Page 84 of Of Blood and Banes (The Arterian #2)
BEYOND THE HEIGHT
W e received the go-ahead from Sethan’s contacts in Nightfort, and we’re making the trek south. Daeja and I join Sethan and the rest of the dragon riders in the sky. Away from formation, Daeja glides in and out of clouds, each puff whipping me in the face with a bitter moisture.
I wave each assault away, coughing as I tighten my other gloved hand around the saddle horn. “Too high, too high!”
She dips her nose down and dives into the massive gray cloud, my stomach dropping down into my toes, and my eyes watering as the wind rakes its sharp claws up across my face.
My knees lock around Daeja as I silently thank all the Gods for these blessed straps and hooks.
Otherwise, my ass would have been half a mile higher from such a massive drop.
“Trying…to make…me…piss myself?” I ground out through each breath.
Without responding, Daeja releases her wings, snapping them open and jolting me forward, the saddle horns slamming into my chest hard enough that it knocks the wind out of me.
“Too quick, sorry about that.”
She’s still learning, and there’s not a single bone in my body that can be angry with her.
Plus, it’s not like I’m an expert at maintaining my balance and weight, either.
Dragon riding is definitely a skill I need to hone.
Forcing myself to straighten, I glance down at the ground hundreds of feet below us, my stomach churning at the thought of how long of a fall it would be.
“Get out of your head,” Daeja warns, sensing my queasiness.
I swallow, attempting to force down my nausea. “Hard to get out, when you’re already in here.”
“Isn’t it a nice view at least? Just take a look. Look beyond the height.”
I focus on the colors first: the splash of various evergreen shades from the pine trees, the dusted grays frosting earth, and a snaking blue river cutting through the land. The jagged edges of the forest versus the smooth liquidity of the river. How the water ebbs and flows, as easy as if it were…
Wait.
I scan the rest of the valley and the peaks spanning out around us.
The gargantuan Serahaven mountain range, framing the distant Vitalis castle with waterfalls spilling down into pools, spurs a flicker of a thought.
The river whips and flows throughout the land, connecting at different branches and clustering in distant areas to form lakes.
Flows as easily as if it were blood. And as if the rivers were veins.
I turn in the saddle, staring out beyond Daeja’s tail to the south.
The river twists through the forest, and out beyond what I can see.
Memories of the Arterian map flash through my head in rapid succession, luring me into a trance.
“Daeja, tell A’nala and Sethan we’re taking a quick detour.
I need to see something. Head south along the river. ”
“In case you were wondering, A’nala is just as ornery as Sethan is.”
“Good thing you match them in sass,” I giggle and pat her neck.
“If I recall correctly, you still owe me more examples of how much better I am than you.”
“I think your ego is already large enough to last you to next winter, don’t you think?”
Her rumble of a laugh vibrates underneath my legs, and she dips her head and neck until we’re perpendicular with the ground.
She tucks her wings into her side, plummeting us down like an arrow whizzing through the air.
The wind screams in my ears and rips tears from my eyes.
I fight against my own body to keep myself from losing my balance and sliding face first over the saddle.
She twists into a corkscrew, spinning the ground below us into a whirl of green and gray and blue until it’s as undecipherable as my breath. My heart and blood freeze. “Daeja…too…much…”
Suddenly, yet not sudden enough, she whips left into a wide turn and nearly gives me whiplash as I grip the horns and tighten my thighs to keep myself upright.
I laugh through the fear shaking my arms and legs, a rush of adrenaline washing over every buzz of my racing thoughts.
She straightens out, and the two of us fly farther south, following the river until Dragon’s Back Ridge rises in the distance.
But I don’t have to get much farther to piece it together.
Because I know part of the reason why King Aaric moved south to Arterias and didn’t stay at the castle in Vitalis.
Why I couldn’t pull from the ley lines when Archie and I were captured by rebels southeast of Everden.
And I never stopped to consider if Aaric would ever venture outside of Arterias to take control of the entire realm.
Marge, all those weeks ago, explained ley lines were like underground rivers. And all this time, I should have sensed the humming but had grown accustomed to it. When I found serenity at the river back in Padmoor, it wasn’t because of some unknown reason.
The rivers are the ley lines.
Arterias would have the most power, as all the rivers lead south. But many of them in Arterias dried up long ago. He’s been draining them.
Then why not move north of Dragon’s Back Ridge to claim the rest?
Unless of course…it’s only a matter of time.