Page 80 of Of Withering Dreams
“Breena, watch out!” I screamed, and she dove toward her Pegasus just as the tip of the guard’s lance jabbed the soil. She jumped to her feet with her spear, climbing atop her stallion. They galloped in a half-moon shape before she shifted her weight forward, squeezing her knees. The mount’s massive, downy-feathered wings swept open, and they shot into the air just as the guard reached them.
With a whoop of laughter, Breena soared with the creature, its mane and hers fluttering in the wind. The male followed, determined to destroy my friend. Breena drove her Pegasus up and up, its wings and powerful legs pumping through the air.
As the Draumr followed, Breena’s beast nosedived unexpectedly, nearly colliding with her opponent. The male recoiled, pulling on his reins exorbitantly. His airborne steed thrust its wings forward, abruptly jerking and causing the guard to spill from his seat.
As he plunged to the earth, Breena was ready. He fell beside her, and she thrust her wooden spike into his soft underbelly. His roar of pain was cut short as he exploded into fragments, fine grit raining onto the field.
The chestnut stallion landed gracefully, Breena looking like a regal warrior queen atop its back. Her eyes met the last challenger shuffling toward her from the trees, dropping empty golden bridles and collars at his feet.
He’d freed the other Pegasi. The corners of my mouth curled in admiration.
He showed Breena his palms as he approached, shoulders stooping. “I’m done. Don’t bother.” He turned to the crowd, glaring at Lucan. His voice reverberated over the field. “Do you hear me? I am done with this madness—with these useless games! Stand up, you fools! The Elders lie! The Elders?—”
His body ruptured, the breeze carrying the remains away—his blood oath broken.
But not soon enough to prevent the wave of uncertain whispers rippling through the masses.
“Enough!” Lucan demanded as a jade light flared around him. It was the first time I’d witnessed his aura. Splotchy, needle-shaped burned-ocher shades snapped within, like a tornado of dead grym needles. His cane sprayed grass as it cracked into the dirt, and the ground trembled under our feet.
My hands flung out to keep my footing, but Kaden grabbed me from the side, steadying me. He grumbled an apology as he straightened, rolling his shoulders back in irritation, and stepped away from me once more.
The fleeting sensation of my heart filling with prickly grym needles surfaced, but I filled my lungs with fresh air, stacking my spine.
My palms slid over my tunic as the Akridais and Draumrs on duty edged closer to the Elder. “We have the Wilting champion. The final test will come soon enough. Now, be gone!” His face was an unhealthy shade of purple as he stormed toward the palace, his bristly nimbus pricking the air.
We went to Breena as she removed the restraints from her Pegasus. The creature pushed into her palm as she stroked its ear.
I rubbed her shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah. We need to win these trials. One way or the other.” She shrugged, tucking her messy hair behind her ears.
“And that woman who broke her neck? Your chivalry was showing, my friend.” One of Rhaegar’s eyebrows lifted as he drifted to the Pegasus, looking at Breena from the corner of his eye.
Breena’s lips puckered. “Don’t go to mush. Didn’t think that was the way to go out. On her back.” She looked at her feet, shoulders slumping. “Didn’t matter anyway.”
“Your flying skills were impressive,” Kaden admitted after the silence stretched out too long. Rhaegar nodded, petting the stallion, his eyes soft and lined in awe.
Breena grinned, the corners wobbly as she smoothed her breeches. Her shoulders pushed back, and she brushed her fingers over her cheeks, her face streaked with her opponent’s dust. “Told ya. It’s all in the hips.”
29
ENTOMBED IN AMBER
My brain refused to rest. I huffed, tossing my blankets off my body. It was the night before the final trial, and numerous outrageous scenarios ran amok. The unknown of what the Winnowing could bring stalked me through every corner of my mind.
Over the last six months, I’d learned that anything was possible—especially in a dream realm. It didn’t matter, though, because everything I went through, every relationship I’d lost or gained … it would all be erased.
Kaden’s mischievous smirk flashed behind my scrunched eyelids.
Maybe it was for the best. If I was a coward for wanting to take his pain and anger away—for not wanting to feel the crushing guilt—so be it. I was exhausted down to the marrow.
He was still avoiding me, and icy sections of my heart chipped away with every passing day.
I missed my best friend.
The scrape of metal against metal echoed in the hallway while the soft radiance of the full moon filled my room. I slid from bed, quickly pulling on my training breeches and sliding my dagger into its scabbard. I tucked my silken nightshirt in the waistband and pulled on my socks and ankle boots as a rustling noise shuffled further down the hall.
Tiptoeing toward my door, I cracked it open, wincing as the hinges creaked. I froze, met with silence. Air rushed in through my nose as I slipped through the small gap, nerves rattling through my limbs.
