Page 26

26

Rhea

—A re we good? I ask Zephyros.

He doesn’t reply.

—You’re not going to dump me on my ass again, right?

He moves his shoulders slightly. A shrug? Vaylen frowns, seemingly aware of our silent interaction. I roll my shoulders, making a mental note to be more careful. Vaylen might forgive my irreverent behavior and let me off with a threat. But if he discovers I’m a Weaver, I’m sure I will be put to death faster than I can climb onto Zephyros… if he lets me.

—Here I come, oh most majestic dragon, I say to Zephyros.

I back up, then take up at a run, and leap. Once more, as soon as my foot touches Zephyros’s knee, I propel myself upward. This time, he remains still, and I find every intended handhold without trouble. As fast as Phoebe, I make my way up Zephyros’s neck and come to a halt atop his head. My breath is cut short at the change in perspective. The plateau stretches before me, and I ogle at the miles and miles of pastureland and forests in the distance. The blue sky kisses the horizon, a dome that seems to encapsulate only Embernia, leaving out our enemies.

Once, thousands of dragons speckled the sky, their scales shimmering like tiny beacons that declared our safety, prosperity, and freedom. Now, we look up onto a firmament blotted by nothing but clouds and the threat of oblivion.

Oh, Heratrix, why did you abandon us? Will you ever come back? Or are you dead and we hope in vain for your return?

“Good,” Vaylen says. “Not much complication mounting as I expected. Now… we will practice Tethering.”

Wind whirls at my fingertips. A sharp look from Vaylen makes me realize the lapse. I rein it in. He seems surprised by my immediate compliance. And is that all? Or does he also seem… disappointed?

“I’m sure you felt your power increase as soon as your dragons accepted you,” he says.

Our dragons. I like the sound of that.

“I want you to close your eyes and focus on that feeling,” he adds.

I close my eyes and dive right into that frantic sensation. Immediately, a surge of energy flows from Zephyros, climbing up my feet, traveling up my thighs, spilling into my gut, and flooding my chest. It fills me entirely, accumulating under my ribs, expanding, expanding, expanding.

What is happening? Is it supposed to ? —

As if my chest has cracked open, wind explodes outward. My feet lift off Zephyros’s head, and my back arches as energy courses through me, surging into every corner of my body. My teeth shatter with the force of it, and for an instant, I fear I’m about to take my last breath, except this feels… sublime.

Something even bigger is awakening inside of me, something that feels magnitudes stronger than the meek boost I just received.

Reveling in the feeling, I open my eyes. Wind whirls all around me, radiating from my chest. Phoebe is down on one knee, an arm over her eyes as she huddles tightly. In contrast, Vaylen stands, watching me through iridescent, glowing eyes. His own energy dances around him, small tendrils tentatively snaking out to touch my own expanding power, as if to taste it.

As I hover in the air, my limbs begin to thrash. I fear something must be wrong. If this goes on, my head will explode. My first instinct is to fight it, to sever the contact between Zephyros and me, but a second, more urgent instinct warns me against doing that.

—This is as it should be , Zephyros’s growl of a voice suffuses me, setting me at ease.

I let it happen, opening my entire being to whatever this is. I don’t know how long it lasts, but at some point, there seems to be a switch, a reversal in the flow of energy. Once I’ve been thoroughly steeped like tea leaves in hot water, it’s Zephyros’s turn to be immersed in the flow of our combined energies—because it isn’t only his power that travels between us… whatever has awakened within me is now part of the surge.

Part of us .

Zephyros exults in the feeling, too. I sense his pleasure as if it were my own. He welcomes it as one would a long-lost friend. He embraces it and feasts on it, all his emotions filling me and making me feel complete at last. I never knew how empty I’d been all this time, how lonely.

With a tremendous roar that vibrates up my bones, Zephyros leaps skyward, beating his wings with a power that only roiling waves or angry winds can match. As he takes off, my feet slam back down atop his head. I fight for balance or at least I feel I must, but my connection to Zephyros keeps me in place. I’m utterly immobile, more Tethers than I can count springing from my body to anchor me to him.

He mounts and mounts, taking us to soar above the clouds. The energy ricocheting inside my body, eases into a quiet flow, a calm river looping infinitely, no beginning, no end.

My dragon, my dragon, rides the air currents, gliding effortlessly through the firmament. He left the plateau because he needed this freedom, needed to stretch his wings to experience the full extent of our… bonding, to shed some of the sadness that plagues him.

The knowledge, Zephyros’s own, seeps into me like water through the crevices of a mountain. It soaks me—unimpeded by any barrier, physical or otherwise.

We are one. He knows my feelings, my thoughts, my entire being.

Wind blows against my face. I close my eyes to it, but I can still see the open sky ahead, the earth rushing past below us. Peace as I’ve never known floods me.

—It’s all right, my little one. No one will ever hurt you again .

Fear strikes me. He knows! My eyes spring open, the wind sharp, cutting. But the surging panic immediately dies.

—You’re safe with me, little one. No one will ever know what you are from me, what you did. He deserved his bloody death. If he were still alive, I would kill him myself.

The sense of acceptance that descends on me brings tears to my eyes. They spill and streak toward my temples, swept by the wind. I cry like I haven’t cried in years, my chest heaving. Uninhibited, unapologetic wails escape my mouth and get lost in the wind’s infinite voice.

When he descends and lands on the plateau once more, my tears are spent. My eyes sting, and I know my face must be blotchy, but everyone will think it’s the wind’s fault.

The Tethers securing me to Zephyros disappear. I collapse to my knees atop his head, exhausted. Through half-lidded eyes, I see every Prime and Skyrider gathering around us, looking baffled. Vaylen bows, then quickly climbs up Zephyros’s body and kneels by my side.

“Are you all right?” he asks, an arm wrapped around my waist for support.

I nod, then quickly collapse into his arms.