Page 29 of Swift Wings Shadowed Heart
I squint at the dragon, guarding my thoughts by suppressing my Weaver powers. What is wrong with him? He sure has a foul attitude.
With awhooshof air that nearly knocks me off my feet, Fragor appears, flying upward and perpendicular to the plateau. I follow his trajectory, craning my neck. He hangs in the sky for a second, then comes down and lands. Vaylen slides down the dragon’s side, then along his front leg. He lands, knees bent to absorb the impact. Straightening, he walks in my direction, his blue eyes wide and his face full of concern.
“Are you all right?” He looks me up and down, his expression a mix of relief and surprise.
“I am?” I say, but it comes out as a question. “On second thought,” I gesture toward my arm. “I think it’s broken.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice movement. Gilbert comes out from behind the lift where he’s been hiding. Apparently, his role in all this mess was kicked to the back of my mind. What with four different death scenarios at my disposal, I had enough to deal with. At the sight of the limp mutton turd, anger boils in my gut. Without thinking, I march in his direction and try to punch him with my left arm. The jab is awkward and weak, and he avoids it easily.
Putting his hands up along with a confused expression, he says, “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m going to kill you,” I shout.
Vaylen hurries to stand between us. “Skysinger Wyndward, what is the meaning of this?”
“He pushed me,” I say. “He pushed me off the plateau when you weren’t looking.”
“What?!” Gilbert exclaims, looking injured. “I didn’t push you. You must be confused.”
“I’m not confused, youfuckingliar,” I spit.
“Watch your language around the dragons,” Vaylen says.
Zephyros snorts with derision, while Fragor stretches his neck and turns his head to one side as if offended by my words.
“You just had a traumatic experience. You’re hysterical.” Gilbert crosses his arms over his chest.
“Wyndward, that’s a serious accusation,” Vaylen says. “Are you sure?”
The anger in my gut becomes a lava pit, churning and threatening to sear right through me. I take a step closer to Vaylen until I’m only a few inches away from him and meet his gaze.
“I’m not hysterical,” I say in a barely restrained tone. “Both dragons wantedme. Same as you, he,” I point at Gilbert, “realized that and decided to get rid of me.”
Vaylen sighs. He seems tired beyond measure, as if he already has enough problems and this one is just piling on top.
“There will be an inquiry,” he says.
“What?!” Gilbert protests. “I didn’t do anything. This isn’t fair. She’s the one who wants to get rid ofme. It’s obvious.”
Zephyros snorts again, then with a roll of his eyes, hits Gilbert with a careless jerk of his tail. As if he were a crumb knocked off a table with the flick of a finger, Gilbert flies backward and goes over the cliff, plummeting with a scream.
“No!” Vaylen runs, a hand outstretched as if he could reach out and save him.
My mouth falls open at the horror of it.
“Fragor,” Vaylen says his dragon’s name like a plea, perhaps hoping the creature can save Gilbert, but Fragor doesn’t move one scale. Instead, he grunts, looking from Vaylen to Zephyros.
“Oh.” Vaylen’s shoulders fall. He pinches the bridge of his nose, then rubs his forehead.
“Um, what just…” I trail off.
“Zephyros told Fragor that Gilbertdidpush you. That’s why Zephyros… did that.” He gestures tiredly toward the cliff.
“I told you I wasn’t lying,” I whisper, staring at my boots and feeling the same exhaustion I see in Vaylen’s expression.
He nods, his mind clearly speeding, perhaps trying to figure out what must be done next.
“Is… Trueno all right?” I ask.
