Page 167 of House of Embers
“I’m going to jump for the right.”
He didn’t even tense at the suggestion. That was the beauty of Dozan Rook. He never thought any of her dangerous ideas were too far.
“Take two jumps” was all he said before coming to his feet on Dyta’s back.
Dyta had complained about carrying both of their weight. She was a medium-size dragon and wasn’t typically good for it. But she had sniffed Dozan before the battle and put her face in his, and he hadn’t blinked.
She had narrowed her eyes and said,“He smells like you.”
Then she’d suggested Dozan try one of those bonds through the amulet on her. It turned out it didn’t work exactly the same as her bond. Wynter had made hers the same as the old bonds, but Dozan had no such limitations. The amulet made it so that he could speak mind to mind with Dyta and convey his thoughts, but it didn’tbondhim in the same way. These new crux bonds were so much more flexible than the old ones.
So Dyta didn’t balk when Dozan took over the lead and Wynter jumped from her back to the other dragon. Wynter snapped the first woman’s neck, shoving her body off the back of the dragon, and then jumped again before the dragon could try to force her off.
The second woman was ready for Wynter. She’d risen to her feet, brandishing a wicked-looking knife as Wynter landed on her dragon’s back. Wynter disarmed her with ease and then nearly lost her feet as the dragon dove for the ground.
“Shit,” she cried, scrambling onto the dragon’s back for leverage.
“For the Society,” the female roared.
Her knife landed in Wynter’s hand, buried to the hilt. Wynter couldn’t suppress her own scream of pain. She pulled her hand back, and that was all the enemy needed as the dragon lifted again, sending Wynter tumbling from her seat.
She could see Dozan had finished with the rider behind them. He whipped around as he watched her fall. But she couldn’t shadow-jump to her dragon. The pain was too severe and the distance too confusing through the blinding ache.
Wynter grasped the knife, countedone, two…and then yanked it free, letting it tumble to the city below. Her vision was red with raging pain as blood flowed freely from the wound.
Dyta was already spiraling downward, flapping relentlessly to get to her. Wynter wasn’t sure she was close enough. And if she could just get the pain under control, she could jump.
Dozan’s hand reached out.
Closer, closer, closer.
“Come on!” he yelled.
At the last second, his hand wrapped around her wrist, jerking her upward as Dyta leveled out. The movement ripped her shoulder out of its socket, but it was nothing compared to her hand.
“I got you,” Dozan said, hauling her back onto Dyta’s back.
“Too close,”Dyta growled.
“Sorry,” Wynter said, cradling her hand.
“You need a healer, but Amond is too far away.”
“I’ll make do.”
“Wynter…”
“Leave it,” she told Dozan.
And then a yell like she had never heard radiated across the battlefield.
Wynter could just make out the shape of a man, holding a woman to his chest.
“Roake and Audria,” Dozan noted.
“How are your eyes keener than mine?” she asked as Dyta got closer to the battle.
“I’m more familiar with them than you are,” Dozan said.
