The bridge groaned under the weight of our shifting bond.
But I moved forward. Because even in her chaos, Kaelith was still trying, and so was I.
Hein launched from the cliffs like a thunderbolt, the wind shrieking as his massive silver wings cut the sky. I barely had time to cry out before the bridge beneath me gave a sickening lurch—then shattered.
Magic crackled like splintering glass.
Luthias shouted my name behind me, but the platform he was on peeled away. He dove back to solid ground, his boots skidding as he landed safely. I wasn’t so lucky.
I was falling.
The wind punched the breath from my lungs, the shimmer of the shattered Crescent Bridge fading above me. I twisted midair, my body weightless, helpless, tumbling toward the jagged earth?—
Until heat and muscle caught me like a cradle of steel.
Scales slammed into my back, firm and impossibly warm, and I let out a strangled breath as Hein’s roar thundered above the gasps of the watching riders.
We hit the ground with a bone-jarring jolt, but Hein absorbed the impact, curling slightly as he landed with a grace that didn’t match his size. The moment he lowered his wing, Zander was there, his hands already reaching for me.
“You can’t escape me that easily,” he murmured, half breathless as he pulled me into his arms.
His voice was teasing, but his hands were trembling.
I clung to him for a second, my heart still in my throat, but then Hein turned.
The massive silver dragon swung his head toward Major Ledor, his molten eyes narrowing.
Fire sparked in his throat.
Low. Rumbling. Threatening.
“Hein…” Zander began, but even he sounded unsure.
The major stood frozen, his lips parted in a wordless command that never came.
Because Hein stepped forward.
One measured step. Then another.
The glow in his chest built to a searing orange, casting flickering shadows on the stunned faces around the grounds. His growl deepened—warning, ancient, furious.
Major Ledor didn’t move.
Not until Siergen’s voice echoed through the bond.Hold, Hein. Your fire is righteous, but she is unharmed.
The glow dimmed.
Just barely.
But Hein’s eyes never left the major, and every rider in the Ascension Grounds understood one thing without it being spoken?—
Hein had caught me.
And the next time they failed to act fast enough…
They would pay… with their lives.
ChapterTwenty-Three
