Page 92 of Of Steel and Scale

I called to my fire and flung it toward him. Pain erupted through my brain, but I narrowed my gaze and blinked away the tears, watching the progress of my fireball. His bird banked away at the last minute and my fireball tumbled past them both. But as the bird resumed its original path and its rider raised his weapon again, I looped the fireball back around and arrowed it straight at the two of them. A heartbeat before it hit, I flicked my fingers wide, increasing the intensity of my weapon and wrapping the two of them in white-hot flame.

They went up in a whoosh, their agony barely given voice before the flames consumed them.

As they became little more than molten metal and ash, what sounded like a battle cry rose from the remaining two. They were giving chase, not giving up.

I swore and studied the distant shoreline. If we could get there, if we could find somewhere to shelter, we might have a chance of surviving....

Kaia tried to increase her speed, but the damage to her left wing—and the stress she was putting it under—not only meant more of the membrane was tearing, but also that her thrust was reduced. She was relying more and more on her right wing and that, in turn, meant we were slowly moving to the right.

I called to my fire, but pain seized my brain, and the mote in my eye burst. Blood trickled over my eyelashes, but I ignored it, forced flames to my fingers, and cast it toward the nearest rider. It banked away, and I flicked my fire after him, forcing him further away before the distance became too great between us and the flames faded.

The other one continued to follow us, neither coming any closer nor falling away. Waiting, I suspected, for Kaia’s wing to fully fail.

The headlands grew closer, the sun brighter as it rose toward midmorning. The waves grew larger and more numerous as we raced toward the dark sands that designated home but not safety.

My gaze rose and, after a second, I recognized where exactly we were. I’d been to this area a long time ago. Had saved a young female drakkon here once....

The thought had barely crossed my mind when Kaia bellowed, a long and haunting sound that resonated with unusual strength. It was a cry that washed across the waves below us, swept over the shoreline, and rose to echo amongst the peaks.

If it was a call for help, there was no response.

She bellowed again, this time with more force.

For several heartbeats, the only answer was the distant cry of kayin.

Then a red drakkon rose over the top of the mountains, her scales dripping like blood in the brightness of the day. Another drakkon rose behind her, also red, but smaller.

Three against two were far better odds....

It was at that very point when the brown liquid tore through Kaia’s right wing.

11

As Kaia’s wing crumpled,I turned and flung fire at the closest rider. His mount twisted away, and my flames singed its tail feathers, melting their tips but doing little else. They simply didn’t have enough heat—Isimply didn’t have enough heat left.

As white-hot lances of agony cut through my brain and blood flooded over my lashes, I dragged my bow from across my back, then pulled two arrows free. One I held in my teeth, the other I notched and drew back. I sighted on the nearest bird, unleashed, and then notched the next arrow. As the bird banked away, I quickly calculated its path and our fall trajectory, then released. The arrow flew straight and true, sinking deep into the joint between the bird’s wing and body. It wasn’t the killing shot it would have been with a much smaller bird, but it was nevertheless one that would make its ability to fly more difficult.

The incoming drakkons bellowed, and the rider of the bird I’d injured made a motion to his companion, and the two retreated toward the island.

I sucked in a breath, relieved. One problem down, another to go.

I slung my bow back across my shoulders and returned my attention to the dark sands that were approaching with alarming speed. We were definitely going to crash, and if I remained on Kaia, I’d more than likely die, crushed by her weight if she stumbled and fell.

Jumping wasn’t exactly a great option either but...

I hastily unclipped the harness and backpack, then slipped my feet from the stirrups and shifted my weight, rising on her back enough that my feet were now underneath me. I gripped the rope around her spine to steady myself, but it was a precarious, dangerous position given how violently she now lurched as she battled to slow her speed and keep some semblance of control. At the last possible moment, she lifted herself up and shoved her legs forward. Her talons hit the dark sand first, but we were going too fast, and she began to tumble. I threw the backpack down, then leapt clear as her whole body went up and over me. I fell for what seemed an eternally long time, only to have the sand sweep up to me with surprising rapidness. I hit, somehow managing to keep my knees slightly bent against the shock of landing, but my left foot ended up in some sort of depression and pain tore up my leg. I gritted my teeth against the scream that rolled up my throat and followed the momentum of the fall, pushing forward into a roll in a desperate effort to absorb more of the impact and prevent bones from breaking.

I landed hard enough on my back to be winded, and for several seconds, did nothing more than stare up at the blue sky, echoes of shock and pain reverberating through me. I was alive... but was Kaia?

I scrambled upright and swung around. The dark sand was deeply trenched and led into the trees and a trail of destruction. I swore and ran; my ankle protested violently against the movement and the pain that burned up my leg was so fierce I felt like I was going to be sick. I sucked in the sharp, salty air and did my best to ignore it, stumbling on up the beach and into the trees.

The destruction ran deep. But then, she was a big drakkon.

Kaia? Are you okay? Are you hurt from the crash?

There was a long pause, and my heart hammered in fear. She couldn’t be dead. Vahree surely wouldn’t be so cruel....

Herecame her sharp, somewhat annoyed reply.Wing broke.

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