Page 26 of Of Blood and Banes
I pat at my sides, cursing for not having anything to defend myself with. As I backpedal to put space between me and the fire dragon, Sethan walks up to the dragon and rubs its neck. “Katerina, meet A’nala. A’nala, Katerina.”
A’nala keeps their eyes on me as they lower their head and stretch toward me with flaring nostrils. My hair stirs as the creature pulls in two long, hard sniffs.
Mouth agape, I flick my gaze back and forth between Sethan and the dragon. “You…you’re?—”
“A dragon rider,” he finishes for me.
CHAPTER 9
DRAGON RIDER
“Now, where is your dragon?” Sethan asks impatiently, scanning the forest.
“She…umm…” I struggle to wrap my head around this reality as I stare into A’nala’s golden eyes. I have to physically twist my shoulders to drag my gaze back to Sethan. “I-I thought all the riders were executed?”
“They were.”
“So then…how?” My gaze floats back up to the magnificent crimson dragon, thick, gnarled horns blending from ruby red to black at the tips.
He huffs. “We can speak of this later?—”
The trees stir around us, followed by the beating of wings. I turn as Daeja lands with a thud on the ground, a few feet behind me. She keeps her wings outstretched as she growls, the horns on her head and neck bristling. Taking a step forward, she stretches her head over me protectively, the bottom of her chin brushing my scalp.
Sethan strides over to A’nala’s side, and the dragon lowers itself as if it’s done it a million times. Those yellow eyes are still trained on Daeja.
“Have you ever ridden your dragon before?” Sethan calls.
“Well…yes. Sort of?”
“Wonderful.” He snags something behind A’nala’s neck and pulls himself up and onto her back. He pats her thick muscled neck. “Let’s fly low and slow, girl.”
A’nala rises from the forest floor, revealing black leather straps and buckles encircling her chest and back. I must not have noticed it. As A’nala turns away from us, I glimpse Sethan seated in a black saddle, positioned perfectly between A’nala’s neck and shoulder blades.
Patting Daeja’s shoulder, she finally turns her attention to me and lowers for me to scramble up toward her back. She noses her muzzle under my foot and nearly throws me over to the other side of her spine. Schooling my heavy breath, I settle into the crook of Daeja’s neck. I lower myself, squeezing my legs around the back of her neck and grabbing on to two of her long, skinny horns.
Without another second to spare, A’nala and Sethan slingshot into the sky.
“Are we following them? Do we trust them?”Daeja mutters.
“No, we don’t trust them. But…we are following them.”I clench my fists tighter around her horns.
“Sometimes I question your judgment…”She lowers her head and breaks into a run, her wings flapping before we lift off the ground.
“You and me both,”I whisper back.
The pine trees flash by us at an alarming speed. I fight against my racing heart to calm myself and glance up at A’nala gliding off in the distance. At least Sethan has a fucking saddle. My thighs are sure to be sore tomorrow after how hard I’m trying to balance myself on Daeja. And thank the Gods my ribs have miraculously healed, even though the scar aches dully as my body rolls with each flap of Daeja’s wings. We skim overthe treetops, staying low. The ground taunts me from beneath us, reminding me if I fall there is no water to catch me. Just unyielding, solid earth.
It’s a mistake looking down. So, I glance back up to A’nala. They still have a good two-hundred-feet lead on us.This is slow for them?
“I could go faster,”Daeja murmurs, reading my thoughts.“I’m still a little sore from when that rebel punctured me with the spear.”
But I know she’s holding back. Forme. She can sense my anxiety and fear. And something tells me she’s only using her wing as an excuse to calm my emotions. Because she could absolutely, definitely fly faster.
A’nala’s red shape cuts south toward Dragon’s Back Ridge. The mountains reach staggering heights, lurching above us into the sky, with some of the peaks blanketed in snow. We fly for another twenty minutes, deeper into the mountain range and closer to Arterias. The views alone at this height are heart-stopping. I’ve now added another reason to regret blacking out after the battle in Arterias. It’s gorgeous out here. Something about it feels like a home I’ve never been to.
A valley opens up in between towering mountain peaks, and A’nala descends. Daeja follows suit and flares her wings, slowing her speed until we land on the ground. Sethan hops off A’nala, and I fumble down from Daeja, lacking any grace or experience. When my feet strike the ground, I feel the vibration ring through my body. My thighs are on fire, hands are already aching from clinging so hard to Daeja.
Sethan wordlessly prompts me forward with a hand. His features are unreadable. Daeja and I follow him and A’nala up a steep incline, the wind picking up as we near the top. A’nala and Sethan pause at the peak, their stares fixed on something in thedistance. Daeja and I climb the rest of the way, and as we crest the hill, the wind wipes away all of my breath.
