Page 82 of Ashborne: Defiance

She’d done as I said and attempted to put her feet first. But she hadn’t anticipated how quickly Kham would advance, jerking her with him.

She was yanked out of the fall—hence the shriek—then spun like a top.

With no chance at all to keep her feet against his side and catch her own momentum, she dangled at the end of the strap, swinging back under Kham’s wingspan, turning and rolling as the leather strap twisted and unwound, back and forth.

At one point she bounced off his side, her shoulder taking the brunt of the impact, and she cried out.

My heart leaped into my throat, but she didn’t lose her grip on the leather.

‘I think we’ll have to land,’ I sent to Kham after a couple of minutes, when it was clear she couldn’t get control of her momentum and steady against him. It wasn’t safe for me to crawl down to help her while she swung so wildly. We could get tangled, and then no one had control.

Kham didn’t reply, but immediately began to bank—away from her so the natural shift kept her pressed against his side, rather than flying free. I appreciated his thoughtfulness and clapped a hand against his neck.

‘You’re a good and thoughtful male, Kham.’

Koa joined him in the circling descent. I called down to Grace to let her know we’d land and just to relax as much as possible.

A minute or two later, Kham found a clearing and dropped to the earth.

I winced, knowing she’d have a rough landing, bouncing at the end of that strap. But at least she’d swing free and we’d get her down, soon.

The moment he’d come to a stop, I grabbed the mounting strap and slid down his side, letting her safety strap slide against my waist so her pendulum swing shortened.

She made strange sounds as I descended, and at first I was worried she’d really hurt herself in that impact with Kham’s side.

I got to the length of the strap and caught her, hooked an arm around her to pull her up against Kham’s side, and pin her in front of me so that she stopped swinging.

Her chest hitched and her body shook.

Shit.

“Where are you hurt?” I muttered. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, you can let go of the strap. You won’t fall. I’ll keep you here. Bend your knees and pull your feet up to brace—that’s it.”

I talked her through it, wincing when she finally loosened her grip on the strap to reveal angry red strips across her palms where the leather slipped through her grasp too quickly and burned her, though it could have been worse.

She was still squeaking and spluttering as I sat her in my lap and took one step higher to get some slack on her strap so I could unclip her.

“Can you hold onto me? Do you have the strength?”

She nodded, still gasping. Relieved, I bent my knees deeper, and unhooked the strap from her belt, cradling her in the curve of my body, then positioned her with her feet against him and instructed her how to walk down with me.

I took her weight, only asking her to keep herself positioned for safety. We were already halfway down, so it was only a few moments. But to unclip myself, I had to reach between us. I struggled, holding both our weights with one hand. The arm taking the brunt began to shake when I hadn’t quite been able to slide the clip free.

I yanked too hard to get it done, and even though I succeeded in freeing it, I also jerked when it came free.

Grace squawked. I grabbed for her—only for one of my feet to slide out as I lost my grip on the leather.

I was no longer clipped in, so I instinctively clamped an arm around her middle so she wouldn’t fall—but that meant both our body weights hit the extent of my reach and my grip on the strap broke.

“Bend your knees!” It was the only instruction I had time for before we hit the ground. I tucked my head into her shoulder, curled myself around her and rolled us… sort of.

Half-somersault, half roll, a few hissed curses, and a grunt and squeak from Grace. Then we were finally still. Lying on our sides. One of my arms curled in front of her, hugging her to my chest and hand spread over her cheek and ear in an attempt to stop her grinding her face into the dirt.

I lay there for a moment, as I’d been trained, assessing my body.

Grace twitched immediately, uncurling limbs as if she’d jump to her feet.

“Stop!” I barked. It was reflex. What if she’d broken something? Or injured her neck or back?