At first, I ignore it. Surely it’s just a desert scavenger flying overhead. But then the screeching grows louder and louder, punctuated by the sharp beats of many pairs of wings. Alarmed, Jyn andI both turn and look up at the sky, now blackened with an incoming swarm.
A murder of crows, numbering in the thousands. Their bloodred eyes are trained on us, the sharp talons of their three feet poised to claw and stab. This is Emperor Róng’s doing; of that I have no doubt. They have spotted us, several crows diving down to begin their assault. One of the creatures slices me across the cheek with its razor-sharp feathers: a warning.
Jyn grabs my hand.
“Run!”
No matter how hard we sprint, we can’t escape the crows. The cacophony of screeches rattles my eardrums, surrounded by the red-eyed swarm. The sand is too soft, our efforts to flee useless. There’s no hope for us, buffeted by the beating of wings, the pecking of sharp beaks, and the piercings of unforgiving talons.
It’s a nightmare, one I can’t wake myself from. The harder I fight, the more resistance I meet. The faster I run, the hotter my muscles blaze. The tighter I try to hold on to Jyn, the faster these damned beasts tear her away. The emperor’s crows have us trapped in the center of their murder, the air growing thicker and harder to breathe with every passing second. They mean to suffocate us into submission.
A crow nearly pecks out one of my eyes, the sting of its beak scraping my bottom eyelid radiating a thousandfold within my skull. I lose my grasp on Jyn’s hand, and her fingers slip from mine.
“No!” I choke.
Panic shreds through me. I have to get to her. I have to. And yet the harder I struggle, the more helpless I become. No matter what method I try, I can’t reach Jyn. The birds have separated us, dragging her away and out of my line of sight. I can see nothing past the blood in my eyes, nor hear my own cries over the chaos.
A sudden shift overcomes me. My panic transforms into an all-out rage, their relentless attack causing my blood to boil over. I have felt this anger before, a force that threatens to explode from deep within my core. All I see is scarlet red.
And then I lash out, driven by a sudden, unexpected thirst for blood.
A crow drives its talons into my shoulder, the piercing of my flesh the catalyst I need to lose control of my other senses. With a swiftness I didn’t know I possessed, I reach out and throttle the bird by the throat, yanking it free of my shoulder. There’s no time to think, only to kill.
I surprise myself when I bite the damned beast’s head clean off. The metallic tang of its blood gushes into my mouth. I spit it out, thoroughly appalled. Confusion storms within me. What’s happening? What are we going to—
My thread suddenly tugs upward.
Jyn has taken to the skies.
With a mighty roar that shakes the earth around me, the emperor’s crows disperse. They fly straight up, following the fierce dragon into the clouds above. She’s a streak of emerald, twisting and looping in an attempt to shake them off. The three-legged beasts have all but abandoned me in pursuit of their true target.
Jyn shows them no mercy, snapping at them with her powerful jaws and frighteningly sharp teeth. They tear into her with just as much ferocity, ripping away scales and clawing at her mane until every other inch of her body is covered in wounds and exposed flesh.
All I can do is stare up at the violence, grounded and completely helpless to stop the madness.
The dragon roars again, this time plummeting hard and fast toward the sand below. Jyn is wounded, unable to keep up the fight. She falls and falls and falls. Just as she’s about to crash—
She instantly changes direction, swooping horizontal mere feet from the sand.
The crows who were in pursuit are unable to change direction in time and smash into the sand all at once, their bodies bursting upon impact. Their blood soaks into the desert, feathers scattered about, carcasses lying broken in the middle of the wasteland. The heat will expedite the rot. My dragon manages to fly toward me, only to transform midair, Jyn’s limp body falling at an alarming speed.
My body reacts before my mind does, my feet carrying me to her as quickly as they’re able. It’s the furthest thing from a graceful landing. I manage to catch her, but her momentum knocks me back. I sit up and anxiously check her injuries. Jyn’s eyes are closed, her breathing shallow. Blood drips down from her face, her arms, her legs. It stains her clothes, the scent of iron weighing heavily in the air.
“Jyn?” I rasp. My hands shake. I’m horrified at the harm they’ve inflicted.
She doesn’t stir.
I don’t know why I look around for help, but I do anyway. Desperation twists at my heart. She’s barely breathing. Surely there must be something I can do to help her. We’ve only crossed half of the Western Wasteland, but it’s clear Jyn is far too injured now to walk.
Only three options present themselves: we head back and risk capture by the emperor, we stay here and die from thirst, or we go forth toward the Moonstar Isles and pray we find a doctor or someone who knows how to heal her.
I gingerly brush her hair away from her face. “Everything will be all right, Jyn. I promise. Please, just hold on.”
Carefully, I lift Jyn and carry her on my back. I trudge forward despite the blunt ache in my eye and the spasms of my body. It hasbecome abundantly clear that I’m no fighter, nor am I a healer. I may not be strong like a dragon, but I can try to be as brave as one.
One step at a time, I march forward. Determination courses through my veins.
Jyn carried me to safety once.
