Page 170 of Fourth Wing

Sitting tall in the saddle, I sweep my unsteady gaze along the landscape as Tairn begins to climb again, and my heart stutters. Up high on the western ridgeline is a gray tower that almost blends in to the cliffside. I would have missed it if not for the—

“Is that what I think it is?”Fear only feeds the uncontrollable energy prickling my skin.

Tairn’s head is already turned in that direction.“Dragons.”

I glance over my shoulder toward Liam and Rhiannon and see that Tairn must have relayed the message, because we break formation, scattering as three dragons launch from the cliff above us, diving in different directions.

We’ve given them multiple targets, but now we’ll face them one-on-one.

A hail of ice pellets strikes my skin, bouncing off Tairn’s scales, but he’s forced to tuck his wings in tight to avoid damage.

My stomach launches into my throat as we free-fall, the valley floor rising up at us at an alarming rate. Heat and energy threaten to devour every inch of my body, and even my eyes feel like they’re on fire. Oh fuck, my signetisgoing to backlash against me during the games.

“Ground now!”Tairn roars.

I slam my eyes shut, throwing both mental feet onto the marble floor of the Archives and throwing up the walls around me, only leaving entrances for Tairn’s torrent of power, Andarna, and access to Xaden, and I immediately feel more in control.

When I open my eyes, we’re ascending, Tairn’s wings beating with so much force that I slide back in the saddle with every push.

He’s left the ice-wielding First Wing cadet in a dive behind us, and I cringe as the dragon barely controls the descent, banking in the opposite direction we’re headed.

“That’s where they’re guarding the egg.”It has to be, considering another three dragons have taken the place of the others at the edge of the cliff, ready to launch.

“Agreed. Hold tight.”Tairn barely has a second to shout before a dragon flies out of the valley to the right and blasts a stream of fire at us.

“Tairn!” I scream, watching in horror as the flames barrel toward us.

Tairn banks, taking the blast straight to his belly, shielding me from all but the sizzling heat that blazes by.

What the actual fuck?

“Andarna?”If something happens to her because First Wing is out for blood…

“Fireproof, remember?”

I let out a shaky breath. One worry down, but the other dragon is on our heels, opening its mouth and curling its tongue.

Tairn jerks and his tail swings, catching the offending dragon in the side, just below its wing. The other dragon roars, falling sideways, losing altitude at an alarming rate.

But I don’t focus on the descent. Instead, I use the time to scan the mountainside for the outpost I spied earlier. My heartbeat quickens as I spot it peeking out from a ridge, only one remaining dragon guarding it.

“Xaden! The egg is here!”I relay.

“Already on my way. We’re twenty miles out.”The edge of panic lacing his tone puts a knot of fear in my throat, which only grows when I see Deigh and Liam locked in battle above us with a familiar Orange Scorpiontail—Baide.

Jack.

“We have to help Liam.”

“On it.”Tairn accelerates and Andarna falls away. Once I see her tuck into the mountainside where she’ll be safe, I hunker down on Tairn’s neck, giving him less wind resistance to fight as we climb faster than ever before. Wind yanks at the halo braid of my hair, the loosened strands whipping at my face as I keep my eyes locked on Deigh and Liam.

Baide snaps her tail at Deigh, the venomous bulb perilously close to Deigh’s throat.

“His scales are thicker than you think. It’s Liam who’s in danger,”Tairn warns, climbing higher.

We’re almost there when Jack unsheathes his sword and jumps from Baide’s back to Deigh’s, catching Liam by surprise as the dragons grapple close to the tower we’re approaching at breakneck speed.

There’s barely time for Liam to gain his feet before Jack thrusts the sword through his side.

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