Page 48 of Of Scale and Blood

“They’ll no doubt grumble to Kaia and me about your lack of balance and how damn difficult you’ve now made things.”

Truth, came Rua’s thought.Better not to fall.

I repeated this out loud for their sakes, and they both grinned.

“Now, gear up, both of you.”

I watched as both carefully “saddled” their drakkons, providing guidance where needed before asking each drakkon to extend a front leg so that the two women could clamber up.

Kele sucked in a breath when she was finally seated behind Yara’s last neck spine. “Damn if the ground isn’t a long way down.”

“Wait until you’re in the clouds before you complain aboutthat.” I glanced at Hannity. “You good?”

She nodded, her expression a mix of awe, determination, and fear. The latter was certainly natural, given how very new all this was to her. At least Kele had spent enough time around the drakkons now not to be overawed by them.

“I’ll use the usual hand signals to communicate directions when we’re in the air. Until you’re used to flying, it’s better we not risk losing the scribe quills. Kaia will, as I said, relay all directions to your drakkons.” I paused. “If we do come across the gilded riders, be aware that the stuff they spray is acidic, and they will aim for the wings of the drakkons in an effort to bring them down.”

“And if we get hit?” Hannity asked, frowning. “I’ve only a basic field medical kit with me and nothing in there will counter an acid-like substance.”

“Water will stop the damage, so if either you or your drakkons get hit, you’ll be ordered to a shoreline to soak in the sea. You’ll need to be in the water for at least ten minutes.”

“The sea water will sting like a bitch on any wounds,” Kele commented.

“Yep, it certainly will, but better that than the liquid shit eating through flesh, muscle, and bone.”

“Put like that, I’d have to agree.”

I grinned. “The launch out of the aerie can be somewhat... daunting. Just hang on and you’ll be fine. Oh, and if the wind gets too fierce, hunker behind her spine—it’ll deflect the worst of it.”

Both women nodded. I spun and strode over to Kaia, scrambling up her extended leg and onto her neck. After clipping my pack and quiver onto their D-rings, I attached my harness then glanced around. “Right, let’s do this.”

We test? she asked.

I grinned.We should. It’s not right that I’m the only one to experience the terror that is that drop.

She chuckled and headed out of the cavern, her body rolling from side to side. When we reached the edge of the landing platform, she spread her wings and bellowed. Behind us, Yara joined in, and the sound reverberated sharply across the peaks. The queens were ready to fight, and they didn’t care who knew.

Then she leapt off the edge and flew—or more precisely, dropped—down the side of the steep, dark mountain, arrowing toward the barely visible valley floor far,farbelow. The speed of our descent shoved me back hard, snapping taut the rope holding me on, but a grin nevertheless stretched my lips. I’d been through this more than once now, and the initial terror had very definitely given way to exhilaration.

As the foothills started looming way too fast, Kaia spread her wings to halt our plunge and soared upward at a gentler pace. I twisted around to check the others. Yara and Rua were still plummeting, and Kele was grinning fiercely. Hannity was screaming, though it was definitely a mix of exhilaration and fear rather than sheer and utter terror.

They do, came Kaia’s comment.

Will, Yara agreed.Like this one. Fierce.

Rua didn’t say anything, and I had a feeling she was reserving judgment. That was fair enough given how little interaction the two had had.

We flew high along the spine of the Black Glass Mountains, cutting through wispy clouds that encased its various peaks, the darkly turbulent seas to our left and the foothills and plains to our right. Hours slipped by without sign of the gilded riders, and while that wasn’t unexpected given our belief that they avoided the daylight hours, tension nevertheless rode me. The riders would no doubt expect us—well, me and Kaia, given they’d not yet seen any other drakkon riders—and might well have set a trap for us.

As we neared the aerie in which Yara and her younger drakkons had almost been trapped, we got the first sighting of destruction. It was little more than a layer of ruddy-brown smoke darkening the low-lying clouds ahead, but the color suggested the fires feeding it had not yet dissipated.

Better tell Yara and Rua to keep alert,I told Kaia.The gilded riders might have set up sentry positions in the foothills sweeping down to Hopetown. Tell them not to react if we do see them until you or I say so.

I could have passed the message on myself, but it would hold more weight coming from Kaia.

Yara not happy.

Remind her just how easily their acid shit can burn a drakkon’s wing.

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