rolled to a halt. Tauran patted the top of the tarp and Kalai crawled out, pulling the tarp tight before moving to the front. He looked up at Tauran’s form in the driver’s seat. “Eastern gate, still?”
Tauran nodded. “Sure you don’t need help with the balcony doors?”
“Arrow can help me. I’ll be faster on my own.” Kalai winced. “Sorry.”
Tauran shook his head. “It’s true. Be safe.”
Kalai darted from the wagon and leaped over piles of rubble, slipped through the broken fence, crossed the old grounds and ran inside the tower. Taking a moment to breathe, he steered for the stairs. They had to be quick. He couldn’t get all the way to the sixth floor running, but he could try.
By the time he reached it, he was heaving in ragged breaths, using the wall as support. The muscles of his thighs and calves burned and throbbed. He couldn’t remember ever pushing himself so hard. Stars danced before his eyes when he staggered onto the broken mosaic. Somewhere nearby, Arrow called in greeting, followed by the sound of his soft padded feet against the floor. Kalai checked his watch. He had made it up in two minutes and thirty seconds.
“Hey, boy,” Kalai exhaled. He braced his hands on his knees, bent over to clear his vision. It’d do them no good if he fainted, now. “You and I are getting out of here.”
Shaking out of it, Kalai grabbed the saddle and straps off the floor. He had gone over and over in his mind how to tack up fast and efficiently, and he saddled Arrow like he’d done it a thousand times and not just twice. Arrow stood still and to attention, as if sensing everything at stake.
“This way!” Kalai ran to the balcony doors. He removed the latch, grabbed the handles and pulled. “Shit!” His feet skidded on the floor. He had forgotten how heavy they were.
High above, a dragon shrieked aggressively. The wild dragons were still in the air. Kalai tried not to think of the last time Arrow had flown free. Tonight, there was no margin for error.
Finally, the door shifted, the wheels squeaking. He let momentum roll it the rest of the way and it came to a stop with an echoing bump.
A single open door was plenty of space for Arrow to fit through. Arrow shivered with excitement, nose in the wind when they stepped outside. Kalai heard the rush of air into his lungs. Arrow spread his ghostly wings and released a cry of longing. Kalai couldn’t blame him. He had been locked up for so many weeks.
“Listen,” Kalai said. He hopped and wrapped a hand over Arrow’s nose, pulling his head down. “Listen closely. Fly up!” He pointed up, then directed his hand to the east. “And that way.”
Arrow blinked.
“Up! Stay up! And that way!” Kalai said again, pointing to the east. He stared at Arrow. He had no clue if Arrow understood a word he said. Kalai had tried to give him directions before, with questionable results. But this was a case of life and death. Even if Arrow couldn’t understand his words, Kalai had no doubt he could feel his tension. “Go! Now!” Kalai tapped Arrow’s neck, then stepped back. He had barely cleared the span of his wings before Arrow leaped off the balcony and into the air. He rose. Higher and higher, into the cloud cover above. And then he was gone.
Anxiety churned in Kalai’s gut as he spun and ran back to the stairs. He took them running, as fast as he dared, half-stumbling on the final step before racing outside and through the fence. “He’s off!” he called, before reaching the wagon. He steered for the back, but Tauran stopped him with a gesture.
“Come sit with me.” Tauran’s voice was tense, his shoulders tight. “You were fast.”
Kalai climbed into the driver’s seat beside Tauran, who shifted to make room for him. “It’s going well,” Kalai said, still panting. He placed a hand on Tauran’s thigh. It was a gesture he would normally find more than a little suggestive, but both Tauran’s hands were on the reins, and it looked like he could use the closeness as much as Kalai could. Tauran’s muscles were bunched and tight under his touch.
Tauran flashed him a brief smile, then turned his attention back to the road. He steered them carefully around the rubble of the ruined district, then flicked the reins and urged the horses into a trot.