I removed my Raltven dagger and shifted toward the largest gap in Cyn's claws. Venturing out all the way would be a bad idea. His claws were too smooth to provide me with a solid handhold. So I altered my plan, replacing my dagger with a mini crossbow. Quickly, I unfolded it, snapping the lengths into place, then fitted a short arrow into the slot. Leaning out of my claw cage, I aimed carefully and took the shot.
The priest above me cried out, clutched at his chest, and gaped down at me. Blood drenched his tunic, and his grip failed. His jaw was still open as he fell to the streets below. If my arrow had missed his heart—which I doubted since I had the benefit of shooting upward, aiming my arrow beneath his sternum so that nothing hindered it—the shot wouldn't kill him. But the fall definitely would. The Shanba hit the ground just in front of a carriage, and he didn't so much as twitch. The carriage's horse, however, neighed in distress and reared while people screamed, but no one was hurt. I mean, beyond the Shanba. The Horns on the city wall were already focused on us, but when they saw the Shanba priest fall, they drew their crossbows.
I waved at the Horns. “Help! Shoot the Shanba! They're controlling the King!”
Still, the Horns hesitated. Their arrows wouldn't do anything to Cyn, not with his dragon scales protecting him, but firing upon the King was not something you did, and the King wasn't saying anything.
“Shoot them!” I shouted.
“Breathe your fire upon those soldiers!” one of the Shanba ordered.
Fuck. I'd shot the wrong one.
“Run!” I altered my plea. “Run! He's going to breathe fire! Take cover! The King is enchanted! Run!”
The Horns didn't hesitate this time. They ran, ducking into the safety of the towers just in time. The Dragon King breathed fire over the wall as he flew past. It was too quick to melt the stone, but still hot enough to burn anything flammable. I spun my head to see the Horns peek out of their hiding spots to gape after us.
“Thank the Gods,” I murmured.
“You will pay for killing Gorsi,” High Priest Alcha shouted at me from Cyn's back, left leg.
I slid another arrow into my crossbow and turned to aim at him. That's when I saw the diadem on his brow, nestled between his antlers. This time, I'd take the right man down.
“Fire that thing, and I will order him to drop you as I fall.”
A good threat. But Alcha wouldn't be able to order anything if I shot him in the throat. I adjusted my aim.
“King Cynric, lift your left front leg!” Alcha shouted.
Before I could fire, Cyn raised me to the level of his chest.
“Fuck!” I growled and lowered my crossbow.
It looked as if our only hope was the King's Guard.
But as we flew over the Tuvasi, I heard Alcha give another order.
“Veer right, King Cynric!”
Cyn banked right, altering his course. As he did, I searched the skies for dragons but found none. Hope died in my chest as we flew toward the Suquari Mountain Range. Where were the knights? I should have been able to see them. Even from miles away, dragons would be visible, but there were no dark smudges on the horizon. The Shanba had gotten lucky, and they didn't even know it. Which made Cyn and me unlucky.
I slumped against Cyn's claws and tried to come up with a plan. After searching my pockets for anything useful, I determined my best bet was already in my hand. Daggers would take too much time, but I could launch arrows quickly. I just had to wait for my chance at Alcha. He was the only one who mattered. If I could kill him, I'd be safe enough to take my time with the other two.
After several minutes of flying, Alcha ordered Cyn to take us down onto a mountain plateau. The King landed, still holding me aloft, giving the Shanba time to climb off his feet.
“Set Ru'din down and shift back to your man form, King Cynric,” Alcha said. “If Ru'din tries to hurt any of us, kill him.”
My stomach clenched, and my crossbow dropped. “Fuck.”
My mate obeyed the command and put me down. As I stood up, Cyn shifted into his prime body and stood in the thick snow, naked. He frowned as he looked from me to the Shanba.
“Cyn?” I started to go to him, but Alcha stepped into my path.
Holding out his hand, he said, “Your crossbow.”
With a grimace, I handed it over, then shoved past him and went to Cyn. “Here, honey.” I took off my cloak and put it around his shoulders. “Can you speak?”
Cyn blinked and looked down at the cloak. He bent his head, sniffed the material, then lifted his stare to my face. “Ru?”
