Page 5 of Lyric

The muscles of our wings tightened. We stretched our head out, snout down, and flew with all our might. But I'd been injured in my human form. And even uninjured, we had never been fast at flying.

The only recourse was to try to get as far away as we could in the next minute and then find a place to hide.

Stay as close to the trees as we can!

We flew low, our belly scraping the tops of the trees. Moments later, I heard Colt’s dragon roar. We turned to look over our shoulder. Even in dragon form, my neck and head ached. I didn't see Colt, but I saw the smoke from a fireball rise up just as we sideswiped a tree that sent us spinning.

Another roar.

Lower!

We glided underneath the treetops navigating as best we could through the thick foliage. But it was like going through a battering ram game at a carnival. We were hit from all sides.

Get me to the ground. If I shift back to human maybe I can find a place to hide.

Jinnan had been silent this whole time, focused on obeying my every command. I could sense he was as scared as I was. We fluttered to the ground none too gracefully, but at least we remained intact. For now.

The rush of another shift took all my senses away for a second, and then I was on my human feet beneath the tree cover in the middle of the woods, naked and alone.

Adrenaline swam through my body. All my senses were on high alert. I tilted my head, my hair tickling my shoulders, held my breath and listened.

The roar of Colt’s dragon echoed throughout the woodland. He and his dragon were mad. The sound went through me like pins and needles. At least it let me know he was still somewhat far away.

I looked around the little clearing where we'd landed. There were only trees as far as I could see. No rocks that might form little caves. No piles of fallen debris to crawl under.

Something liquid fell into my eye. I wiped it away and saw red on my hand. There was a bump on the back of my head as well. I reached up to feel around it. The pain made me hiss.

My only recourse for now was to run and stay under the thickest canopy. It was a given that Colt would find me, but I wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Every step I took jarred my head. But I continued to jog away from the roaring sounds and toward the darkest, deepest shades of the wood. I tried to monitor my breathing, but the pain in my head made it harder by the minute.

Naked, I had no protection from the elements. Branches scraped at my thighs. Sharp little rocks cut into the soles of my feet.

I ran deeper into the woods, into the spaces that were tight and more shadowed. But there was nowhere to go to completely hide myself away. My heart pounded. Sweat dripped from my forehead stinging my eyes.

Again, I glanced around at my surroundings, looking for better possibilities. I saw in the distance some low bushes that appeared promising. I ran toward them.

Just then, a shadow loomed overhead, darkening the woods around me.

3

Lyric

“You've had plenty of time off,” Tolen said. “This next race is perfect for you.” He'd been calling me every day now, telling me about races I should be doing.

“Lyrican isn't ready.”

“Are you hurting still? Didn't your doctor check you over and pronounce you good to go?”

“He checked me. Lyrican refused to shift. He won't let any doctor examine him.”

“What does he say to you?” Tolen asked.

“Nothing. Or, well, very little. He has repeated ‘no more racing’ a few times.” I rested my elbows on my desk, my head in my hands. My phone lay in front of me on speaker.

“Remember, you're the one in charge.”

“I used to be. Not so sure anymore.”

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