forgetting his commands, but Arrow understood. In a split-second, he folded his wings and dropped, Kalai jerking in the saddle. He lost his grip and both stirrups, only the harness kept him in the saddle for a heart-stopping moment until his grasping hands found the strip of leather. He pulled flat against Arrow’s back, ignoring the stirrups in their rushed descent, hissing when one of Arrow’s razor sharp neck spikes nearly grazed his face. Kalai thought he heard the dragon shifting on the rocks above, but he didn’t dare look over his shoulder to see if they’d been spotted.
Arrow extended his wings, gliding into a downward curve until they soared only a few feet above ground, fast as a bullet. Around the next bend, the wagon appeared. Tauran had his back turned. At the sound of their approach, he spun and smiled, but his smile faded when Arrow touched down.
“What’s wrong?” Tauran called. “You all right?”
“I’m fine!” Kalai replied, nearly forgetting to lean back when Arrow raised his head, the sharp neck spines coming dangerously close to Kalai’s face a second time. “There’s a dragon here! A Sky Guard dragon!” He made to dismount, but was stopped by the saddle straps.
Tauran half-ran to them. “What? Where?”
“Up on the cliffs!” Kalai pointed. “I saw the saddle!”
“Rider?”
Kalai shook his head, hands fumbling with the harness.
Tauran noticed and leaned across, snapping the carabiners free. “What did it look like?”
“Uh… it was a statera. Gray. Pretty large.”
Tauran’s frown deepened. “Roric.”
“Commander Landa?” Kalai’s legs felt like jelly when he slid from the saddle.
Tauran caught him by the waist and nodded. His hands roamed over Kalai’s body, searching for hurts. “Catria rides a swiftwing. Falka rides a titan. The recruits can’t fly yet, so it has to be Roric.”
“I’m guessing he’s not on our side.”
Tauran rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I… I don’t know. We can’t take any chances. Falka must have sent him out here to look for us.” He barked out a curse and turned away.
“Does that mean they know we’re headed for the marshes?” Kalai asked, breathless, trailing Tauran in the direction of the wagon.
“Not necessarily.” Tauran took the horses by their reins and led them toward a sheltered spot below the cliffs. “It’ll have taken Roric less than a day to fly this far south. The fact that they haven’t found us yet means they’re searching blindly. Border to border, most likely. This has to be a coincidence. Did they see you?”
Kalai shook his head. “I don’t think so. Where’s Leyra?”
“In the wagon. She was sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her.”
Kalai pressed himself as far into the shadows of the outcrop as he could, but it was hardly an ideal hiding spot. They were only halfway sheltered. Anyone looking down on them from the north-east would spot them easily. Arrow cooed softly, settling on the rocky ground with his head on Kalai’s feet.
“You’re hurt.” Tauran’s hand was gentle, turning Kalai’s head. He traced the edge of the cut on Kalai’s cheek with his thumb.
Kalai flushed. “Stupid mistake.”
“Skies, I wish I could have…” Tauran trailed off and dropped his hand.
Kalai caught it, lacing their fingers together.
They waited in silence for what felt like ages. At one point, Kalai thought he might have heard the distant rush of wings, but he couldn’t be certain.
Finally, Tauran shifted with a pained groan. Kalai stood and offered him a hand, which he took with a nod of thanks. Leyra babbled from inside the wagon, the tarp shifting when she stuck her head out and narrowed her golden eyes in the daylight.
“Do you think we’re safe?” Kalai asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Arrow can check.”
Tauran seemed to consider it, then nodded.
Arrow ascended the cliffs with caution, leaping from outcrop to outcrop until he neared the top. He stretched his long neck to scan the horizon, then fanned out his wings and took to the air, landing on top. He roared a call.
“Seems safe to me,” Tauran said, emerging from the shadows. “But let’s keep you two on the ground until we reach the marshes.”
Kalai nodded, trying not to let his disappointment show. It was only a few days, after all.
When he met Tauran’s eyes again, Tauran was smiling.
“So how was it?” Tauran asked, as he led the horses from their shelter.
“How was…” For a moment, only thoughts of capture and jail filled Kalai’s mind, but then realization struck. “The flight!” His voice broke with excitement, and he flushed, but Tauran’s smile only widened, encouraging Kalai to go on. “It