The sound of a twig snapping among the trees startled her, and she spun toward the sound, her heart leaping to her throat.
Standing before her was the very creature she despised, the Elf she blamed for her cursed existence.
“Surprised to see me, little human?” the Elf sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. His midnight black hair cascaded around his angular face; his piercing silver grey eyes fixed on Ella with an unsettling intensity.
Ella’s anger momentarily eclipsed her fear. “You!” she cried, putting all of her rage into her voice. He blinked, as if surprised, while she barrelled on. “What do you want, Elf? Have you come to torment me further? To make my life evenmoreunbearable?”
The Elf’s lips curled into a cold smile.
“Oh, I have plans for you, human. Plans that involve repaying the debt you owe me for saving your wretched life.” He extended a hand, and his hands glowed with magic.
“Stay back!”
Ella’s heart raced as panic surged through her veins. The Elf moved too fast for her to see, his hand just a blur as his magic reached out and took hold of her, leaving her immobile.
Ella cursed, and the Elf smirked as she struggled.
“Let me go!”
The Elf ignored her, and looking up into the sky, he whistled.
That sudden wind buffeted her again, but the Elf’s magic kept her upright where she would have fallen.
A moment later, a huge shadow thumped to the ground before her, and Ella shrieked when she recognized it as a firedrake.
There was a saddle on its back, as if it were a horse, Ella saw wildly.
He was going toabducther.
The Elf beckoned her closer, and Ella moved to his side unwillingly, tugged by the magic that had her in its grip.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shook her head and screamed.
“No, no, let me go! Let me go!”
The Elf frowned down at her. “Don’t worry, human, I don’t mean tokeepyou. You’ll be back home before you know it.”
Ella hardly heard him, trying her best to struggle against the magic as he plopped her onto the dragon’s back, and got on behind her. He kicked his heels into the firedrake’s side, and it took off into the sky.
As she left her home behind, Ella’s vision blurred, and darkness closed in around her.
The last thing she heard was the Elf’s voice echoing in her ears as he swore loudly.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ryu stood at the entrance of the stable, his eyes fixed on the unconscious form of the human girl.
How had he ended up in this predicament?
After the Twilight Throne had rejected him, he’d gotten onto his firedrake, Ember, in the hopes of taking to the skies and working out the frustration and the discomfort that had been eating away at him all day.
And somehow, without even realizing that he had made a conscious decision one way or another, Ryu had found himself directing Ember to fly on, following the instinct that had tugged at him, beckoning him closer.
Until he had found her.
The human he needed to find.
The girl he had healed.
