Page 22 of I Dream of Dragons
“I’m not stopping,” Jai says, his voice reaching me where I’m dangling, calm and even.
“What? We have to save as many humans as we can. Amaryll, Mera, Axwick. Please, save them!”
“Didn’t you hear me? I’m not stopping for them. You shouldn’t get attached to the humans.”
Too late for that. Something about that calm voice makes me want to look into his eyes, but we’re still flying and I’m doing my best to ignore the stomach-twisting drop underneath me and the speed of the drak.
Where is he flying us to? I have a sneaking suspicion I know the answer.
“Jai!” I yell. “Put me back in the arena!”
He doesn’t reply.
The drak circles until I realize it’s about to land on the central platform. The moment I’m a few feet above ground, the giant claw releases me and I drop to the ground.
I crash and roll, my bad leg folding under me, sending jabs of pain up my thigh, and I jar my bad shoulder when I smack both my hands on the hard floor of the platform.
Packed earth mixed with sand. Shiny pebbles. Dry, scratchy weeds. Blue flowers.
The sort of ground draks prefer for courtship and nesting.
The drak flaps those huge wings with a crackling sound and slides down beside me, showering me with stones and sand. The black talons screech against the ground. They punch holes into it as the drak turns sideways and comes to a stop.
Jai is still astride, seated on the saddle that’s nestled between the drak’s onyx wings, but he’s unmoving, head tipped forward. He’s watching me from under his lashes, and he’s so still he seems part of the reptile, all in black, his black hair falling on his brow, one hand wrapped in the black reins.
“Get up here,” he finally says.
“Why?”
“I’m flying you to the palace.”
“No.” I shake my head as I try to get up. My leg protests and my knee threatens to buckle again. “You’re not.”
“Climb up here. Give me your hand.” He’s sitting so stiffly and his voice is so dry I feel something is off.
“We can’t just fly away,” I say.
“Why not? Would you lose the trial? No prize for you, then?”
I think fast. “Yes. I need to get back into the palace. But only the winners can do that. Going to the palace now means I’m out of the race.”
“Survivingiswinning.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t work like that. I need to win, and for that, I need to get the key off one of the towers first.”
“I’m not letting you jump back into the sea,” he says.
“Lettingme?” I meet his dark gaze and find only coldness. “I didn’t ask for your permission. You want me to go to the palace? There are people dying in the arena. Save them.”
“Not interested in other people, human. Only in you.”
Human.My suspicions are now confirmed.
“Hello, Phaethon.” I suspected it from the moment he appeared riding the drak, but still, at the slight incline of his head, I let out a controlled breath. “How come you’re so often in control now? Jai managed to keep you leashed before.”
He bares his teeth in a parody of a smile. “Ah, but at what cost? You don’t know how he controls me.”
“With pain, that’s what he said.”
