Page 146 of Upon Buried Embers
“You thinkthatis amazing?” Rohan asks, arms curling around me.
“It is. We’re so high up, aren’t we?”
“Very. It’s better not to be seen with the clouds as our shield.”
We enter one as he speaks, spearing through it with ease.
“Are you feeling brave, Little Whisperer?”
Am I?
I scan the expanse of the horizon, from the mountains and the trees at its base, to the clouds not far above us and the rising sun.
“Will it hurt? If I’m brave?”
“Never,” he says vehemently, “not with me around.”
I take a breath.
“Then yes— Aaaah,” I scream as Rohanthrowsmeoffof Drogonah.
I’m free-falling, my hair flowing around me as I watch Drogonah get smaller and smaller. The wind whips around me, my arms and legs spread wide as fear and excitement overtake me.
Is this how I die? Falling upon the ice? Or will I fly to the end?
I close my eyes and accept my fate. Maybe I will pass out before I land, or maybe…
A shadow looms over me, and my eyes fly open at the sudden darkness as I’m engulfed inside a giant claw.
“Oomph.” My body jostles as Drogonah closes me within it, and I gasp, one hand holding on to Drogonah, the other to my chest as I try to get my breathing under control. “You’re insane,” I whisper to Rohan, but there’s no way he can hear me. “Elvanan save me,” I whimper as I look down, the lake so close now. Then, I laugh.
Half from fear, the other half in amazement as I reach down and let the tips of my fingers slide over the ice.
So cold.
So smooth.
“Do you like it?” My head snaps up as Rohan steps inside the closed claw that acts as a cage.
How did he even get down without falling?
“I could’ve died.”
His eyes darken as he crouches next to me. “I would never let that happen.” He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, looking at me intently. “Did you like it?”
“Falling?”
“Yes.”
My heart beats like crazy, and there’s a tingle to my limbs.
But I’m alive.
Soveryalive.
“Yes,” I laugh softly, “I liked it.”
He grins and pulls me into his arms. “Then hold on.”
