Page 87 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

If I really wanted her, I had to let go.

The image dissolved as a glittery shape cut across my vision. I focused on it the best I could, a voice lingering on the wind.

“Vaela!”

Yes? I blinked hard, pulling on every ounce of my focus, fighting the blurriness.

“Vaela! Down here!”

I peered over my shoulder. The wind tugged at my hair, pulling water from my eyes. When the tears cleared, I spotted Eden and Min flying along the Wretch’s left flank.

“Vaela, you need to let go!” she screamed. “You’re going too high.”

We were all too high, something in my head said. Me and Eden and Min. It was dangerous. It was deadly. “Get out of here,” I cried, waving them away.

“Not without you!”

Min bellowed, the sound striking me like an arrow.

“You have to jump!” Eden shouted.

Jump? A startled laugh bubbled up my throat. Right. Sure. Yeah. “You gonna catch me?”

“I’m gonna try.”

She was actually serious. That sobered me a little more, and I blinked away the encroaching spots. “If I’m gonna do this, I’d like you to be sure.”

“Stop being a jackass and get over here already,” Eden called.

She was right. Now or never. I had no more time to waste. I hurriedly unhooked my prosthesis from the Wretch’s scale. My hands were cramped from holding it so tightly.

What happened to the girl who’d jump on the back of wild horses? She was still here, I thought. She could do it one more time. And then, before I could talk myself out of taking that leap, I used the sharp plate behind me to pull myself up, holding my prosthesis in my other hand.

Min flew into position, slightly behind and below the Wretch. I was only going to get one shot at this. I tensed, muscles coiling, a phantom twinge of memory in my residual limb, and then I hurled myself off the side of the Wretch, tasting some of that freedom for myself.

Tasting the high mountain air.

Tasting the fall.

Tasting flight.

My limbs flailed, my body tumbling forward as my thoughts raced through worst-case scenarios. And then⁠—

Crash!

I collided with Min’s side, sliding down, down, down⁠—

“Hold on!” Eden cried, snagging the other end of the prosthesis, nothing but a bit of metal and wood tying us together.

“Good catch,” I gasped.

“Don’t you dare let go,” she growled, gritting her teeth as she hauled me into position on Min’s back. I grunted as I clamored my way to safety. The last thing I’d ever do was let go of her now.

Once I was seated, facing Eden head-on, her arms wrapped around me, her hands like claws. They clasped at my back, digging into my ribs and my shoulder blades. It felt like she was trying to crawl beneath my skin. It hurt.

It hurt so good.

“Got you,” she whispered, and I could finally breathe again.