The storm wasn’t letting up.
It was impossible to tell if we were flying in the morning or the dead of night anymore. The thick clouds had blocked out the sun, leaving us in a darkness so thick I could barely see Avek in front of us.
Do you want me to lend you my eyesight? Ignimitra asked.
No, I said. You need to conserve your energy. Do you know if this storm is natural?
Ignimitra paused for a moment, seemingly assessing our surroundings. I’m not certain. It feels like it is…following us.
So, we were either flying into a storm going the same direction we were, or there was a Lightning Dragon nearby using this to throw us off course. The odds didn’t seem to be in our favor.
An enemy attack was the last thing I needed right now.
It seemed fate was determined to take me, one way or another.
As the minutes ticked by, our visibility got worse.
When the clouds were so thick that I could barely see my hands in front of my face, the wind picked up. It grew harsh all at once, screaming as it rushed past us. Freezing air reached its tendrils into my clothes, pulling gooseflesh out of my skin.
I held on to Ignimitra for dear life.
The wind ripped my hair out of its plait, slicing my gloves and denting my armor. It felt like a slow death at the mercy of thousands of tiny knives, a sensation that was burned into my memory.
When I felt us losing altitude, the air left my lungs.
The wind was forcing us lower and lower. Until this, Ignimitra had been fighting against it, beating her wings vigorously. But it was a losing battle.
When she shrieked, I realized things were infinitely worse than I knew.
We were falling fast.
Was it still land beneath us? I didn’t know anymore.
The wind had stripped me of my sense of direction. For all I knew, we were plummeting into the icy ocean. I listened out for the sound of the other dragons around us, but all I could hear was the wind in my ears, and Ignimitra’s muffled cries.
Had we been separated?
My heart felt like a stone in my chest.
I clutched Ignimitra tighter, bracing for the impact of whatever lay beneath us.
I will break your fall, she said.
My eyes burned from tears, but I squeezed them shut, willing myself to be strong if these were to be my final moments.
There weren’t any words to express how I felt to her. So, I closed my eyes and focused on feeling the connection between us.
My heart could speak all the words my mind couldn’t.
That’s when it dawned on me that we had been flying to my death.
And possibly Ignimitra’s too, since she wouldn’t have allowed them to kill me.
As far as choices went, this was better than what lay in store for us in Tartaris.
All of a sudden, the world went white, then faded to black.
FOR THE SECOND TIME in however many hours, I woke with a headache.
It throbbed from one side of my head to the other, my brain pulsating with every breath I took. I wanted to retch my breakfast, and with each wave of pain the feeling got stronger and stronger.
But my body was so weak, there was no way I could move to even raise my head, much less bend over to puke. It hurt all over.
It hurt to lay here, to breathe.
It even hurt to think.
Wait, it hurt.
That meant I was alive.
Despite the pain, my brain slowly filled with images of the last few moments I remembered. I saw myself being carried in front of the camp to answer for Drin’s murder. I saw the contempt on Vulknor’s face, and the way my real friends stepped into defend me. Then, we were flying towards Tartaris, and the storm filled my thoughts.
The headache crescendoed.
It was like I was reliving it all.
The coldness on my face, the anxiety that made my limbs feel like dead weight, even the painful stabs of the wind as it wore down my clothes. Ignimitra had promised to break my fall, vowing to protect me even in the face of death.
Then the world had faded to black.
Had she actually done that?
Ignimitra! I called, pushing through the pain to use our Fusion Bond.
Silence.
My eyes burned, thinking of what could happen to her.
I forced myself to roll on to my side, trying to get a bearing of her location. My head hurt too much for me to sense her.
The ambient noise of the environment started to filter in.
There was a sea nearby, for I heard the crash of waves. The wind still whistled around me, though this one was calmer, almost soothing. Forcing my eyes to focus, I saw the dark sea washing the shore in the distance.
This was an island.
That didn’t help much, since most of New Terra was comprised of them. Still, we hadn’t flown far. We had to be in Pyralis if we made it to land.
I sunk my teeth into my lips so hard I tasted copper, just to push through the pain that came from sitting up. My dragon needed me, wherever she was.
Ignimitra? I called again, squinting my eyes.
Where I lay, blades of grass were mottled with wet sand. It was all over my fingers and my uniform. And there was something else.
Blood.
Alarmed, I felt for my head instinctively. Sure enough, there was a wet scar there that was sensitive to the touch. I must’ve gotten it in my fall. And if I had a wound this painful, I could only imagine what Ignimitra had happened to Ignimitra.
“Angel!” I called, trying to stand. The tears were so close. “Angel! Where are you?” It felt so stupid to be calling out her name, but maybe she would hear me better if she was hurt.
I fell down twice, but on the third I was able to stand.
The land was the same, no matter the direction I looked.
Sparse blades of grass in muddy sand. The sky was still grey and laden with clouds that blocked out the sun. I couldn’t even tell what time it was.
Was it even the same day?
Had we really been thrown out of the sky by a storm, or was an attack coming? My hand traveled to the hilt of my sword that was still in my scabbard, thankfully. Or had they found me already and only taken Ignimitra? She was still alive though, right?
She had to be alive because I was alive.
I was sinking deeper into the throes of sadness when a distinctive sound drew my attention.
Dragon wings.
Above me, two shadows were flying towards me. My throat grew dry, but I drew for my sword nonetheless and shifted into an offensive stance.
Were these the Astraphotians who had shot us down?
Deep down, I knew I didn’t have a chance of beating them.
But I would try. I owed to Ignimitra to try and find her, and I wouldn’t stop until I did the best that I could. Summoning all the strength I could, I tightened my grip on my sword.
The shadows grew closer and closer, my heart beating in time to my rapid, shallow breaths. I barely had the strength to keep my stance, but I forced myself to.
I could make out the dragons now, but they didn’t seem like Lightning Dragons at all. In fact, the lead one looked so familiar. And the one a few lengths behind it…?
Kaos, it’s me!
Ignimitra was flying towards me.
The tears fell then, purging me of the emotions that had wound so tight in my stomach. I crumpled to my feet, looking up at them making their descent.
It was when they landed that I recognized the dragon who had led Ignimitra here.
It was Nurik.
