Page 105 of Soul of Fire

My nose was bleeding, and Arik held the bedsheets to my face to stem the flow as I trembled in terror at what I had seen. What I knew.

“What the fuck was that?”

“He’s here,” I repeated weakly, clawing at Arik’s arms to make him understand. “It’s here. The Rift.”

“What about the Rift?” Somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, I knew he was shouting to Baldur to reach out to Kindra and the other drage in Ironholm to ask what was going on.

But I knew they wouldn’t know. Because the Rift had split the world open here in Stalheim.

And the Darkness had come with it.

Chapter thirty-four

Revna

Wehadbeenflyingfor almost a full day, but even the strain of the added weight wasn’t enough to quell Kindra’s pleasure at flying with our mate for the first time.

Granted, he was sitting atop me as stiff as a stone statue in terror, rather than flying beside us.

He also had no idea he was our mate.

Minor inconveniences,Kindra preened, tilting her wings so the setting sun set them ablaze.

Stop showing off. He’s too terrified to notice you right now.

But I am magnificent. How could he not admire me?

“I fecking hate this!” Arne shouted, for what must be the tenth time. “Give me a horseany day.”

He had insisted on leaving the comfort of the inn at first light, despite my arguments that he should rest another day. He did seem better, and Kindra had assured me he was fit enough to fly. Plus, I knew he would attempt to commandeer a horse and set off on his own if I didn’t agree to fly him myself.

Sigurd and Bryndis flew before us, swooping around each other in gleeful acrobatics at Sigurd’s return. Kindra snorted at the display, swooping below the cloud cover for a moment and eliciting a scream from the man who was supposed to join us up here one day.

He does seem to be rather cowardly.Kindra huffed anxiously and returned to safety above the clouds. We couldn’t risk being seen by anyone below lest the king get word, and we couldn’t afford to wait to fly until the sun was completely below the horizon.Perhaps I was wrong about him.

It’s his first time flying,I replied, uncertain why I was defending this man I barely knew and didn’t like very much. He was stubborn and irascible, and unwilling to accept help when it was freely offered.

Who does that sound like?

I am perfectly even-tempered.

And definitely not stubborn or unwilling to accept help.

Shut up.The others had said as much. My old reirhold. But I didn’t need to take abuse from my own dragon.

Especially when she was right.

Try Idunn and Baldur again,I said, trying to ignore the knot of panic that had been rising in my gut. They had been unreachable all day, although Kindra said she could sense them in whatever network connected the dragons.

“Are we almost there?” Arne shouted over the wind. His grip on Kindra’s neck tightened as she swooped below the clouds again to check our position.

Maybe an hour or two,she replied to me, snorting to Arne as if he could understand her somehow.And it is the same. I can feel them, but they do not answer.

“The lack of communication is mightily inconvenient,” he shouted again, not even realizing how accurate he was.

How is he?I asked Kindra.Should we stop for the night?

I believe he will manage a bit farther. He may be cowardly and stubborn, but he is strong.