“How’s Willow faring?” Brielle said as she threw another piece of meat. Vero snatched it out of the air, his massive jaws snapping with a loud crack as they closed around it.
“She’ll need to take it easy for a few days, but she’s mostly in the clear.”
“Good.” Brielle nodded, then added with a laugh, “Though I doubt she’ll take it easy.” She held the meat out to Evelina. Veros’s eyes tracked it closely. “Toss him this and he’ll warm right up to you. Mountain goats are his favorite.”
Evelina hesitated and shuffled her feet nervously. Vero could bite her hand off in the blink of an eye.
Brielle shook the meat. “Come on, he won’t grab it until you throw it.”
Evelina slowly reached out for it, her attention set firmly on the wyvern. Verolookedready to bite her hand off. But he sat perfectly still.
“Now toss it in the air toward him,” Brielle encouraged.
Evelina took a deep breath and slung the meat up. Vero snapped it out of the air before it could descend, causing Evelina to jump back a step.
“Wonderful.” Brielle patted his neck. “Now we ride.” She pointed to the rope, reminding Evelina where to step to leverage her body up. It was smoother this time, but still awkward as she flung her body into the saddle. Brielle sat in front of her, motioning for her to hold on.
“Wings up, V,” Brielle commanded, not giving Evelina any time to adjust before Vero spread his wings out and pushed off the ground. She felt her stomach bottom out again and she closed her eyes as a wave of nausea rolled through her body. The trees beside her blurred and wind whipped her hair across her face. Once they reached the clouds, Vero straightened out, his wings smoothly flapping every few moments.
“We’ll make a small circle around the camp before we head back,” Brielle shouted over the wind. “Just hold on!”
They glided through the clouds until Evelina began to feel at ease atop the beast, the wind calmer with their relaxed flight.
Vero’s head snapped to the right, his ears flattening. He growled, seeing something Evelina couldn’t.
“What is it?” Evelina whispered, her heart racing.
Brielle pointed down through a break in the clouds. Evelina squinted. It was hard to see from so far, but it looked like figures were moving through openings where the trees didn’t cover.
“A rebel group just behind the ridge,” Brielle hissed. “They’re headed in the direction of the camp.”
Evelina froze.
Brielle turned Vero around, dropping altitude to take a closer look. “I’ll take you back to the camp and?—”
“We have to stop them,” Evelina said quickly. From what she could see, there were at least twenty rebels. Not enough for a strategic attack on the camp, but enough that one of them could run off and tell more rebels where they were.
Brielle bit her lip, clearly torn. “I have to take you back,” she said, but her eyes were glued to the rebels fast approaching their hideout.
“No!” Evelina gasped. “There’s no time, you know that.”
There was a pause as Brielle considered, and Evelina waited for her to realize the inevitable.
“Daimon’s gonna kill me,” Brielle muttered before letting out a sharp breath. “Vero, call for backup.”
Vero ascended higher into the clouds and released an ear-piercing screech. The figures beyond the ridge scattered, losing them the element of surprise. Brielle patted his side twice and he flew higher until the clouds covered them completely.
“Daimon and Keir are on patrol,” she explained. “We wait on them before attacking. Stay behind me at all times and keep your eyes on what’s happening below us. If you see anyone attacking, you shout their direction, okay?”
Evelina’s hand trembled where it was still wrapped around Brielle’s waist.
Brielle twisted around to face Evelina, her eyes hard. “Daimon and Keir will take the lead. I won’t let Vero get too close with you riding.”
The sound of wings flapping came from their left. Vero shifted, his ears rotating toward the sound. He let out a small chatter and the flapping wings instantly moved closer.
“We have the advantage here,” assured Brielle, as if thinking out loud. “Three wyverns against twenty rebels will be a quick fight.”
Zephyr and Codax broke through the clouds with Keir and Daimon atop them. Daimon’s gaze landed on Evelina, the small metal accessories of his armor glinting in the sun with the movement. The wyverns forced themselves to hover as they formed their natural formation with Daimon at the center.
