Page 35 of The Lost Princess

A distress cry shocked my brain as Kaida suddenly came barreling out of the cave, flinging herself headfirst into the abyss. I wasn’t conscious of what I did next—my body and my inner draken simply reacted to what it heard—a female shrieking in distress.

“OPEN YOUR WINGS!” I screamed, watching in horror as she sank like a stone.

Kaida dropped below me fast, and I rocketed toward her, willing her to open her wings.

She didn’t.

“KAIDA!”

It seemed all my yelling was in vain. She either couldn’t hear me or was unable to respond. I clenched all my muscles, forcing my wings and arms tightly against my body. I dove as fast as I could. I was gaining on her, praying to the gods that I wouldn’t be too late.

Ten feet from the ground, I slammed into her, snatching her out of the air and tucking her into my chest as I hit the ground and rolled. Pain exploded in my shoulders and wings, but there was nothing that could be done for it. Kaida shook against me, and I tried to simply breathe. The air had been knocked out of my lungs on impact. Together we rolled to a stop.

Kaida pushed my arms away, hopping over me so I could onto my stomach. “Are you ok?”

My wings throbbed, but I could still move them. Nothing felt broken.

“I’m so sorry!” she wailed. “It was my fault! I could have killed you!”

The honest distress in her voice broke my heart. I tried to collect myself and slowly sat up.

“What happened?” I asked, mostly to distract myself from the bruising.

Kaida crumpled in on herself. “I-I don’t know. I thought I was fine. I’d gotten the courage to jump, and for a moment, it was wonderful. I went to open my wings, but the air moved so fast, and then I thought of my father, and what he’d think if he saw me as acreature. The thought terrified me, and I panicked.” She looked away, ashamed.

I grabbed her hand, rubbing my thumb softly over the scales of her knuckles. “It is alright. We should have set a smaller distance. I’m not so good a teacher, I think.”

Kaida bristled. “You’re a lovely teacher! I’m just a terrible student!”

I chuckled despite myself. “Then we make a good pair, do we not?”

She looked away, and I sighed.

“You care that much about what your father thinks?” I clarified.

Kaida’s sad, mournful eyes met mine. “He is the only family I know. What if he rejects me when he finds out? What if he calls me a monster?”

I shrugged. “You know that’s not true. Choose not to believe it.”

Kaida buried her head under my shoulder. “It’s not so easy,” she insisted. “I wish I had all the answers like you.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Me? A hunter? Have all the answers? How my mother would love to hear you say that.”

Kaida did not seem nearly as amused. “Youaresmart! You know how to do all kinds of things I don’t!”

Her eyes drifted back up the mountain, and to the rock ledge. She stood, her shoulders tight and her face set with determination. “Let’s try again.”

My body protested as I got up off the ground, but I shook it off. Aches and pains would eventually heal. “Are you sure?”

I was willing to protect her at all costs, but if she fell again, I wasn’t confident my body would react fast enough to save her a second time.

“What if what you fear comes to pass?” I pushed. “That you meet your father, and he wants nothing to do with you. He even calls you names. Then what?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Kaida’s lips quivered, her chest heaving slightly as she tried not to cry. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I definitely couldn’t stay there. Not after he said something like that.”

I kept prodding. “So then what? Where would you go?”

Her face fell. “Nowhere. I have nowhere.”

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