Page 21

Naraic and I left for Demetria an hour after my talk with Cully.

His scales shifted beneath my palm, cold and familiar. Above us, the sky vanished into white, snow whipping in sheets as the blizzard turned the world into a blur of ice and teeth.

I leaned close, voice barely more than breath. “Ready?”

Hot breath snarled from his muzzle, smoke curling with each exhale. “I was born ready.”

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked. “Because I don’t.”

“What did they teach you at that school?” he hissed back. “I’ve lived over seventy years. I know the lands.” Naraic lifted his wings, and we took off.

The clouds parted, dusted in smog and silver, and we launched into the heart of the storm. “I—I’m slipping!” I gasped, fingers scrambling for grip. Dragon scales weren’t meant to be coated in ice.

I clawed higher, hands searching for a better grip along Naraic’s neck as the wind screamed past us.

He let out a guttural roar, wings pumping hard as we broke through the clouds toward the last dying flicker of the sun.

The air stilled, just barely .

“It will get easier the farther we fly,” he said, voice rumbling through bone and sky.

But peace didn’t last. That damned bond snickered in my mind. “My, oh my... that was close. I could feel your heart beating inside me.”

I hissed, clinging tighter. “Why do you keep using my voice?”

“Because I enjoy it. And you enjoy the company more than you admit.”

“Go ahead,” I snapped through gritted teeth. “Tell the entire continent who I am. You’re all talk.”

“We’ll see,” it purred. “Maybe after I break you a little more. After a few years of this bond, you’ll grow to enjoy my company.”

Years? Not a chance in hell. I forced up a wall, smothering the connection in ash until silence fell.

Below, the terrain shifted into deep greens unfurling into dying brambles. Mountains loomed ahead, veiled in mist. The horizon faded from violet to indigo as night swallowed the last of the light.

The flight dragged on. I could feel my body fading.

“You need rest, Blanche,” Naraic rumbled beneath me. “I need rest.”

Below us, the land blurred into half-melted fields and splintered trees, with no hostel in sight. “We’ll rest for an hour,” I muttered. “Then we fly again before dusk.”

We landed in a field of ferns. My legs trembled as I dismounted, exhaustion grinding through every step. “We can keep going,” I muttered. “There’s nothing here besides grass.”

Naraic gave a low growl. “You wouldn’t be the first rider to collapse in a field. Lie down for one hour.”

I gave a shallow nod and turned toward the grass, too worn to argue. Just a moment. That was all I needed .

Suddenly, the air split with a hiss—an arrow tore through the dusk and buried itself in my shoulder. Agony lit me up like a fire. “Naraic!”

I staggered toward him, legs barely holding. His wings flared in a violent snap, a snarl building in his throat. Then the second arrow came and punctured something on his body.

A cold, leaden weight curled through my limbs, dragging me beneath a rising wave of nausea. Poison.

I’d never been poisoned before, but I knew it in my bones—the spreading numbness, the slow shiver beneath my skin.

I was on my hands and knees crawling through the ferns and grass.

Shit, this was bad. “Naraic... I feel sick,” I whispered.

A third arrow tore through the sky and buried itself in his wing with a sickening crack. He roared and lunged, throwing himself over me.

“Run,” he gritted. “Shield.”

I tried. I clawed at the ground, dragging myself forward. But a rough hand caught my cloak, yanking me onto my back.

The world spun.

A shadow staggered into focus, all scraggly beard and threadbare overalls. His voice was grit and drawl. An accent I hadn’t heard before. “Well, well. A strangler where she shouldn’t be.”

“Get up!” the strange bond screamed in my mind. “He’ll kill you!”

I couldn’t move. I was a prisoner inside my own body as the man crouched low. I struck with the last of my strength, flame lashing across his throat. He grunted and ripped my hood back.

“A neval girl,” he sneered. “Oh my. You really are lost.”

The poison surged. My mind slammed shut.

And the world went black.