Arlet steps forward, and the dragon retracts her wings. My fearless Firelocks extends her hand, and the creature bows its head. When flesh makes contact with scale, the dragon huffs.
“Seraph,” I hear her say.
I turn to the guard. “Is this not the one who said she would no longer fly?”
The men watch.
“Yes.”
I press my lips together. Eyes burning.
Arlet had a way of bringing people back from the darkness.
The men start moving. One of them takes our packs, and then secures them tightly to one of Seraph’s legs.
“Is it all right to take her even though you had brought another?” I ask.
One nods. “If a dragon has a preference for a rider, it is against our customs to deny the beast.”
The dragon’s head is still hovering near Arlet. Watching. Studying.
The bond between them is palpable.
Once the saddle is placed correctly, Arlet climbs onto her back. I laugh, amused by her ease around monsters, then follow. I mount behind her, my heart racing as Seraph’s muscles coil beneath us, preparing for flight.
Here we go.
She walks closer and closerto the edge.
I try not to look down.
Arlet grips the reins firmly, her posture calm, as if she were born to do this. Without a word, Seraph pushes off the ground. Her wings beat powerfully, the air rushing around us as we rise higher into the sky. The city below shrinks into the distance.
The wind howls past, but Arlet doesn’t flinch. Her connection to Seraph is steady, unwavering, as we soar higher and higher.
We don’t look back.
Chapter 33
ARLET
The world is ice and gold.
The wind howls against us, cutting mercilessly through my clothes. It numbs my skin until I can no longer tell if I am shivering or simply becoming one with the air.
The only warmth is trapped between me and Vann. He sits behind me, his arms locked tightly around my waist, his chest solid against my back. With him, I am safe. Cared for.
It’s given me a much-needed reserve of confidence. Something necessary as we have been flying for hours.
Even when my back aches and my flesh burns under my enchanted clothes, I love flying. Seraph is a marvel in and of herself. She trusted me enough to take flight after months on the ground.
A part of me had worried she would not be strong enough, but her wings carve through the dawn, carrying us beyond anything I have ever known.
I adjust my riding goggles and look down. Beneath us, the continent unfurls in an endless, breathtaking sprawl—there are dense forests stretching into oblivion, rivers glistening like silver threads, and mountains rising to be crowned in mist.
We even pass over the Enduar Mountains. They rise up, the black peaks slicing into the sky. I long to return with Vann at my side.
Soon.