My breaths came out in short gasps as I felt the carriage shift, but still, the shadows held. It was solid and smoky at the same time, with small wisps that broke off and stroked my arm. Energy poured out of me in droves, strengthening the wall as my heart hammered in my chest.
“Don’t drop us,” Everett whispered. His muscles strained from the effort it took to keep both of us from falling. One arm was wrapped around my waist, while his other clung to the inside of the carriage.
Slowly, painstakingly slowly, I urged the shadows to tilt us back on four wheels. Sweat slicked my clothes, and my arms strained from exertion, but I never loosened my hold. Inch by inch, the carriage righted itself.
With a motion that made my heart jump up mythroat, we were yanked backward and onto solid ground. A yelp left my lips before the carriage door was ripped off its hinges and rough hands encompassed my body.
All the fight left me when I saw Nox’s face. Enormous navy wings loomed large behind him, blocking the sunlight while his arms dragged me from the broken carriage.
“Devora—”
“You didn’t leave me,” I mumbled, and my eyes fell shut as I collapsed in his hold.
27
Nox
Ihadn’t felt fear like that in years. One moment, I was riding ahead to clear space for the carriage, and the next, Devora’s scream tore through the air.
I bolted back for them as quickly as I could, my wings already ripping free from my back. By the time I reached the cliff, the carriage was suspended on a cloud of shadows as if it weighed nothing. Relief hit so hard my knees nearly gave out.
Half-shifted, I wrenched the carriage to safety and tore the door off its hinges. Devora was barely conscious before she went limp in my arms again. Arowyn took a nasty bump to the head, and the driver had some bruises, but nobody was gravely injured. I sent the driver ahead to fetch help while we collected our supplies.
Arowyn took Devora’s limp body as Everett and I loaded our bags onto the two remaining horses, but all my senses were tuned to the rhythm of Devora’s breaths. I didn’t know what exerting that much power in such a short amount of time would do to her, and until she woke up, I was on high alert, my nerves frayed and temper short.
Everett started to lift Devora onto the back of his horse with him, and I snarled, “No. Take Arowyn.” I jerked my head to the Strider. “Devora’s coming with me.”
He raised an eyebrow, but I turned away before he could respond. I held Devora to my body with one arm as I mounted Tempest, leaning her against my chest and making sure she was fully in the saddle before grasping the reins in one hand. Her steady heartbeat and warm puffs of air on my arm eased my anxiety by a fraction, and the four of us set off down the last incline.
I didn’t want to look too closely at the way my Shifter half purred in my chest when Devora stirred, her head nestling further into me. I was glad she was sleeping, even if it took being knocked unconscious to succumb. She’d been working too hard. Hardly letting herself rest while we were in Tenebra, and always ready for more training, no matter how big the circles under her eyes grew.
A stab of guilt pierced me. Again, that was probably my fault. I’d pushed her too far, put too much pressure on her role in this mission. Made her think success was the only path to her answers and her redemption. Assigned her worth to what she could do forme.
Wasn’t that part of why I despised Scarven so much? Viewing my dragon as a weapon, ready to wield at any given turn. How was what I was doing any better than that?
Devora shifted in her sleep, and I tightened my hold. The end of her tunic rose when she curled her arms around my waist. My fingers accidentally pressed into bare skin, gliding above the waistband of her leggings.
She had complained about being cold this entire journey, but she felt likefire.
Heat spread up my arm, and when she let out a soft sigh, my dragon rumbled.
I had to hold on to her, or else she’d fall off. That was what the rational part of my brain said, anyway. I didn’twantto be near her. I didn’twantmy skin to tingle everywhere her body touched mine.
The horse’s trot pushed her deeper into the saddle, her side pressing and shifting against me with every motion. I tried to think ofanythingelse. Anything other than her scent, or the way the topof her head brushed my neck, or how her fingers clenched my shirt in her sleep.
I didn’t have to try for long. A moment later, she gave a shuddering gasp and jolted awake. I hastily loosened my hold. She jerked her arm away and looked up at me with confusion.
“Where—what happened?” she rasped, glancing around at the cluster of rocks and pine trees as we passed. The sun was beginning to set behind us. Its dark orange and golden rays cast the tips of the trees in shadows.
I cleared my throat. “Your carriage malfunctioned, and you nearly went off the side of a cliff, but your shadows stopped it. You passed out after using so much power.”
“What about Arowyn? Is she alright?”
“She’s fine. Everett is too. They’re behind us on the other horse. We’ll need to stop and make camp soon.”
She blinked and looked down, seeming to just then realize we were sharing a horse. A hint of pink spread from her chest and up her neck. She tried to scramble away to put space between us, but my arm held her firmly in place. “Sorry, I—I didn’t mean to sleep for so long?—”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said gruffly. “You saved them. You were—” I stopped myself and swallowed. “You deserved to rest.”
