Above me came sounds of impact—wing beats and roaring and the scrape of claws on scales as Drav and Kethar engaged each other. Which meant Vhel was unoccupied and would be coming for me.
Wings appeared at the entrance moments later.
Vhel landed in the opening, folding his wings against his back to fit through the narrow space. Smaller than Drav but still massive—seven feet tall with dark gray skin and wing membranes that showed the first signs of thinning. His eyes locked onto me immediately.
"You're pregnant," he said, voice rough with the sickness beginning to affect him. "Heavy. Slow. This won't take long."
My hand moved to my belly instinctively, protective of the eggs growing there. Safe. I'd keep them that way no matter what this male thought he could do.
"Come find out," I said.
He moved forward, wings folded tight against his back to navigate the cave system. Good—exactly what I needed. Limited maneuverability in the confined space would work to my advantage.
I backed into the passage I'd chosen earlier, the one that led to the eastern chamber and the trap I'd prepared. The one with the marked floor section that looked solid but wasn't.
Vhel followed, confident in his superior strength and certain this would be easy. "Kethar promised me I could have you if thisworked," he said, claws scraping stone as he pursued me deeper into the caves. "Said I'd get to claim you, breed you, keep you. All I had to do was kill your male first."
"How's that working out for him?"
"He's handling it." Vhel lunged suddenly, faster than I'd expected.
His claws struck bone, sparing the child. Ribs. I felt something give—crack—and gasped despite trying to stay silent.
I threw myself right into a narrow crack system that I'd scouted yesterday. His next strike missed by inches as I wedged myself into the gap, and the pain in my ribs screamed with every movement.
He tried to follow but his shoulders were too wide for the opening, wings scraping uselessly against stone walls as he struggled.
I forced myself deeper into the crack despite the agony lancing through my flank, knowing I had to move, had to lead him where I needed him. Each breath hurt. Each movement sent fire through my ribs. But I'd hurt worse and I could function through this.
Emerged on the other side breathing shallowly, each inhale sending sharp pain through my left side. Cracked rib at minimum, maybe two. But the eggs—I could still feel them through the bond. Still safe. The blow had struck bone, sparing the child, and that was what mattered most.
Keep moving. Lead him to the trap.
Vhel backed out of the crack, frustrated by the delay and the fact that I'd escaped him again. He had to go around the long way, which bought me precious seconds to reach the eastern chamber.
I ran deeper into the cave system, every step sending pain through my side but I'd experienced worse. I could function through this. Had to function through this.
The marked section was in the center of the eastern chamber—small cairns at each corner that would mean nothing to Vhel but everything to me. The floor looked solid, black obsidian same as everywhere else in the cave. But underneath, thermal erosion had hollowed it out over decades or centuries, leaving the stone maybe an inch thick. Wouldn't hold significant weight.
I crossed it carefully, stepping on the reinforced edges where the structure was still sound. Reached the far side and turned to face him.
Vhel entered the chamber and saw me across the open space.
"Already injured and we've barely started. This really won't take long at all."
"Nowhere left to run," he added, moving toward me with that confidence of someone who thought they'd already won.
"Who said I was running?"
He charged straight across the marked section without hesitation.
The floor held for his first two steps, stone groaning under his weight. Then it cracked—not catastrophically yet, just a sound that should have been warning enough.
He tried to stop, spreading his wings for balance, but the momentum carried him forward and the stone gave way beneath him.
He dropped.
The chasm under The Eyrie was deep enough that I heard him hit the walls multiple times on the way down, heard his wings snap trying to catch air in space too narrow to deploy them properly. Heard the final impact at the bottom that ended with sudden silence.
