“Eliza,” I call out before she can close her door all the way. She pauses and waits.
“Thank you for taking a chance on me.” For just a moment, her face softens. She nods and then closes the door. And that’s that. Eliza has her own sordid past, one that involves being exiled from the Jaguar Kingdom because she didn’t produce a spirit animal during the Trials. She lived for years with the banished, same as me. I hope someday she’ll reconcile her past, but that’s her choice to make. Refusing to feel any more emotion, I step outside and close the door behind me. My eyes take in the two dragons, and I can’t help my smile. Relief fills me at seeing Redara. Knowing I won’t be alone on this journey means more to me than I can say. I hope she knows that.
I do.
I stride towards my dragon. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”
I turn around. “Apparently not,” I say, facing Farrah.
She eyes me and then looks over to Rauk. When her gaze returns to me, there are so many questions...questions I don’t have the answers to. I keep it simple. “Bye, Farrah.”
“Bye, Harper.” She hugs me tightly. Kinsley’s next.
They both watch me with such sad expressions, I can’t help my grin. “I’m not dying; I’ll be back.”
“You’d better be,” Farrah says with a warning in her voice. When I turn back around, it’s just in time to watch Rauk run...like literally run up the front leg of Noxlyn. “And apparently,you’d better work on your mount as well,” Farrah adds.
I climb up Redara the way I know how and settle into my spot between her neck and back.Ready?I ask her.
Absolutely.
You're sure you want to do this, right?
She gives me the same answer. Absolutely.
I look down at my two friends and wave. “See you soon!” They both wave back at me. Then without a word to me, Rauk and Noxlyn take off.
I guess we’re off,I send to Redara.
Guess we are.
Chapter 5
It takes a few minutes for Redara to find her pace at Noxlyn’s side. He’s so much bigger than she is. I give her time to work it out and settle in for the ride. I didn’t even ask Rauk how long of a ride it is, but I’m not about to. I settle in and enjoy the ride. Redara and I fly often but not super long distances, so it’s kind of nice to just fly uninhibited. The novelty wears off about two hours in. At least, it feels like it’s been two hours. I don’t actually know. I want to ask Rauk how much longer, but I don’t want to deal with whatever snide remark he’ll make about me not being able to handle it. Of course, he wouldn’t be wrong. My backside is already starting to hurt, but hopefully we’ll stop soon, and I can get down and stretch.
Spoiler alert.We don’t stop. Ever. We fly and fly and fly until I feel like I’m losing my mind. My legs and backside are far past hurting. My entire body is numb from hours of flying and now from the cold. I shiver again as cold air blasts over me. My fingers are frozen, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to die before weget there. Redara told me at some point that the ride is around twelve hours. I nearly fell off her back at the news. She told me when we were halfway, and that was hours ago. But I can’t bring myself to ask Rauk how much longer. I focus instead on just lasting another five minutes and another five minutes after that. When darkness falls, I’m not sure I can last much longer. Redara plows ahead, even though I worry about her. She’s tired; I can tell. But she doesn’t give up. I talk to her often just to try to stay sane, but she doesn’t always answer back. I know half the time she’s talking to Nox; the other times, I think she’s trying to stay focused.
In the dark, the flight takes on a sinister feel. I know Redara can see clearly, but I can’t. And it feels terrifying soaring through the air like this without being able to see anything. My eyes close, and my head bobs too many times. I’m fighting a losing battle. I dream of my warm bed back home and curse Rauk, the Dragon Kingdom, the cold, and anything else my exhausted mind can come up with. I’m pretty sure I’m going to either freeze to death or simply fall to my death when I can no longer hang on.
The minutes and hours creep by. And then, finally, I see lights in the distance.We’re almost there,Redara sends me. I can hear her exhaustion and wish I could do something about it. The lights finally start getting closer, and I glimpse the city through blurry eyes. My eyes have been watering for hours, and I can no longer get them to clear. I try to blink away the tears so I can see the city, but it’s no use. I keep my eyes closed because they don’t hurt as much that way and trust Redara to get us there safely. She slows, and I crack my eyes open to see Noxlyn take the leadahead of us. Redara follows close behind him. He soars over the walls of the city, and we follow suit. I think there are people on the walls, but I’m not sure. My eyes are officially out of commission. We fly for a little while, and I wonder if we’re ever going to stop. Finally, Redara slows and descends. She lands without her usual grace, and I know it’s from exhaustion. I try to move, so I can get off her back and give her some relief. But I can’t move a muscle. My muscles are locked up tight and completely frozen from the bitter cold.
“You coming, or are you going to stay up there all night?” a voice from below sounds in the quiet. If I had the energy, I'd hurl an insult or two down at him. But I’ve got nothing. And with whatever nothing I have left, I have to figure out a way to come down. “Come on,” he calls out irritably.
“Just go,” I finally snap.
“Why aren’t you coming down?” he growls.
I’ve had it. I’m exhausted and completely tanked. Apparently, the Dragon King doesn’t need to eat. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten, my stomach thinks I’ve died. “I can’t move,” I snap.
“What do you mean you can’t move? Just climb down, so we can go inside.”
“I can’t!” My voice is full of anger and exhaustion, though the anger seems to kind of get a little lost. I can hear him grumbling below me, but I don’t even bother trying to hear whatever idiocy he’s spouting. I try again to move my legs, but it’s a lost cause. Suddenly, arms band around my stomach, and I jerk hard. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you off,” he snaps back at me. I’m helpless todo anything but let him literally drag me off Redara. He pulls me down her back leg and to the ground where he lets me go. “There. Now you’re off.”
If I had the energy, I’d glare at him. But I have none. “Thanks,” I find myself mumbling instead.
I hear a sigh. Then before I realize what’s happening, he reaches under my arms again and pulls me to my feet. “Do I need to carry you in?”
