli near the dragons would spell ruin. Without an army at my back, I would have to slip inside whatever cage held her.
First, I needed to know where she was.
Tsunami dipped, diving low until her belly skimmed the treetops. Pine needles brushed her scales. Resin and sap scented the air. My gut clenched. Such a pass could rouse the Velli from their nests.
Above us, Gyrak clicked, sharp and commanding.
Tsunami craned her head back, caught his signal, then surged upward again. The sudden ascent wrenched a curse from my throat as the ground dropped away.
Cold gnawed. My heart battered my ribs, frantic with questions it could not voice. Where was she? Was she hurt? Was she alone?
Yet amid the misery, a strange calm unfolded. It was peaceful. At this height, the world reduced itself to wind and starlight. No sound beyond the steady rush in my ears. No distractions. It was just me and my thoughts…
Thinking of all the ways I would butcher Tallon when I saw him.
We drifted through the night, dragons gliding on long, silent strokes. Time stretched thin, and dawn crept closer. The sunrise worried me more than any blade. We needed the cover of darkness to hide. Daylight would strip that away. And havingpassed over so many villages already… How fast would word of our arrival spread to their palace?
Ignorance gnawed at me. It scraped along my conscience and hollowed out certainty breath by breath. I didn’t know Vellos. I never fought beneath its dense canopy, where branches tangled like knotted hair. They were similar enough to Radaan’s northern forests, but here in the dark, I navigated by faint silhouettes and guesswork. I did not dare to lean over for a better vantage point. One wrong shift would send me tumbling.
It took everything I had just to stay on her back.
Without warning, Gyrak pulled up.
Tsunami shrieked and arched, nose spearing skyward. My stomach dropped as if the earth had fallen away.
“Even out!” I growled through clenched teeth, hanging on for dear life as she flipped vertically. The sky spun. Wind clawed at my armor, tore at my hair, burned in my lungs.
She hissed, thrashing in the air, whipping her head back to snap at me.
She decided my ride was over—while we climbed to the clouds.
Gyrak flew past us with a snarl, his tail smacking Tsunami in the face. She let out a garbled roar, the force rocking through her body and jolting up my spine.
With an irritated huff, she dove after him, circling over a body of water. It flashed silver between breaks in the trees. My stomach lurched with every tight turn. How did the withering riders communicate on dragonback? Shouted commands vanished in the wind. Hand signals seemed useless at this speed. A lake was a permanent source of freshwater. It was reliable and usually attracted people.
And that was the last thing we wanted—unless Nienna was here.
The dragons landed one by one, dropping from the sky like falcons, talons stretching toward earth before they softened theirlandings. Wings beat heavy gusts across the clearing, flattening grass and sending ripples skittering over the lake. Then Tsunami landed. She hit the ground hard, making no attempt at subtlety. The impact jarred my teeth. Her wing slapped into a deciduous tree, breaking a branch with a sharp crack. Bright green leaves rained down around us—void of autumn color. Once four paws met the dirt, she whirled on me, snapping at my armor.
With a grunt, I unlocked my death grip on her and slid down her shoulder. My boots hit the ground, knees bending on instinct, and I rolled with the fall, dispersing the weight across my side. I didn’t need to break a leg in enemy territory.
Ronan offered a hand, his glare trained on Tsunami. She hissed at us, ducking her head and sulking away, tail dragging a restless line through the soil. Ignoring Ronan’s aid, I rose and moved to the treeline. It was pointless to try to hide with six dragons in tow, but I fell into old habits. Trees offered cover, even if only for my thoughts.
