Page 219 of Feralheart

“I’ll trust him.” Fen’s jaw locked. “The way I should’ve been trusting him all along.”

About time, Selira said, so dry I almost choked.

“This isn’t about trust, it’s about facing reality.” Reece’s voice pitched higher. “You need the saddle to stay on. Without it, you’re sitting on a creature that could dump you at any moment.”

“He won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” Fen looked at Aristus. “He’s been carrying me for twenty-three years while I hurt him. He won’t drop me the moment I stop.”

“This is insane.” Reece looked at Lyndie, then at me. “Tell him to rethink this.”

“He’s right,” I said.

“Of course you’d say that.” His laugh came out strangled. “You’ve been flying bareback since the start. You don’t know what it’s like for the rest of us.” He pressed a clenched fist against his chest. “The saddle is the only thing keeping me on. Without it, I’m going to fall.” His throat worked. “I don’t have a bond with this dragon. He barely tolerates me on a good day.”

“That’s the collar talking,” Lyndie said. “Not him.”

“How do you know?” Reece’s hands were shaking. “How do any of you know that taking off the tack won’t get us killed faster?”

“We don’t,” Fen said. “But I know what keeping it on does. It kills them slowly. It makes them weak when they should be strong. The final trial has the highest death toll, and I want my dragon at full strength, not handicapped by equipment designed to break him.”

Reece’s throat worked. He looked at his dragon, and his face tightened. “If I fall, I’m dead.”

“You won’t,” I said.

“But if I do…”

“We’ll catch you.” Fen’s voice hardened. “That’s what friends do.”

Reece’s shoulders slumped, but he nodded. “Alright. Alright, I’ll try.”

“I’m in,” Lyndie said, but her hands were shaking too.

“Do you trust us?” I asked Reece.

“Yes.”

“Then trust your dragon too. He knows how to fly. The tack just makes you think you’re the one in control.”

Reece’s throat worked, but he nodded.

“I haven’t used anything with Selira,” I said. “That’s why she moves so well. She’s not compensating for runes forcing her fire into channels it shouldn’t go.”

“What else can she do that bonded dragons can’t?” Fen asked.

“I don’t know yet. We’re still figuring each other out.”

More. I felt it through our bond.

What does that mean? I asked in my mind.

She didn’t reply.

“Historically, only two or three riders survive past this point.” Fen’s gaze tracked across our small group. “One will be deemed worthy to approach the Oracle.”

So few riders left. Most of us would die tomorrow.