Page 53 of Wild Bond

The rush of wind in my ears nearly drowned out Zade and Rake’s yells as we plunged. I looked back as Naasir dove after us.

And that was when a large, spiked bolt the size of a small tree trunk missed the black dragon by a hair’s breadth and struck Valla in the side, hitting her just below the shoulder.

Valla roared in pain as blood sprayed and her wing buckled. With a cry from Zade, dragon and rider plummeted towards the ground below. Horror filled me at the sight, and for a small moment, time seemed frozen as I tried to comprehend what just happened.

Then Skye and I reacted, our wills merging as one. I bent low over her back and squeezed my legs to her sides as she rocketed after them.

The wind whipped my hair and stung my eyes as I watched Valla careen in a tumbling spiral toward the treetops. The bolt still protruded from her side, but she still tried to right herself. It was nearly impossible with only one wing and at the speed they were traveling. Zade remained on her back, the fact that his legs were strapped in the only reason he was still in the saddle.

I couldn’t even begin to consider who had shot that bolt—or why. I was too focused on catching up to them.

Thank the Nine Skye was so fast.

Just before Valla hit the tops of the trees below us, Skye was able to swoop partially under the other female and slow her decent, partly breaking her fall. Unfortunately, Skye couldn’t stop Valla’s momentum completely, and unable to catch herself with a lame wing, Valla fell past Skye and slammed into the thick branch of a tree.

Skye was forced to pull back and unfurl her wings to their full extent so as not to crash along with them.

I made eye contact with Zade but could do nothing as the force of that initial hit threw Valla and her rider to the side as they plowed downward through the trees.

Trunks and limbs splintered, Zade yelled, there was a loud crack, and Valla bellowed a fresh sound of pain. They hit the ground with a deafening boom that echoed around us and I knew would be heard for miles. Valla rolled her body to protect Zade, taking the brunt of the hit, and collapsed in a broken, mangled heap.

Silence reigned for a few seconds. I didn’t breathe. But then Valla’s big chest expanded, and she let out a pained whimper—a sound I had never heard a dragon make before. But at least it meant she was still alive.

Luckily, Valla had just missed a sharp outcropping of rocks and slid several dozen yards into a small clearing of sorts, or at least a break in the tree cover. It was just big enough that Skye could land relatively close. I hastily unstrapped myself and scrambled off Skye’s back, sliding down her scales until my booted feet hit the hard earth.

“Zade!” I cried, as real fear for the rider who I was coming to think of as a friend prickled over my skin. “Zade, are you all right? Answer me!”

Valla’s slide had left deep gouges in the grass, leaves, and dirt of the forest floor, and I tried not to trip over them as I made my way to the dragon’s side.

Her wing was obviously broken from the fall, and part of the shaft of the bolt had broken off as well. Her beautiful yellow-green scales were riddled with deep cuts and scratches. Dragons healed swiftly, but she could still die if that spear had hit something vital. I couldn’t imagine the pain she must be in.

“Here!” Zade yelled, just as I came around Valla’s side and saw he was hanging precariously from one leg that was only barely still attached to the saddle. Overwhelming relief swept through me at the sight of him alive and uninjured, save for a few cuts and scrapes on his arms and face. Before I could help, he curled up and was able to get his foot free, but then landed hard on his hip.

In the next second he was up and moving to kneel by Valla’s head. He stroked her muzzle as she huffed and whimpered again. Her big yellow eyes took in her rider. His voice was softer than I had ever heard it as he spoke low to her. “You’re okay girl. We’re going to get you some help. You’ll be just fine.” I could see how hard he was working to keep the helpless rage, fear, and utter devastation from his face as he spoke to her. I knew that it was of little use, though. She could feel his emotions just as plainly as he could feel hers.

He glanced up at me, and the laughing, lighthearted jokester I had come to know was gone, and in his place was a calculating, deadly dragon rider. The change was so stark and sudden that I nearly took a step back from him.

The cold fury on his face gave me chills as he demanded, “Did you see who did this?”

I shook my head just as Naasir’s enraged roar rang out from high above.

In my concern for Valla and Zade, I hadn’t thought to consider where Rake was and why Naasir hadn’t followed after Skye and me. Zade and I stared above us at the loud cacophony of shrieks that accompanied Naasir’s roar and saw why.

We had alerted the griffins to our presence.

My heart sank and my blood went cold.

Over a dozen griffins filled the evening sky overhead, surrounding Naasir. Each one was about a third of Skye’s size, but they were all still larger than a horse. They truly were the perfect blend between two fierce animals, with the golden body, legs, and tail of a lion and the head and white feathered wings of a bird of prey. Those claws and beaks vicious weapons.

As I watched, two of the creatures raked their sharp claws down Naasir’s flank from either side, attacking him as a unit. Naasir’s head whipped around with a hiss before he captured one of the offending griffins in his jaws. He bit down with a sickening crunch, and the griffin went limp. He then tossed the now dead griffin at another that flew at him with a shriek. Meanwhile, Rake leaned down and sliced the wing of the other griffin, and it instantly released its hold on Naasir’s side. He then swung in the opposite direction and brought his sword up just in time to block the snapping beak of another beast intent on his throat.

Rake was magnificent to watch and sheer poetry in motion, but even he and Naasir couldn’t survive that many griffins on their own for long. Not to mention the fact that I could see several more of the animals flying our way from the direction of the pass. “We have to help them!” I screamed.

Zade nodded. “You stay with Valla and do what you can for her. I’ll take Skye and—"

A loud battle cry interrupted me, and I spun to see several men clad in armor spilling from the trees around us. There were at least a dozen, and they all carried weapons.

“Now who are these scum?” Zade complained.

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