His frustration was mounting, but as long as he protected the ship as Alchan had left him to do, he couldn’t find a reason to put himself in more danger than he was already in. His king had been right. They were more interested in knocking him out of the sky than attacking any of the other Andinna.
He wondered how the others were doing as he dove low and skimmed over the water, trying to blend in. It gave him a chance to breathe easy when they couldn’t pick him out against the dark waves, even with the full red moon hovering over their heads. His wings touched the water as he turned and angled up to gain altitude again. Another giant spear brushed the air under him.
We’re never going to leave this harbor if I don’t take out the warships.
He knew that with clarity, but he didn’t know how to get close to the ships as they took shots at him.
Did he try anyway? He rolled in the sky, his wings pulling close to his scaled body as he tested how close he could get to the warships following him around. A large spear from one of the ballistae screamed by him where his wing should have been. It would have taken him out of the sky if he hadn’t decided to streamline his body for a dive.
He triggered fire in his mouth as he shifted to dive down toward the closest warship.
One at a time. I just need to do one at a time, and eventually, there won’t be any left.
He was falling fast, heading straight for the target he’d chosen. Another spear cut the air near him, too close for comfort.
They might hit me soon, and if I end up in the water, I’m dead.
He couldn’t forget that. He couldn’t swim, not as a giant beast, and if he had a spear in him, shifting back into his Andinna body would kill him.
Right before he crashed into the ship, he opened his mouth and let the fire go, engulfing the deck of the warship. His wings snapped open, catching the air hard, stopping his headfirst plunge. His back legs crashed into the ship and he used it to jump back up while he set everything on fire. He could hear the sailors scream and run from the ship, their bodies alight.
One down. That wasn’t so bad—
A spear cut across his side, cutting deep under a section of his underbelly not well scaled. He screeched and worked to gain air as another scratched his leg. None were direct hits, but they were getting close, and that wasn’t comforting. Were the Elvasi getting better, or was he just that much easier to hit?
He climbed into the sky and continued to evade. He was beginning to realize Alchan’s worry and take it seriously. They really did want to kill him. They wanted to take him out of the sky and lay him to rest in the deep harbor.
A screech grabbed his attention as he soared over the warships with their mounted ballistae. He turned to find the source of the commotion, confused by the sound. He recognized it, but he didn’t believe it.
Why would gryphons be flying over the Ellantia harbor?
A second screech was much closer, and Rain had to turn around to see what was happening.
Around him, gryphons were showing up, none fighting against the ships down below or picking off easy meals of dead soldiers and sailors. Instead, they were headed toward him.
What the Skies is going on?
He kept moving, trying to find out. His confusion was quickly being overridden by a supreme sense of dread. As one of the gryphons drew close, he saw the problem.
There was an Elvasi knight on its back with a spear.
Oh shit.
He barely moved in time to dodge a spear from being jammed into his gut. That would have killed him without much of a problem. A wyvern’s most exposed and vulnerable place was its underbelly, normally not scaled as well, needing the flexibility some of its larger scales couldn’t provide. In fights for territories, wyverns target their opponents’ soft section.
He thought he was safe, but something slammed into his back. He felt that something tear into him, finding ways to get between his scales. Roaring, he shifted to slow himself down and arch backward, doing a flip to shake the beast on his back. It had to be one of the gryphons, but he would have to land to yank it off his back.
Rain heard screaming as the Elvasi rider lost his seat and fell to his death in the water below. After that, he reached out, trying to snap at the other beast. When that proved unsuccessful, he sped up, shaking violently, hoping to knock it loose. The gryphon’s beak pecked, grabbed at, and tore away scales on his back.
Get off me, you fucking animal. This isn’t your damn fight.
Rain dodged another gryphon and a spear, all the while trying to shake his passenger.
With nothing working, he resorted to his last option. Wyverns couldn’t swim well, but he decided to take the chance.
His head hit the water first, and he sank, taking the gryphon with him. The moment the other beast released him, Rain turned his big head up and grabbed the gryphon, crushing its body in his jaws and shaking in the water. After that, he knew he had to get out. Sharks were going to come for all the blood, and he wanted no part in that. With a strong beat of his wings, he approached the surface. It was a struggle, but his head broke out of the water, then his wings. He had to work fast and hope the water kept him hidden as he tried to get out.
By the time he was back in the air, the gryphons and their riders were closing in on him again. He rolled out of the way of another spear from a ballista right as one of the riders shoved one into his thigh.
Okay, change of plans, Rain. Kill gryphon-riding Elvasi first, then the ships. Be the hunter, not the hunted.
He dropped down toward the water again, but this time with a different purpose. He got under one of the gryphon riders and snapped up, grabbing the gryphon by its back legs. With a twist of his head, he tore the back end off and swallowed, leaving the Elvasi to fall with the dead mount. He didn’t get long to celebrate as another spear tried to find its way into his shoulder. He rolled, letting one of his large wings knock away another attacker, hopefully taking the Elvasi out of the sky.
From that moment, he found himself harassed at every angle by the gryphon-riding Elvasi. He couldn’t focus on the ships as a dozen gryphons flew around him, trying to find ways to attack him in his most vulnerable areas. He hit one with his tail, but that got him poked in the thigh. He grabbed one out of the air with his back legs and tossed it, but that got him bitten on the neck while an Elvasi tried to stab out his eyes.
He roared, shaking hard to get space again.
All the while, he lost track of the warships.
Oh no.
It was like his father had just hit him across the back of his head. Realization made him suddenly aware of everything, as he noticed how the gryphons were driving him further out to sea and away from the harbor. They were running a mission to drive him off from the fight. That was the only explanation.
He roared, pushing through them and turning back. He flew back as fast as he could, harassed every moment by the gryphon riders. A spear finally sank into his shoulder, making him drop for a moment before he learned to work with it. It hampered the mobility of his left wing, but he couldn’t stop and pull it out.
Don’t beat me there. I have to be faster than the warships.
He roared as he drew closer, seeing how the ships had turned their weapons on the escape ship. Already, Sen’s sailors were running to small skiffs, dropping them into the water and making a run for it. The only Andinna left on the ship was Leshaun. Rain had left him there, alone, promising to protect him.
Rain screeched as a gryphon clawed on his wing. He didn’t have time to fight them as cannonballs started to fire. A hole blasted into the side of the ship.
No. I promised to protect the ship! No!
He swooped low, fire pouring out of him to destroy the closest warship. A spear went through his wing. Straight through. He felt it, but like the Andinna, his wyvern form could handle a few small holes in the wing webbing. He could endure.
He kept the ship in his sight, seeing Leshaun run for a takeoff. He turned to provide cover as the old ma
le took to the air. He let Leshaun rise over him, rising up fast enough he felt the old male’s feet on his back. He pushed up higher, forcing the old male to ride him.
“Rain! Get us to the Company!” Leshaun screamed. “Go!”
Rain, unable to respond, picked up speed, beating his wings hard to outrun the gryphon riders behind him. Leshaun was right, they had to get to the Company now. The ship was lost, and that changed everything.
As he rose over the cliff, then the fortress, he realized why the Andinna hadn’t returned from the assault yet. There were dozens of gryphon riders controlling the skies over the fortress. Rain built the fire in his mouth as he approached quickly. Once they were in range, he let it go, engulfing three in fire in one go. It made the others scatter for a moment. He had to get to the courtyard. He had to fight. He hit another gryphon at full speed, his talons extended like a hawk grabbing prey. With ease, he ripped it in half as they flew over the courtyard. Before any others could attack him, he dropped down. The Andinna in the courtyard jumped out of the way as he landed. Leshaun jumped off him. Without missing a beat, Rain took off again, leaving the old male to deal with the Company.
He had to clear the skies of the gryphons, or they were never getting out alive.
He couldn’t save the ship, but maybe he could do that much before they took him out of the skies.
34
Mave
Mave watched Rain take off, unable to comprehend for a moment what just happened. One moment, they were trying to figure out what to do next, then he was there, with Leshaun on his back. Without even looking at her, her little brother had taken off, entering the skies with the Elvasi gryphon riders. Mat and Luykas seemed just as shocked.
When someone shouted, she was knocked out of her surprise. She turned to see what was going on, who might need her assistance. Luykas had been right. They were holding the courtyard well now and just needed to secure an escape route again. The waiting game for Brynec and the others was on. She just hoped she saw her lover again. Having Matesh close was good, but she wasn’t going to leave without both of them. She couldn’t bring herself to consider a world without either. That was why she had promised Mat they would be okay.
There wasn’t a world she wanted to live in where they weren’t.
“Leshaun, what is going on?” Luykas demanded.
“The ship is gone. Rain covered me and gave me a ride here. He was forced from the fight with the warships when some of those fucking gryphon riders showed up. They harassed him to no end.” Leshaun was harried and frantic. She’d never seen the old male shaken up. “I don’t know what’s happened to Sen and his sailors. We have to consider them lost.”
“Oh fuck,” Mat groaned. “Now we have to escape to the Dragon Spine—”
“The king is here!” an Andinna yelled over the commotion around them. Mave spun, seeing Alchan run in and right beside him, Bryn.
She couldn’t stop herself, running across the courtyard until she hit him, wrapping her arms around him.
“You’re safe,” she whispered, holding him tightly. “I was beginning to worry.” He wrapped his arms around her as well, holding on as if his life depended on it.
“We hit some fightin’ tryin’ to get here. We changed our plans by freein’ some slaves that were here. Twenty more Andinna to take home. Now, we just need to get back to the ship.”
“The ship is gone,” she explained quickly. “Bryn, the ship is gone. Rain just brought Leshaun and took off to fight more in the sky. The Elvasi are—”
“The Elvasi are riding fucking gryphons?” Alchan roared in question. “Luykas, this better be a bad fucking joke!”
“That,” she whispered. Before she could let go of him, Mat was there, his arms around both of them.
“Bryn, glad to see you’re okay,” Mat said quickly.
“Aye. Ya too.” Bryn pulled away before she could. “How ya both? No injuries? And fuckin’ what are y’all sayin’ about gryphons?”
“They’ve trained gryphon mounts. Never seen anything like it before. Look up.” Mat pointed before she could. They all looked together, to see Rain flying through the gryphons, knocking one out of the sky and setting another on fire as he passed. It was a war being waged right above them, and to leave the fortress in Ellantia, they had to go right through it.
“He’s doing well,” Mave pointed out. “But we have to join him.”
“We do,” Bryn sighed.
“Company, to me!” Alchan roared. Mave and her males went together. She didn’t hold their hands like she saw Senri doing with her males. They surrounded her. Mave sent her friend a smile, glad to see her. Allaina was close by, her three males around her as well. Mave knew their names now, but in four months, they still hadn’t had a real conversation. The courtyard was now packed nearly wing to wing with Andinna.
“We’re taking to the skies!” Alchan explained loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Follow someone from the Company at all times. We’re heading north to the Dragon Spine. Don’t land until you’re confident you’ll have a large group and cover from the trees.”
“What about those who can’t fly?” a young male Mave didn’t recognize asked.
“We’re going to carry them,” Alchan answered.
Mave raised an eyebrow. If there was one thing she had learned, Andinna carrying other Andinna during flight wasn’t easy or safe. The extra set of wings caused a problem.
“I have ten elderly who need help. Volunteers will have protection from the Company. We’re not leaving anyone behind.”
“You should,” an old female cut in. “Sire, thank you so much for getting us this far, but I think us old ones can stay.”
“What?” Mave couldn’t stop the word. What was this old female getting at? Alchan had just rescued her. He went off the plan to save those who were captured to free other slaves, something impressive for their king, and now, the old female wanted to stay behind and die?
“You need someone to watch the courtyard,” she explained softly before anyone else could cut in. “So the Elvasi don’t come in and kill those trying to take off. I can do that. It’ll be a good last stand for this old body.”
“No…” Alchan began to shake his head. “I can’t let you—”
“Respect your elders. I know your grandmother must have taught you how to do that, Sire. I’m the only old female here. We wouldn’t be much help to the others, and no one else is going to die for me. Take the young ones and leave.”
A group of old males stepped up around the old female, and Mave saw the loyalty. They might not have been the old female’s mayara, but they would follow her to their deaths.
Mave could see why this was the only option. The old Andinna had tattered, undernourished wings. They were starved and scarred in ways Mave never allowed herself to become. A thousand years of slavery treated the elderly much different than the young like her. This Lord Junius didn’t have a reason to keep his slaves healthy the way the Empress kept hers mostly healthy. They probably weren’t fed more than once a day, if that.
And they were willing to die to see the rest of them escape.
“I never got your name,” Alchan whispered, taking the female’s hand. “Tell me now, and I’ll make sure you’re never forgotten.”
“Arjana,” she answered softly. Something about the name made many turn quickly in confusion and shock. Alchan stuttered for a few moments before continuing.
“Be with the Skies, Arjana. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.” Alchan leaned forward and kissed the female on the cheek.
Mave was touched. Never had she ever seen someone treated so tenderly by the grouchy male they called their king. Arjana picked up a sword from a dead Elvasi when Alchan was done with her and began to point to the old males, telling them what to do. The rest of the crowd was too quiet as they all realized these old ones were going to help them leave together safely by dying for them.
Mave glanced at Senri and saw her friend looked as bleak as she felt. Allaina
stepped up and whispered something to Arjana, who nodded with a bright smile. Continued whispering made Mave want to step in and see what was being said. She wanted to hug Senri and catch up. She wanted to make sure her friend was okay.
“Mave, Mat, Bryn, you’ll all be flying with me,” Luykas told them quickly. “We have to get into the air now while Rain has them distracted.”
“Of course.” Catching up with friends and thinking about the sacrifice of Arjana would have to come later. First, they had to survive the night, so the old female’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
It happened fast after that. Alchan took off first with Nevyn and Varon right behind him. Several of the freed Andinna took their chance to jump into the air as well. She went soon after, following Luykas, knowing Mat and Bryn were right there with her.
Quickly, the air was filling with Andinna, but they weren’t the only occupants. Before she cleared the fortress, a gryphon swooped in on her and nearly knocked her out of the sky. Mat grabbed her for a moment, and she struggled to get wind beneath her wings again.
“Higher!” Luykas ordered. They kept climbing, trying to dodge the spears and swords of the gryphon riders.
Rain roared and dove into the fray again, grabbing a gryphon hard enough it snapped in half, losing much of the middle. Whatever happened to the Elvasi on it, she didn’t know.
She grabbed the hand of a young single male at some point, pulling him to fly higher with her. He didn’t make it. As she held on, trying to get him through the cluttered sky, an Elvasi flew by, and she watched the spear go straight through the young male’s chest.
Knowing he was dead, she let go of his hand, her heart pounding, blood echoing like a drumbeat in her ears.
As she climbed, she saw the young male wasn’t the only casualty trying to get out of the courtyard. A female dropped back down to the stone, broken and unable to leave.
Mave snarled.
No.
“MAVE!” Matesh roared over the crowd as she pulled her wings in and began to dive.
She unsheathed a sword as she fell, aiming for the gryphon rider who took out the female from their village. She landed on the back of the Elvasi, and the gryphon started to buck and fall from the air. Mave wasted no time in killing the Elvasi, slicing open his neck from behind.
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