AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fine. Maybe it wasn’t that easy, and it was going to take all of us to make it happen. I knew Vyper would go along with my crazy plan, he had so far, but that meant Draco would have to be the one to distract the Sorcerer and possibly the beast while I got Evie. Considering he was still slightly trembling from fear as he followed my instructions, I didn’t see that happening. I couldn’t blame him, though. Tens of full-grown Dragons had fled at the mere sight of the four-headed beast.
Dragging myself closer to Vyper’s ear, and praying with everything I had that he understood, I gripped one of the punk fin-looking flaps on his upper neck.
“Okay, here is what we are going to do!” I had to speak loudly for my voice to still reach him, yet I did it as carefully as possible. “You are going to distract the man in the demon mask on the left, while Draco and I fly to the right and try to reach Evie. But, we have to be careful not to alert the monster, so he won’t attack us. If we are lucky, we can take advantage of his blind spots. Nod if you understand.”
Vyper snorted, half insulted, like my last statement was the stupidest thing he’d heard. Of course he understood.
Fine, I guess that was as close a confirmation as I was going to get.
Holy hell. My gut tightened as I realized that for my plan to work, I pretty much needed to change Dragons, without landing, because we couldn’t waste any time. Maybe I was, in fact, crazy. “I need you to fly me as close to Draco as you can. I need to leave your back and get on top of his.”
Yep. Insane.
Vyper’s head turned to his bluish brother—or friend, or cousin, I had no idea how that worked for his kind—and he stared at him until Draco nodded. Had they mentally communicated? The next moment they glided towards the other. After they had gotten as close as they could, Vyper glanced back at me, and motioned me to jump over with his arm.
What in the actual fuck?
“I’m not going to jump from your back to his mid-air, while we fly who knows how many thousand feet over the sea. Are you crazy?!”
Glaring at me, he bounced, trying to propel me from his back. Now he was plain trying to kill me.
“No!” I shouted in his ear and he grumbled under his breath.
Pulling slightly apart again, his left wing extended, overlapping with Draco’s right wing as he followed his lead, and creating a sort of platform or bridge for me to cross. Their other wings continued to flap while they remained connected, keeping us in the sky. I guessed that was as good as it was going to get for me. Lifting my right arm, I touched my forehead with my fingers, my chest, and then my left and right shoulders, placing a kiss over my thumb once finished.
I had never been truly religious, more of a spiritual person, but if there was ever a time to make the sign of the cross and pray not to die a horrible death, this was definitely it.
On all fours, I made my way in a weird, half-walk, half-crawl to Vyper’s wing, and without another thought, I stepped onto the made-up bridge. Their skin was leathery, firm but soft under my hands as I pushed myself to stand on them. Heart thundering so fiercely it almost broke out of my chest, I carefully but steadily walked, reaching the middle of the way just to lose my balance when their wings disconnected. The wild current coming from the giant beast’s flaps had forced the kids to sway.
Sidestepping not to fall, I crouched on the tip of Vyper’s wing, seeing the kids connect once more. Damn it. My heart was now in my throat, but hey, at least it was still beating, and I was not a splat on the ground. That was always a plus. Feeling them stabilize under me, I stood and ran the rest of the way, spewing every curse word I’d ever heard under my breath.
The moment I dropped onto Draco’s back, they disconnected, and Vyper shot up, swerving to take the left side like I had asked. He was brave, but too impetuous for his own good.
“To the right!” I immediately shouted in Draco’s ear, and swiftly held onto the harness while he too swerved, wasting no time.
A wave of relief rushed through my chest, and my new ride flew us onto the beast's back, heading towards the place where Evie and the Sorcerer stood.
“Think about it, Princess. If you accept my proposal, your people will stop dying, and you can leave in peace again.” The voice of the man in the demon’s mask reached me a moment before Evie sneered.
“That isn’t a proposal. It’s a sentence. There is no peace in a life of forced servitude. My people would gladly die with honor, fighting for what they believe in, before becoming your slaves again.” Her body slightly jerked, trying to free herself from him, but he yanked her closer.
“I would much rather make a deal with you than kill you, insolent girl,” he spat. “Do you not know the power I wield? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I could never be scared of such a filthy criminal. Someone who uses their power to kill and torture the very people of his realm, and the creatures that would give their lives for us without second thought isn’t a ruler. It’s a coward,” Evie declared; her voice rang with conviction.
“Careful, little princess. In case you haven’t noticed, I hold your life in my hands,” he sneered, rattled by her insult, and the sharp tips of his staff pierced her skin.
A strangled gasp left her lips, hands flying to the weapon to try to ease it away from her bleeding skin, but it was futile. “If you think killing me today will make my people stop fighting to reclaim what is theirs by birthright, you are sadly mistaken. My death will not stop them, Raithian. It will fuel them until they drive a spear through your head and our Dragons roast it in celebration.”
The sight of her blood made rage like I had never felt slam into my chest, coursing in waves of vengeance. Not once, not twice, but three times the emotion coursed through me, igniting invisible fire inside me. And still, it was the echo of her words that drove me forwards.
“Raithian…”
The name she had called him mixed with my mother’s voice in my mind.
“Raithian… He murdered your father.”
Draco and I shot towards Evie just as Vyper spit a blazing sphere at the Sorcerer. It exploded at his feet, the flames licking up his legs and singeing the scales where it crashed.
