Page 55 of Dark Prince's Mate

It’s Vitai’s doing, not mine.I clearly need more practice.

Either way, now that they’re wider, the boards look thinner and flimsier, and I don’t know if they’ll hold under our weight.

Desperate, I scan the horizon, but the mist obscures the sky.

Betty, I need you, girl.

I close my eyes and tap into that dark world of stars.It’s quicker this time, the map already there.An istiodactylus is the closest.The other dinosaurs are still skittish after the rockslides and haven’t returned from their hideouts yet.The istiodactylus is profiting from the bigger carnivores’ absence, fishing in the lake.

I bring him around.

A moment later, he appears through the mist.He thrusts his long, orange-tipped, yellow beak forward as he dives down.With an impressive span of at least fifteen feet, his wings quickly eat up the distance.

The women duck and yell, making the platform sway.

“He won’t hurt you,” I say, doing my best to keep everyone calm.“Trust me.”

Betty follows short on the istiodactylus’s tail, her majestic body gliding through the air as she aims straight for the platform.

God, I love you, girl.

The istiodactylus follows my mental command and positions himself under the bridge while Betty hovers next to it.She flaps her large wings to stay in place, nearly knocking a few of us off our feet.

“Down, girl!”I point below the bridge.“You can do it.”

Immediately obeying the command, she descends and lines up in front of the istiodactylus, whom I decide to call Ducky.Together, they’re long enough to cover the length of the bridge and provide support for our weight in case the boards don’t hold.

Vitai nods at me, clearly understanding my intention.“Let’s go.”

“No,” Maeva squeals, her expression terrified as she looks down.“We’ll fall!”

“We won’t.”I take her hand.“Vitai stabilized the bridge, and the dinosaurs will carry our weight.Just follow my lead.”

“Don’t you mean dragons?”Vitai asks.

Now’s not the time to explain.

Eucabeth retreats to the center of the platform.“No.”She trembles.“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”Vitai’s tone is both stern and encouraging.“I’ll carry you.”

I go first, pulling Maeva behind me.Sandy is next.Irina, Karl, and Alexa follow.Vitai is last, carrying Eucabeth in his arms.

The large wings of the pterosaurs stir up a breeze.I’m walking as if on eggshells.The boards tip left and right like seesaws on the uneven expanse of Ducky’s back, but he manages to keep more or less motionless in the air.

A few of the thin boards crack.Some break when I step on them, and I’m not the heaviest of people.I glance past Ducky at the abyss below, my stomach climbing into my throat as I slowly cross the bridge.

By the time I reach Betty, my palms are clammy, and a trickle of sweat runs down my back.The people behind me cry out every time another board splits in two beneath their feet, but we’re making progress.

I can feel Ducky’s stress.Staying in place puts enormous strain on him.Reaching out to him with my mind, I calm and encourage him with a mental pep talk.

I’m almost on the other side when a portal appears on the ledge.I feel Aruan’s presence before he steps through the circle of lights.I don’t have to look at the dark, frantic expression on his face to know what he feels.Anxiety and terror reach me through our bond.Then I notice the purple bruise darkening his jaw and the black circle around his left eye.His upper lip is cut and swollen.

A new kind of fear slams into my chest.

What happened to him?

His calm reassurance reaches me through our bond, letting me know he’s all right.I’m far from put at ease, but I don’t have time to linger on why he looks as if he’s been in a fight because Maeva trips on one of the boards and goes down face first, sprawling out behind me.Still clinging to my hand, she nearly pulls me down with her.

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