Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Gotcha.”
I will not let you fall, Jurik tells me, slightly indignant at the thought.
I know. But her suggestion is smart. I smile at Gwen, then take a deep breath and approach Jurik. “Time to do this, then. Help me up?”
My dragon lies flat on his belly and extends his “palm” out to me. I step onto it and his claws curl around my lower half, then he raises me into the air, up to his shoulder. I nearly slip out of his grasp, but manage to clumsily grab at the saddle. This would be tricky with two hands, but with just one, it’s frustratingly awkward and near impossible. I end up faceplanting against his scales and inchworming my way until I can reach the pommel.
It is my fault, Jurik says, and I can feel his frustration. Next time, I will be better at assisting you.
It’s no one’s fault, I reassure him. I’m not laying blame. We’re both still figuring things out. We’ll get better at it.
I heave myself onto the saddle, and then spend the next several minutes listening to Gwen’s called out instructions as I snap belts onto my waist and then tie the reins around my stump, until I feel practically strapped to Jurik’s neck by a million cords.
Are you sure you are secure? Jurik asks. I can hold you in my claws if you would rather.
“I’m pretty sure I’m in good,” I tell him, patting the seatbelt buckle across my hips that’s threaded through the back of the saddle itself. “Give a good shimmy and try and buck me off, and we’ll see how this holds.”
Very well.
In the next moment, the calmly sitting dragon gives a massive heave and then shakes like a dog flinging water, and I let out a yelp of surprise. I cling to the pommel as the world sways back and forth and my stomach heaves.
You said to shimmy!
I did, I manage, swallowing hard as I compose myself. “I’m still on, though, so I think it’s a success.” I lift my hand from the pommel and give Gwen a faint thumbs up. “We’re good to go.”
She bites her lip and looks at Vaan, moving a little closer to him. “Good luck, you guys. Speak up if you need help and Vaan will come after you.”
“Thanks,” I reassure her, knowing very well we’re not going to call for him. If we get into something we can’t get out of, no sense in dragging him down with us. Not when he’s got a baby on the way.
We will be safe, Jurik assures me. We are only going to fly as high as we feel is comfortable and take a look around. If it’s something he senses, surely we should be able to sense it if we fly closer. And the moment we sense something, we fly back.
Sounds good. Logical. I nod briefly. “Let’s do this before we have second thoughts.”
My heart swells with affection for you, Jurik sends to me with a fierce wave of pride and pleasure. You are the bravest of mates.
I’m overcome with emotion at that declaration. There’s so much I want to say—
But then Jurik leaps into the air, and I yelp as he surges forward, and then we’re flying. The late afternoon breeze rips at my hair and I squeeze my eyes to slits to stop them from watering. The sheer freedom of flying comes over me, and I gulp down large breaths of fresh air as we fly higher and higher, moving away from Fort Dallas. I can feel Jurik’s pleasure at being in the air, at the fresh breeze that takes away the stink of the fort.
For a moment there’s nothing but us and wide open space. Opportunity. Joy. Freedom.
Then Jurik wheels in the sky and begins to pump his wings harder, gaining altitude. I look up, and the Rift is at the edge of the sky, just as it always is. It never seems as far away as the moon, but I still have my doubts that we can actually get to it. It doesn’t seem possible.
We will get as close as we can, Jurik promises. I came through, so I should be able to get to it again.
He’s got a point. I watch as he goes higher and higher, the pulsing scar of it across the sky leaving me with an uneasy feeling. The edges are an unnatural green, as if tearing a hole into our world made the sky sick and it’s decaying at the edges. Inside the Rift, I see nothing but blackness. That’s normal, though.
For the next while, neither Jurik nor I speak as he continues to fly higher and higher. I can feel his determination to get to the Rift, even as the air grows cool and thins out. The clouds drift below us, and yet we’re still not there. Surely we’ve been flying for at least an hour, but to me, the Rift looks no larger than it ever does.