Tropical Dragons Series Box Set - Naomi Lucas Page 0,51
strong, I ride out the shift, focusing. When it levels, I move forward, one step at a time.
Another crack slices the air, joined by thunder. I halt, waiting.
Glancing outward, my mouth dries up. I’m midway. Only midway. The bridge sways side to side. My feet shift and part.
Lightning fills the sky in vibrant flashes. A spark of heat whips through the wind when a terrible erupting boom fills my ears. I see one of the trees in the village sizzling, split in two. Milaye covers both Delina and Leith with her body, forcing them to the ground.
Screams ring in the air.
They look at me with wide, horror-filled eyes.
“Go!” I shout, “Get to the lift. I’ll be right behind! I promise.”
Milaye nods resolutely and I’m thankful. Delina starts fighting but Ola grabs her and forces her away. Leith lingers another moment, catching my gaze, and I take another step forward. He turns away and runs after Delina.
Only Milaye remains to hold the bridge for me. Now, swinging back and forth, I’m practically hanging on, using my feet as leverage as my arms do all the work.
I see some of the tribe staring up at me from below on the beach.
“Aida! Don’t stop,” someone yells, and I drive forward, pain ripping my shoulders, jerking my arms this way and that to get to the end.
I miss my final step, but Milaye grabs me, pulling me into her arms, and we tumble to the ground together in relief. But we have no time to celebrate.
In the next instant, we’re running to the lift. Delina and the others are below. We begin cranking it back up as Ola and Panyia run with Leith and Delina down the beach, under the gape where the bridge swings, and toward the caves.
As we wrench the lever, I realize Milaye and I are the last ones left in the village. The rest have already fled to safety. The underlying scent of burnt wood floods my nose.
And then I hear it, a different sort of roar. Not like the screeching one from before…
It’s so loud, so much closer than any other, so terrible it nearly stops my thrumming heart. My hands stop cranking, and Milaye takes over as I peer out to the east, down the coast, over the turbulent waves where the sound resonates from.
In the direction of Shell Rock and Issa’s home.
But it’s so much closer than that, my thoughts tangle, fearful. It’s right there.
Right there.
Coming through the veil of rain.
It goes on and on, over the thunder, joining with flashes of lightning, pounding my eardrums, taking me over, solidifying me to the spot. I can’t tear my eyes from the horizon, knowing it’s growing ever closer. My heart lodges in my throat. My fingers twitch.
“Aida! We must go!”
Milaye says something and grabs my arm, pulling me onto the lift. My eyes tear away from the horizon. The roar continues.
“Aida, what is happening to you?” she snaps. “Help me with the lever. It’s sticking.”
It’s enough to shake me out of my reverie. Just as the dragon’s roar ends.
Together, we release the sticking lever and loosen the ropes for our descent. The lift starts lowering, but Milaye rushes her side, and we jerk down at an angle. Catching up to her, I straighten us out, knowing it’s fear that’s driving her.
It should be driving me too, but it’s not. My veins are full of the lightning that’s in the sky, of wild adrenaline, and not even the aching pain in my wrenched muscles can overpower the thrill surging through me.
A dragon made that sound. I steal a glance back to the horizon.
I see a shift, a giant shadow.
Before the lift hits the beach, Milaye jumps off and runs toward the cave, vanishing around the rocky outcropping that makes up the base of our home. I take a step to follow but stop, staring down the coast. I cannot resist.
Something dark moves in the rainfall, something large, menacing, and far more astounding than anything I could’ve imagined. It’s not coming from the sky or the land, but from the water, emerging like a tidal wave to curve downward and disappear a moment later.
Water rushes over my feet, the waves building higher and crashing, moving farther inland than any storm has taken them before. Still, I’m rooted to the spot. But the shadow vanishes and it’s enough to bring my senses back.
Run! My body urges me suddenly. Go!
I pivot to the lever and yank it until the lift is above