Before I can process that thought, I’m yanked back to reality. The dragon’s cool snout is still pressed to my forehead. When I peel my eyes open, it moves down to the space between my breasts, right where Lorca’s tattoo is.
When the dragon nudges me there, I lose my balance and plop on my ass on the hard, wet stone.
Speechless, with a pounding heart, I look up at the dragon.
The dragon pulls back slightly.
Watching me.
Waiting.
As if she wants me to?—
The growl that rises from within her reverberates in my bones.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
Before I know it, it grabs my left ankle with its teeth.
And yanks me off the ground.
My heart drops and my stomach somersaults as we get into the air. Rain whips harshly against me, the wind cold and merciless.
I don’t understand what’s happening.
Swiftly, the dragon whirls around in the air, and then we’re dropping. A scream lodges in my throat. Closer and closer we get to treetops.
I’m about to die.
I know it in my bones.
The dragon has seen my true colors. It has shown me the future I’ll bring to Ekios.
And it refused me.
When we’re a few feet away from the trees, the dragon makes a sharp turn. We soar right above the trees. And then?—
I’m falling.
A roar pierces the sound of the driving rain just as I fall through the forest branches. They whip at me even harsher than the rain. Thankfully, they also slow my fall.
Desperately, I claw at the branches as I fall deeper into the forest. Each one I snag keeps breaking. It does make my landing on the mossy forest floor softer, though.
All air leaves my lungs when I finally reach the ground. My skull rattles, ribs aching.
But at least I’m alive.
She let me live.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
PHOENIX
The road back to the monastery is long and painful. In more than one way. I’ve no clue how long it takes me to get back, on foot. Alone.
It never stops raining, not even for a brief moment.
