Page 128 of Court of Lies and Deceit

“It’s a risk we’re going to have to take.”

Worry flits through my chest. I don’t want to have to face those strange fae-like beings. But Draven is right. We need to find the portal as soon as possible, and flying is the fastest way to do that.

Sliding my dagger back into my thigh holster, I draw in a bracing breath and then give Draven a nod. He lifts me into his arms and then shoots up towards the canopy. My stomach lurches and I tighten my arms around his neck. I manage to catch his smirk before I squeeze my eyes shut when we reach the treetops.

But Draven maneuvers effortlessly through the gap, and then we’re soaring up into the open sky.

Opening my eyes again, I draw in a long breath to refill my lungs. I’m not sure if it’s partly my imagination, but the air tastes better up here. It’s lighter. More crisp and clear.

I look down while Draven trails to a halt until he’s hovering in place.

The forest spreads out like a green carpet below us. But the center of the dome is not where I expected it to be. Whatever was affecting us earlier must have also messed with our sense of direction, because we’ve ended up farther to the side than I thought we were. Goddess above, we’ve lost so much time.

Draven must be thinking the same thing, because he simply tightens his arms around me and then flies straight for the center at full speed. My hair whips in the wind as we streak across the sky. I keep my gaze sweeping back and forth over thetrees below, searching for both the portal and any signs of those strange beings in bronze armor.

Shouts rise up from the trees.

I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth as Draven suddenly banks hard.

A lightning bolt shoots through the air a second later.

“Fuck,” Draven growls.

Storm clouds gather around us right before a torrent of fire shoots through the sky. I gasp, but Draven slams a blast of wind at it, shoving it off course. The flames roar through the open air beside us.

Whipping my head from side to side, I search desperately for our attackers. Alarm crackles through my veins as I spot glinting bronze armor between the trees below.

“Down to the left,” I yell over the rushing winds.

Draven snaps his head in that direction, but a block of stone is already hurtling towards us. Yanking his wings in tight, he drops us down in a headlong plummet. The boulder whooshes past above. My stomach lurches as Draven snaps his wings out again, halting our fall. He beats his wings hard, and we shoot through the sky.

Magic crackles behind us.

Draven swerves and rolls to evade a blast of water aimed straight at his wings.

“Arrows!” I scream.

He snaps his wings back in right before a hail of arrows speeds through the air.

My hair whips above my head as we plummet down like a stone. Flaring his wings again, Draven halts our descent but then has to immediately roll us over in the air as flames roar above us.

I tighten my arms around his neck even more as we spin through the air. My pulse pounds in my ears and my stomach rolls as Draven drops us down again and then manages to speedforward a short distance before he has to swerve hard to the side to evade another rain of arrows and a bolt of lightning.

While hanging on to his tense body, I snap my gaze back and forth across the ground, desperately searching for any signs of a glittering blue portal. If we can just make it there, we can?—

Something rises up from the ground from halfway between us and the edge of the dome. Somethingbig.

Fear courses through me as I stare at that dark blot on the sky. From this distance, it’s impossible to tell what it is. But it’s long and relatively thin compared to its length. Almost like a snake. A massive snake.

“Draven,” I blurt out while he dives to escape another torrent of fire. “Draven, something is coming. Behind us.”

Spinning us in the air, he evades a block of stone while casting a glance in the direction I indicated. His eyes widen.

“What the fuck is that?” he presses out.

“Watch out!” I scream.

A blast of water slams into us. I gasp as it hits Draven in the back. The sheer force of it sends us tumbling through the sky while water splashes out across Draven’s wings. His arms tighten around me as we spin over and over while we tumble towards the treetops.

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