Acid slips through my veins. This was supposed to help our problems, not make them worse.
Respira.
Gasping breaths come in, and I close my eyes. I think of everything Liana told me, of the cards with the magic futures, of the Fuegorra, and reading crystals, and visions, and giving blessings.
I begin to count; not mindless steps; but the good things in my life.
Teo, Mikal, my home, Arlet, Meli, Svanna…
Soon, I am filled with light.
It’s then that my eyes reopen.
My magic can connect with other crystals. I lift a shaking hand off the handle and lean forward to press my palm into her stones. It takes a moment for me to focus my concentration properly, but when I do, the light begins to burn.
For a minute, my awareness slips away, and I no longer see. The world is black and white and perfectly clear.
All around me, there is sound and frequency, like strings of light that can be followed in every direction. It is a miracle toachieve such perfect clarity while sinking into such utter darkness.
Drathorinnalistens to my command, and when I point her towards the lines that lead to the sky, she follows.
My human body feels the rush of air, and the bite of frigid temperatures, but my other senses discard such discomforts as we fly under the moon itself.
When we draw high enough for the wind to scream against the melodies we create and the air to grow thin. Only then do I aim to return to the ground.
I realize my mistake when she begins to spiral downwards. I pull her back up, and we gently lean into each other, sensing the right way to go. We avoid the mountain peaks and the other creatures that roam the night sky.
High in the misted clouds, the lyre string in my chest is pulled back, and then, a beam of light shoots out ofdrathorinna’smouth.
It draws me out of her mind in shock, and when I return to myself, a voice hits my head almost instantly.
Estela, my star.
I gasp when I see the world around me. We cut through clouds. Ice whips at my face, and when the creature veers to the left, I look down. There is… nothing keeping me from plummeting to my death. From this high above the trees, my stomach lurches. The snow glistens, fires burn in the distance, and the stars twinkle.
The world is so much bigger than Zlosa or a cottage. It is bigger than the enormous city under the mountain.
For a second, I don’t respond to my mate, I savor the sensation of being brought to my knees before that which I had never known.
My star, Teo says again, this time more insistently,how youshoot across the sky. I see you atop the glacialmara. Please, come back down.
Worry returns. What ifdrathorinnahurts him?
As if reading my thoughts,drathorinnasends me something akin to, “I will only attack when you say.”
Warmth spreads throughout my chest, and I look down to see the entrance to Enduvida. I am too far up to see anything more than a few meager glimmers of what I assume to be spell light below.
Tapping back into my enormous mount, I push her back to the ground.
My stomach lurches as we draw near to the hard ground. We pull up with not a second to spare, and our landing is still a hard crash. I scream as I am yanked around once again, this time jolting off the creature.
The terrifying moment of weightlessness is ended in a second when a claw reaches around me, holding me safely before lying me on the ground.
My chest heaves, and I sense others draw near.
Teo and Liana are the two who approach, but I can barely move my neck. My body is weak from clutching onto scales for dear life.
I experience the sensation of still being in the middle of the air, burrowing through time and space.
