“DAE, RUN!”
I pinched his skin, clinging tightly as he ripped from his place on the rock and weaved around the barrage of boulders leading to the ledge. Flames pelted from overhead, my back heating instantly. I screamed, unable to curb the fear. Dae didn’t stop. He moved with terrific speed and we continued descending at a rapid rate.
The beat of wings pounded the air, enough to send pummeling pressure into my eardrums. We’d become dragon prey. I’d been able to pull off some pretty incredible escapes over the years, but not one speck of hope simmered within me this time.
I thought of Tula. Of my mom and dad. Of Tio and Rav and Radhak. Of Braxius.
I thought of Dae. Of how he’d been a gods send during this last awful part of my life. How he wouldn’t get to see his brothers because he wouldn’t let me go on this mission alone.
“I’m sorry Dae. I wish we had more time. You have my heart.”
Another booming flap of wings closed in, but Dae didn’t relent, didn’t yield to the uneven terrain. He kept moving, dodging, leaping, tearing up the ground beneath his giant paws.
“Ro!”The tiny voice in my mind let me know the end was near. My brain was calling upon memories, or hearing the beckoning call of those beyond this life.“Tyberius! Leave them be! They are no threat to you.”Strange, I’d never heard that before?
“Braxius?”Tyberius’s voice rumbled like an overseer of the world.
“Brax?”I asked in a confused stupor, still gripping Dae, who scurried down the steep mountainside. “Stop,” I managed to say.
Dae slowed, but rightfully questioned, “Are you sure?”
The slower pace allowed me to peer up from my death grip around Dae’s neck. I glanced around, hoping my mind hadn’t played tricks on me.
The black dragon hovered above, and flapping in front of him was a tiny blue dot. Seeing Braxius in comparison to the behemoth beast froze my heart in my chest. He was so small. If I was prey, he was a gnat.
Suddenly my arrow was nocked and aimed at Tyberius. As if my puny weapon would create any lasting damage, if it could even break the leathery hide at all. My magnified focus drowned out the muttered exchange between the two dragons. A moment later, a gust of wind rushed through the trees and into my hair, strands whipping against my face as Tyberius retreated into the mountains above, navigating the sky like a fish does water.
I lowered my arrow, my jaw hanging slack from shock. “He did it.”
Dae adjusted, witnessing the same thing I had. A blue blur raced toward us and I slid off Dae, ready to give that little dragon all the hugs and kisses I could muster.
“Ro, they took them! They’re taking them back!”
It was possible that life-threatening fear had turned my brain to mush because I craned my head to the side, trying to make sense of what he was saying but falling short. “Who? Who took who where?”
“What?”Dae asked.
Appropriate response.
“Tio and his bright blonde lady. The Order took them!”
I swayed in place and shook my head. “What? No, that’s not—they couldn’t. How would they…You couldn’t have…” A dozen thoughts clambered for first place. Braxius couldn’t have traveled to Rahana and back so fast. If he couldn’t, The Order members couldn’t either, so how would they have them?
“Ro, talk to me.” Dae had transformed into his human form, resting his hand on my shoulder.
Braxius flapped his tiny wings, hovering before us.
“I took the letter, but Dante, his gargoyle friend, Tio, and her were already traveling north. I ran into them and Tio took the letter. I came back with them when I heard what they were doing.”
“What were they doing?” I asked, panic steadily growing as this unlikely reality seemed more plausible by the second. Dae remained silent at my side, his hand moving to grip the back of my sweaty neck beneath my hair, essentially keeping me upright.
“They wanted to test her magic to see if she could break the curse with her light. She couldn’t, and The Order found them. They fought and almost won, but they took them. They’re heading back through Witches Pass. I came as fast as I could.”
“No. No, no, no.”
Dae caught me before I sank to the ground. “Ro, talk to me.”
“My friends. They were coming north. The Order got them.” I looked at him, tears staining my eyes. “They got them, Dae. Theygot them.” My bottom lip quivered, my voice soft and broken. I gripped his shoulders, clawing at them for support.
