Page 62 of Of Blood and Fire
Hurt. Angry. Want to kill all birds for hurting her kin.
A need I certainly could get behind.What does she say about Kele?
Not hearing. Face pain.
The latter no doubt being the acid burn I’d seen. Hopefully, between the rain and the wave that had almost washed us out, most of it had been removed from her skin.Any other hurts?
Not know. Just heard scream.
I swore and rubbed a hand across my eyes.We need to get her to Esan as soon as possible, but we can’t leave the others out here alone. Not with Yara injured.
Yara says save kin.
It’s no good saving Kele if the fucking gilded riders attack and take her and everyone else out, Kaia.
Know.
I sucked in another useless breath and tried to calm down.Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.
Know.
I smiled, though it felt pained—tight—even to me.How bad is Yara’s wing? Is it broken or just torn? Can she fly anywhere approaching full speed?
She say she good.
She would. Fly up next to her.
She obeyed. Yara was still being supported by Taitia, and though Jassy couldn’t remount, she was no longer swinging violently from the rope but was instead clutched in Taitia’s front claws.
Two of Yara’s phalanges had broken, the bones stabbing through the torn membrane with each and every sweep of her wing. As long as she maintained an even flight, she likely wouldn’t tear anything too much further, but it had to fucking hurt having two phalanges broken.
We fly home,Kaia said.Other kin fix Yara. You fix Kele.
That’s a plan.
We go?
Yes. Tell Aarvi and Cansu to fly up front, Rua to keep watch from on high.I paused.Tell Taitia not to push her strength—we don’t want her rupturing that wound. Aarvi and Cansu can take turns swapping out with her.
All we could do was hope no other surprises were lying in wait up ahead, and that we all made it back to the aerie in one piece.
We flew on, our speed by necessity half that of what we needed to get home before the moon rose to its peak. The storm no longer clouded the mountains, and the skies were clear and bright, which at least meant we would see any incoming forces before they got close enough to fire their weapons.
We didn’t see them. Not at all, and that only increased my tension. If they weren’t chasing and attacking us, then what the hell were they doing? Why set up such an elaborate trap and then not follow it through to completion?
Or had they thought the six riders who’d been waiting for us at the tower would be enough to take out whoever had escaped their main trap? It was more than possible, given luck and bad weather was all that had saved us.
We were closing in on the aerie when Kaia suddenly said,Kele weakening. Yara worried.
If Yara was worried, then I was fucking petrified.Can she and the others make it to the aerie?
Yes.
Then peel away and head directly for Esan. I’ll message that we’re coming in fast and to have medics waiting.
She immediately dropped a wing and banked away from the rest of them. I tugged the tablet and quill free, hunkering down behind her spine to ease the force of the wind, and quickly sent a message.
Be warycame the reply.Riders in sky.
