“She’s a pretty cool beast,” Keary says, tapping the top of Kaida’s head softly.
“Right,” Thara says, unconvinced. “Hang on.”
“To what?” I mutter and am almost promptly knocked off my feet.
Notto and Keary grip my arms on either side of me while Kaida presses her body along the backs of my thighs to keep me upright as the ground heaves up like the crest of a wave and we begin gliding along the ground.
“This is the way to travel,” Drystan yells over the grinding of the earth beneath our feet. “Look how much ground we’re covering!” He laughs wildly.
Notto shakes his head, though I have to admit, he’s not wrong.
The tower that we’re heading toward is what Mama said were communication towers back when humans ruled the world. It’s still standing just as sturdy as it had been a century ago. The metal is a little rusted in places, but they were built to last.
I crane my neck to look at the top. I have no idea how tall they are, but I can see nests all along the top tiers, secured between cross bars and spanning the widths. As we approach, I don’t see any beasts. They look like empty nests.
It isn't until we're close enough to the towers that they seem to feel the vibration of the earth that I see the beasts. Our first glimpse is of their wings as they spread out, then it drops from the nest.
I’m not sure what I’m seeing. The wings look remarkably like those of a butterfly, but the body is a hodge podge of animals. A long alligator tail, claws of a giant cat, the body of a horse or something. Their heads are completely beast-like. I can’t liken it to anything I’m familiar with from books, not even a dinosaur.
“How do we ride them?” I ask. They’re the size of elephants in the sky right now, so I imagine that they’re enormous up close, which bodes well for them being big enough to ride. But they’re hundreds of feet in the air. Are they just going to land beside us and let us hop on? That seems unlikely.
Talice laughs, and the next thing I know, we’re being launched into the air. I might have screamed except that the sudden shock of it has taken my voice.
We soar into the air, and our momentum doesn’t stop until we pass the peak of the tower. The ground below is far enough away that I know I’d be flattened into human goo if I hit it from this height.
There’s a moment when I hover in the air once I reach the peak of the momentum, then I fall. A yelp leaves my throat as I stare at the ground.
One of the winged beasts is suddenly under me, and I land on it softly. My hands grip the fur there. Fur that I didn’t realize was there from the ground.
Holy fuck. Holy fucking fuck. I’m going to die. This is how I die.
Wild laughter fills the air, and I force myself to turn my head and look. Thara is riding the beast by standing upright. She’s not hanging on at all. Her smile is wicked, filled with nasty teeth. Her eyes glint silver.
Beyond her is Keary. He’s not standing up, but he’s not hanging on either. His hands are in the air and his head thrown back.
My heart nearly leaves my body when I watch Amyre jump into the air then fall toward the ground. I dare look over the side of my beast to see her spiraling down. Another winged beast crosses her path, and she lands effortlessly on its back.
Holy fuck. I’m going to have a heart attack.
We soar all around the tower as the beasts glide and spin and fly. My heart never calms and my fear never leaves, but a bubble of excitement builds in my stomach and chest. My adrenaline races as I look around. The view from here is incredible. With the clear day, I can see for miles.
The landscape doesn’t look as dead from this height as it does when we’re walking. The destruction of buildings doesn’t appear so substantial this far away. I can probably trick myself into imagining that the world is filled with life once again by looking at it from so high up.
Kaida circles my beast, and I flash her a wide smile. I’d love to reach my hand up and touch her. She’s close enough that I think I can. But no matter how hard I try to convince my hands to release the fur I’m gripping tightly, there’s no loosening my death hold.
I nearly have a heart attack when Notto jumps off and dives for the ground. He’s followed by Keary, then Talice.
“Time to go,” Amyre says as she lands on the back of my beast. She grips my arm, and before I can argue, she throws us over the side of the beast so we’re free falling.
I’d scream except with the wind rushing into my face as rapidly as it is, I feel like I’m hitting a wall. I can’t find enough breath to scream.
Amyre doesn’t let go of my arm until Kaida shoves her away with her paws against Amyre’s chest, snapping her teeth in Amyre’s face. Amyre releases me, and my girl somehow maneuvers until I’m clutching onto her back. Thank fuck she’s big.
My fall decelerates as the ground gets closer. Kaida’s paws hit, and she runs along the surface until she can come to a stop without throwing me off. At this point, my entire body is shaking .
Does mating a monster make me immune to death by steep falls? Because fuck, my entire life just flashed before my eyes.
I take a deep breath, burying my face in Kaida’s back. The girls’ laughter fills the air.
