to the right,
toward me, and begin another steep descent. Valla drew her wings in, and they
began to roll downwards into a layer of clouds. Out of the corner of my eye, I
saw Felix start to follow, mimicking Sile’s movements.
Suddenly, something snapped.
It made such a loud crack I could hear
it even over the rush of the wind that hummed past my helmet. I ducked just in
time as a piece of metal went flying past my head so fast it probably would
have knocked me out cold. I looked back over my shoulder, trying to figure out
what it was. I was almost sure it looked like a buckle.
Valla let out a high-pitched shriek
that sounded like pure panic. Mavrik answered her with a thrumming roar, and
before I could think, he snapped his wings in tight and started to dive after
her. All I could do was hang on, searching frantically for some sign of Valla,
or even Felix, as we dove through the clouds. We streaked downwards, and I
couldn’t see anything except the occasional blur of ground through the haze.
Then I saw her. Valla flared her white
wings right below us, catching the air and coming to a sudden halt. I yelled at
the top of my lungs. We were going to hit her!
Mavrik put on more speed, making a
sharp twist so that we just barely missed her as we blitzed down through the
air. A second later, and we would have struck her head-on. I caught a glimpse
of Valla as we blurred past; she wasn’t wearing a saddle anymore. My heart
stopped, I looked frantically through the clouds below, searching for Sile .
He was in freefall, lost somewhere in
the haze.
We hadn’t been trained to handle
something like this yet. I couldn’t hear anything but the rush of wind, couldn’t see anything but the clouds all around us,
but I could sense the ground was growing closer and closer with each passing
second. If I couldn’t find him in time, if he hit the ground from this high up
. . .
Then I saw him.
Sile was falling through the air like a
stone. His helmet was missing, and I could see his mouth was open like he was
screaming as he flailed through the air. He saw me in that same instant. Our
eyes met, and I knew I was about to watch him die unless I did something.
I leaned down against Mavrik’s back, squeezing the saddle handles and giving the
signal for him to fly faster. The ground was getting closer. I could see it
rushing up to meet us. Mavrik rolled to avoid cliffs as we glanced near the
sides of the mountains.
Just a few feet away from Sile , I reached my hand out toward him. He was clawing at
the air, trying to grab onto me. I couldn’t reach him. My arms were just a few
inches too short. I tried to lean out further, and still keep a grip on my own
saddle. My fingertips brushed his. I saw the panic, the sheer terror in his
eyes.
Something came over me like a flood of
eerie calm. Everything got quiet in my mind. Fear melted away. I let go of the
saddle completely, anchored to it only with my feet in the sheaths, and lunged
out toward him. I grabbed Sile by the front of his
breastplate, and he clung to me as I drug him in toward the saddle.
Sile just barely got his fingers hooked onto
my saddle before we were jerked violently backwards. Mavrik flared his wings to
put on the breaks, stretching out his hind legs and kicking off the ground just
in time. He leapt back into the air, and I felt my heart jump into the back of
my throat as the ground fell away again.
When we landed safely back at the
academy, I was shaking so badly I couldn’t even get out of the saddle at first.
Felix landed nearby, and he was yelling and waving his arms as he ran toward
us. Sile climbed down from where he’d been
piggybacking on my saddle, and he looked shaken, too. He was cradling one of
his arms against his body like he’d been hurt.
I pulled off my helmet, taking a few
deep breaths and trying to calm down. But I was still trembling all over, and
feeling lightheaded like I might pass out. When I tried climbing down from the
saddle, I got my
toward me, and begin another steep descent. Valla drew her wings in, and they
began to roll downwards into a layer of clouds. Out of the corner of my eye, I
saw Felix start to follow, mimicking Sile’s movements.
Suddenly, something snapped.
It made such a loud crack I could hear
it even over the rush of the wind that hummed past my helmet. I ducked just in
time as a piece of metal went flying past my head so fast it probably would
have knocked me out cold. I looked back over my shoulder, trying to figure out
what it was. I was almost sure it looked like a buckle.
Valla let out a high-pitched shriek
that sounded like pure panic. Mavrik answered her with a thrumming roar, and
before I could think, he snapped his wings in tight and started to dive after
her. All I could do was hang on, searching frantically for some sign of Valla,
or even Felix, as we dove through the clouds. We streaked downwards, and I
couldn’t see anything except the occasional blur of ground through the haze.
Then I saw her. Valla flared her white
wings right below us, catching the air and coming to a sudden halt. I yelled at
the top of my lungs. We were going to hit her!
Mavrik put on more speed, making a
sharp twist so that we just barely missed her as we blitzed down through the
air. A second later, and we would have struck her head-on. I caught a glimpse
of Valla as we blurred past; she wasn’t wearing a saddle anymore. My heart
stopped, I looked frantically through the clouds below, searching for Sile .
He was in freefall, lost somewhere in
the haze.
We hadn’t been trained to handle
something like this yet. I couldn’t hear anything but the rush of wind, couldn’t see anything but the clouds all around us,
but I could sense the ground was growing closer and closer with each passing
second. If I couldn’t find him in time, if he hit the ground from this high up
. . .
Then I saw him.
Sile was falling through the air like a
stone. His helmet was missing, and I could see his mouth was open like he was
screaming as he flailed through the air. He saw me in that same instant. Our
eyes met, and I knew I was about to watch him die unless I did something.
I leaned down against Mavrik’s back, squeezing the saddle handles and giving the
signal for him to fly faster. The ground was getting closer. I could see it
rushing up to meet us. Mavrik rolled to avoid cliffs as we glanced near the
sides of the mountains.
Just a few feet away from Sile , I reached my hand out toward him. He was clawing at
the air, trying to grab onto me. I couldn’t reach him. My arms were just a few
inches too short. I tried to lean out further, and still keep a grip on my own
saddle. My fingertips brushed his. I saw the panic, the sheer terror in his
eyes.
Something came over me like a flood of
eerie calm. Everything got quiet in my mind. Fear melted away. I let go of the
saddle completely, anchored to it only with my feet in the sheaths, and lunged
out toward him. I grabbed Sile by the front of his
breastplate, and he clung to me as I drug him in toward the saddle.
Sile just barely got his fingers hooked onto
my saddle before we were jerked violently backwards. Mavrik flared his wings to
put on the breaks, stretching out his hind legs and kicking off the ground just
in time. He leapt back into the air, and I felt my heart jump into the back of
my throat as the ground fell away again.
When we landed safely back at the
academy, I was shaking so badly I couldn’t even get out of the saddle at first.
Felix landed nearby, and he was yelling and waving his arms as he ran toward
us. Sile climbed down from where he’d been
piggybacking on my saddle, and he looked shaken, too. He was cradling one of
his arms against his body like he’d been hurt.
I pulled off my helmet, taking a few
deep breaths and trying to calm down. But I was still trembling all over, and
feeling lightheaded like I might pass out. When I tried climbing down from the
saddle, I got my
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