The wyvern’s thick and heavy outer lids resisted, trembling with the strain as it tried to wrench its eyes open.
Fuck! This was an awkward position.
The burn that ran through my thighs and butt hurt worse than the advanced Pilates course I’d taken after I’d been drinking the night before.
An almost indignant grumbling snarl rose from the wyvern, and it tried to jolt back. Kai made some sort of strangled gasping growl.
“Shut your eyes, wyvern!” I shouted, hoping it obeyed commands when someone was on top of it. Most guys did, so why not him too? I clenched my hands around the horns until my fingers cramped and tried bouncing to push them down more.
The lids gave a fraction, then another, grinding shut under force.
The wyvern screamed through its teeth, a furious, muffled sound. Its body thrashed beneath me, but its eyes remained closed despite the lids trembling under my sneakers. Its head snapped side to side as it tried to jar me loose. I clung to the horns and pressed harder, my calves burning and my thighs shaking as I forced the lids down again each time they twitched.
Then they finally shut, or at least it seemed like they had. I couldn’t exactly see from this wide-stance reverse tabletop.
“Keep its eyes shut. I’ll hold it steady,” Kai bit out.
“Sounds better than dying,” I snapped back as smoke clawed at my lungs.
The wyvern bucked again, violently enough that my teeth clacked and my stomach lurched. Still, the lids stayed sealed under my weight, the wyvern trembling with rage that had nowhere to go except into its thrashing body. The burn through my hamstrings and glutes intensified, and my shoulders screamed at me.
Smoke curled past my face in greasy strands until everything blurred at the edges. I locked my knees, leaned back deeper, and dug my heels down when the head trembled and the beast tried to shake me off once more. The rage-filled, muted growls rumbled through my whole body.
I couldn’t see Kai anymore. The curve of my own body meant I was looking over the back of the wyvern’s head and into the sky. The town was engulfed in flames, and the silver patterns continued to form in the sky. I expected to see enemy soldiers charging down the street at any minute, especially from the shouts and clashes of metal that rang from farther ahead near what I assumed was the Market Square and perhaps in the streets beyond it. The battle wasn’t far away.
More silver and shadowy cords crawled over the wyvern’s neck and jaw, brightening and dimming in uneven pulses that matched the way its body shuddered beneath me.
“You’re welcome,” I yelled down into the chaos, breath tearing out of me as my muscles burned like the buildings beside us. I tried not to think of the fact that I was completely on display in this pose. Oh, fuck, it hurt! “In case I didn’t hear your thank you and all.”
A rough sound came back like half a laugh and half a snarl. “You are the most ill-timed, infuriating complication I’ve ever had, Hannah of Tennessee.”
“Had? You never truly had me, King Kairos of Grouch Land. I escaped,” I bit back. This was the longest minute of my life, and I realized I had no idea how long it would take for him to remove the gem. Talking had to help distract from the agony, right? And bonus, it made him angrier, since I clearly brought out his best side.
Another grunt followed.
The wyvern jerked hard enough that my left foot almost slipped. Agony lanced through my tensed lower back, and I tightened my grip on the horns and forced my weight down again. My sneakers ground against the lids as they twitched, trying to open.
Fast and uneven footsteps pounded over stone and debris, coming toward Kai from the direction of the castle.
“What in all the cursed hells is going on?” Ashren’s breathless voice shouted. “Is she—what’s she doing to its head?”
“Hey, Ashren.” I forced cheer I didn’t feel into my voice. “I’m just being a hood. What took you so long?”
Another set of footsteps skidded to a stop closer to the wyvern’s head, and someone sucked in a sharp breath.
“Do I get up there and put the hood on now…or leave her there?” It sounded like Ashren was near Kai.
“Leave her there. Steady the wyvern. I’ve almost got the gem,” Kai bit out. "Don't let it slip or open its eyes, or the enchantment will backfire, and we'll all be dead."
What the fuck? I was literally sitting on a giant bomb? Olen hadn't mentioned that, if the wyvern opened its eyes, we'd all go up in flames! I’d thought, once the eyes were shut, the bomb risk went away.
“You can’t be serious…” Another familiar voice rose in disbelief.
My attention jerked in that direction, and I forced a grin when I saw Blue Eyes looking up at me.
His mouth opened, and then he closed it as he stared. “You can’t stay like that forever.”
A defiant laugh clawed its way out of my chest despite the burn. “Watch me.”
