“We need to go higher, Zephyros. Fly over the clouds!”
She roared ferociously in response. To anyone else it would have sounded like anger, but I knew better. She was afraid. Afraid of the storm, yes, but more so of losing me. We both understood there would be no smooth, easy glide out of this.
The rain began to pour and slam into me, stealing my breath and soaking through my clothing in seconds. Her scales grew slick. My wet hands strained to hold on to her horns.
She shifted her axis, and we climbed higher into the sky and suddenly we were climbing straight up, the world dropping awaybeneath us. Her big, powerful wings fought valiantly against the fierce winds.
“You can do it. I believe in you!” I shouted.
Her wings flapped once, twice—hammering the rain-slick air, each beat answered by a pulverizing gust that pushed us back.
Her roar boomed across the land. This time it sounded like a cry for help, and my heart broke. This was my fault. I had put this innocent, beautiful creature in harm’s way. But we were almost there. I could see the clear, starry sky just ahead, peeking through a gap in the clouds.
Then, for a brief moment, the sky went completely black, blotting out the moonlight. Within a few feet of us, a vicious bolt of lightning cracked.
Zephyros startled. Her body thrashed violently to the side. The force of her powerful movement was too much. I was tossed from her back like a rag doll.
I began to free-fall through the air.
She looked down at me, screeching in horror, her cry even louder than before.
“It’s ok, I told her in my mind, thank you for trying, go home save yourself.”
She cried again. I could hear the pain in her roar. She cared about me. She was trying to save me, I could sense it, but the wind wouldn’t let her. It grabbed her, flung her, and all I could do was pray she would make it back to the keep.
I was okay with dying. I had been for a long time. I was ready to die when I was attacked in foster care. I was ready to die in the car accident with Danny. I was ready to die during surgery. I was ready to die when I was attacked by the sea serpent, and I was ready to die when the three soldiers violated me.I had spent my entire life on death’sdoorstep, but he has refused to let me in.Perhaps today was finally the day.
I fell past the cloud line, losing sight of Zephyros in the storm.
That was when I heard a booming roar that shook the entire realm. It was deeper and throatier than anything Zephyros was capable of. I glanced up to see an unbelievably gigantic red dragon I did not recognize, diving toward me. Its talons wrapped around me, each claw nearly doubling my height.
I peeked through the gaps between the claws. Dread and defeat clenched around me when the volcanoes came back into view.
Then the familiar jagged edges of the castle appeared in the moonlight. The enormous dragon circled the castle, reducing speed, then swooped low and released me onto the landing dock just outside the main doors.
I hit the ground and rolled a few times before finally coming to a stop on my back. I noticed the sun was just beginning to rise. My body ached. My vision blurred in and out of focus, and my head throbbed with dizziness.
When I regained my senses, I heard the clanking of steel and two males shouting. I rolled onto my stomach and lifted my head. Cercies and Aurelius were fighting with swords and bursts of magic. It was sunrise. Cercies was here for my training.
“You degenerate swine, what did you do to her?” Aurelius yelled.
“Nothing! It wasn’t me. It was a group of soldiers!” Cercies defended, blocking Aurelius’s blow.
“You were supposed to be protecting her!” the Dragon Master shot back, spinning and blasting him with white light.
“I was! She fled from me and ran into them.” He met the blast with a burst of fire.
“Maybe if you weren’t such a revolting bastard, she wouldn’t have run from you. I told you to behave, but no. As soon as your dick gets hard, you forget all about the mission!” Aurelius scolded.
I watched the two of them fight. They were evenly matched in skill, but Cercies had a clear advantage in physical strength and size, while Aurelius relied heavily on his speed and magic. They were so consumed by their battle that they did not notice me.
“You’re one to talk. I may have looked at her, but at least I didn’t try to kiss her!” Cercies snarled, holding his blade to Aurelius’s throat.
Before I could stop him, a voice like rolling thunder crashed down from the sky, heavy with power and command.
“Enough!”Titus roared, and the word itself felt like an order for the entire realm to hear.
A burst of energy shot down, and all three of us became immobilized. My chest was pinned to the gravel by an invisible, vengeful force. Then the ground shook as a massive red beast landed nearby. Titus dismounted the dragon and commanded it to go. He stepped toward us with all the poise and power one would expect from a High Lord.
