Page 166 of Of Blood and Banes
Daeja snakes up into the air, and I squeeze my thighs around the saddle as Cole and I lurch back and forth.
“Holy shit,” he grunts, fighting to keep himself up and pressing himself down into the horns to keep himself on Daeja.
Quickly, I wrap the waist belt around him and clip him in before holding onto his waist. The wind whips around us, and the burning camp disappears, fading into a distant cloud of black.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Cole whispers quietly, and the only reason I’m able to hear it is how the wind carries it.
I slide my hand to his on the horns and squeeze for a moment before I let go. We pass the other dragon riders with A’nala at the head.
“A’nala says one of the other dragon riders picked up Archie and should be back at Everden now. The rest of them are going to make sure no rebels are left.”
“Do they need backup?”I twist to look over my shoulder as they fly into the distant smoke.
“If I dare question A’nala’s capabilities, I may very well not live to see tomorrow.”
“Fair point.”
“And Sethan’s already pissed anyway.”
“Of course he is. When is he not?”
It’s a short flight back to Everden, luckily. And as we land, I unclip Cole, and he jumps off immediately, bracing his hands on his knees as he fights to regain his breath.
I slide off Daeja and lean down to rub a hand on his back. “Nauseous?”
He nods, unable to get a word out of his gritted teeth.
A small smile pulls at my lips in nostalgia, unable to stop myself from asking, “First time?”
CHAPTER 52
NOT YOUR TURN
“Were you out of your mind?” Sethan roars, slamming a fist down on the table. “What were you thinking?”
Everyone in the Everden community hall stops and swings their wide-eyed gazes to us.
I pluck the wine glass served to us for dinner and take a sip as I lean back in my chair. “I don’t owe you any explanations.”
As far as he knows, Archie went out to stopmefrom leaving. And that was when we ran into rebels and were captured. He doesn’t need to know Melaina and Archie’s situation or that Archie left because of it. It will only make Sethan think Archie is weak. And love isn’t weak.
I set my glass of wine back down before crossing my arms over my chest. “The fact of the matter is none of us died. So, I think your scolding is pointless. You can give us the verbal lashings when we fail.”
“That’s what you don’t understand. You’re bound to fail if you risk so much. It was foolish of you to run away. And for what?”
“She wasn’t the one who ran.” Archie stands up from a few seats down, his weight still shifted to his non-sprained ankle.
I throw him a glare, hoping if I stare hard enough, he’ll sit back down and be quiet. But he holds mine and Sethan’s gaze as if he’s dealing with two toddlers instead.
“I was,” Archie admits.
Melaina on the complete opposite side of the table lowers her head, twirling her fork as if she may melt into another universe.
“And why is that?” Sethan challenges, though with the way he tilts his chin up, I have a feeling he already knows.
“Because I was hurt…” Archie tosses a glance toward Melaina, his confidence breaking each second she doesn’t return his gaze, until his attention finally settles completely on her. “Melaina, please. Please, just look at me.”
She blinks, sucking her lips in before finally dragging her gaze off her plate to him. Water lines her brown eyes.
