Vann stiffens behind me. I feel his attention shift, following my gaze downward.
“They shouldn’t be here,” I say, barely able to find my voice over the roar of the wind. “This is too far—there’s no land for leagues. What are they doing?”
His answer is lost.
The wind screams around us, a deafening, living force, snatching the breath from my lungs. Rain lashes against me, cold as needles, and Seraph fights against the gusts with every powerful beat of her wings.
Vann’s grip around me is iron.
“We should try to go higher!” I shout over the roaring wind, but even as I say it, I know it won’t matter.
The storm has us now.
A sudden gust slams into Seraph’s side, sending us tilting violently. My stomach drops as we spiral. My vision spins and Seraph roars.
She struggles against the wind’s relentless pull. My fingers claw at the saddle straps, gripping tight, and I feel Vann shift behind me, moving with the dragon’s desperate attempt to steady herself.
The storm howls, pushing, forcing, dragging us toward the unknown. The rain covers my goggles, the wind howls through my bones, and Seraph—Seraph fights.Her wings cut through the air with everything she has.
It isn’t enough.
The sky fractures into darkness, the ocean disappearing as the storm hurtles us forward. Then—through the blur of wind and rain, something looms ahead.
Land.
A jagged, dark shape rises from the mist, cliffs lined with shadowed trees. The sea crashes violently against its base, waves clawing at the rocks, and the wind shoves us toward it without mercy.
I wipe my hands at the goggles, trying to clear my vision.
“Seraph!” I scream, and she roars in response.
Her wings snap open at the last moment, straining against the force dragging us down, and for a single second, I think she’ll right herself.
Then the wind changes direction again.
The island surges closer.
We hit.
Seraph’s claws scrape across rock as she lands hard, skidding over soaked earth, her great body coiling to absorb the impact. I’m thrown forward, the saddle straps biting into my skin as I clutch onto anything to keep from being hurled off.
Vann’s arms tighten around me, his breath a harsh curse against my ear.
Then everything stills.
My pulse thunders in my ears. My body is frozen and my lungs burn.
We crashed, butwe made it.
Seraph lets out long, labored breaths and curls her tail to her torso. Vann unties both of us, and helps me to slide off.
I approach the dragon’s front, checking for wounds. When I try to touch her, she muzzles into my hand. Almost as if to tell me,I am all right. Just need rest.
The rain continues to pour, soaking through my clothes, plastering my hair to my face. Salt and wet earth fill my nose. The trees are silhouetted against flashes of lightning.
Strong hands grip me from behind, and twist me around. Vann rips off his eyewear, tossing it to the side, and then picks me up.
My tall sky-blue enduar exhales sharply, his forehead pressing against my shoulder for the briefest moment before he straightens and sets me down. His hands brush down my arms, checking, solid and sure.