Page 60 of Of Blood and Banes
He turns his attention back to that nonexistent spot in the distance. “Let’s fly. To the skies and the stars.”
A’nala’s fiery red jaws part as she bellows, the sound tearing through the forest as she clambers forward, her wings beating hard and carrying her and Sethan up into the sky.
Tilting my chin down in determination, I wrap my hands tighter around the two horns protruding from the top of the saddle. The only thing combating my nervousness about falling are the small metal hooks secured to my belt and tied down to the saddle.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not you I don’t trust.”I blow out a breath and narrow my eyes.“Let’s fly.”
“To the skies and the stars,”Daeja mocks Sethan, before she bursts into a run, flapping her wings a bit harder than A’nala had to, until she lifts into the air.
The Arterians crowded in the wagons watch with wide eyes as Daeja and I rise. Their faces and figures fade from view as we lift higher. The ground and trees shrink beneath us, and a cold wind zaps all the warmth from my face. Thank goodness for the extra thick layers of black leather and fabric Tawny gifted me. We rise until the horizon fades off into an unknown distance. We’re higher than Daeja and I have ever flown before, and my stomach tightens as I get dizzy. The sky stretches out around us, a limitless blue canvas. Mountains and trees pepper the land as far as the eye can see.
“Don’t forget to breathe,”Daeja warns.
Sucking in a big inhale, the dizzying sensation lessens. I had indeed forgotten to breathe on the ascension. Glancing down at my aching, sweaty hands clenching the horns, I’m silently thanking Marge for the gloves. Finger by finger, I pull one off at a time, relief springing to my joints and muscles at the release of pressure.
“That’s it, good, relax. Let go, I’ve got you.”
Shakily, I release the horns completely but hover my hands an inch out from them, ready to grab them in a split second if I need to. My brain and heart won’t listen to the fact that I’m strapped and hooked into the saddle—the only way I can possibly fall is if I unhook myself. But I can’t ignore the nervous shake of my hands, the war drum of a beat in my chest, and the sweat dripping down my neck.
Daeja takes a sudden dive, my ass lifting off the seat a few inches, suspended by the hooks latching me in. My stomachdrops into my godsdamned toes, and I shriek as I fling myself forward and cling to the saddle horns again for dear life, squeezing my legs and shutting my eyes.
Daeja’s body quakes underneath me with unabashed humor.
“Not funny!”
“I thought it was funny.”
“If I wasn’t hooked into the saddle I would have splattered on the ground by now!”
“Maybe you need to learn to let go and actually trust me,”she growls.
“I do trust you. It’s just that…”
“What?”
“What if the saddle comes loose? The straps rip? A buckle breaks?”
“You tend to overthink things. The Red One made it pretty clear he triple-checked all those things before we left. I think he might have even done it just to reassure you, because he already checked it on me before you got there. Besides, even if all those things did happen, I would still get you. I would never let you fall.”
I hesitate to respond, my mind buzzing from all the uncertainty.
“Don’t believe me? Let’s test it. Unhook yourself?—”
I laugh, the motion trembling in my chest.“Absolutely not.”
“Prove you can trust me.”
“Or proveyoucan trustmewhen I say I trust you!”
She grumbles, about ready to bite back with something else when she quiets. She turns her head to the side, eyes fixed blankly in the distance.“Wait, hold that thought…”
I follow her gaze. A’nala’s red figure glides in and out of the clouds. Six other dragon riders follow close behind her, forming a large V.
“A’nala wants us to join the dragon riders.”
“Can you talk to all of them? Even at this distance?”
