This is it—I’m going to die!
With a deep, guttural grunt, Dracoth thrusts his huge claws into the sleek, icy rock face. The sudden, brutal stop jerks me like a crash test dummy. My face slams painfully into the cold metal of his back armor, and my grip falters, heart skipping wildly. Only the desperate cling of my legs, wrapped around his belted waist, keeps me from tumbling into the abyss.
A deafening screech fills the air as sparks fly from the point of impact, raining down from above, and for the briefest moment, we hang there—suspended, claws embedded in the cliffside. My throat is raw from unwittingly screaming a stream of dark obscenities, and I gulp down lungfuls of freezing air. I glance downward, my breath hitching—there’s still so much further to fall.
I don’t know if I can take any more of this. My eyes dart over the cliff, searching desperately for something, anything, to get me out of this mess, but there’s nothing. I’m trapped, clinging to Dracoth, with nowhere to go but down.
“Dracoth...” I squeak, my frightened voice almost lost in the roaring wind. “How about we go slow—”
Before I can finish, a scream rips from my throat as Dracoth retracts his claws and we plunge again.
“You asshole!” I shriek, my words lost to the storm around us as the frozen obsidian rock blurs past in a dizzying rush. My arms and legs squeeze tighter around my falling tormentor like I’m riding a mechanical bull from hell, fighting not to be thrown off.
Just when I’m certain my numb fingers will give out, Dracoth slams his long claws screeching and flashing against the frozen obsidian stone. The violent whiplash shakes my entire body,bones jarring painfully as we come to another brutal halt. We dangle there, like leaves clinging to a branch in a storm, swaying precariously against the icy wall.
For a moment, all I can hear is the pounding of my heart and the deafening wind. Meanwhile, Dracoth looks as fresh as a daisy—or more like freshly squeezed cranberry juice—calm, no sweat, no heavy breathing, not even a flicker of concern through our bond.
I gasp, noticing the frozen enormous leaves and branches now at eye level. Feeling brave, I dare to look down, spotting patches of crimson-orange grass dusted in frost far below.One more drop, just one more, and I’m free.Relief washes over me like a warm shower.I might actually survive this.
Dracoth casts glances to either side, his gaze drawn upward to the skies. I make the mistake of following his eyes—something dark flutters there, disappearing into the purple-tinted clouds. A chill runs down my spine, and suddenly I feel very exposed, dangling off this cliff with my backside sticking out like sexy monster chow.
“Uh, what the hell was that?” I ask, looking at the back of Dracoth’s head, hoping for answers.
“Arrohawk,” Thankfully, in typical Dracoth fashion, he doesn’t seem concerned, giving me a sense of relief. “Perhaps,” he adds, sounding oddly uncertain.
Wonderful, the very monsters that farmer Celutok warned us about.
“Right,” I say, urgency threading through my voice. “Let’s hurry this up.” My arms tighten around him, bracing myself for what’s sure to be the final plunge into madness.
With a grating screech, Dracoth’s claws retract from the cliff, and we fall again—like a red boulder hurtling through a vortex of icy wind and jagged rock. The world spins in a stomach-twisting blur of purple clouds and frosted trees. It’s all I can do to pressmyself as close to Dracoth as possible, while the fierce fall tries to pry us apart.
Just before my grip loosens and giant mutant turtle meat threatens to spew forth, Dracoth digs his claws into the icy, jagged obsidian rock face, once again. The shower of sparks rains down upon me as I’m snapped like a cracked whip with such force my arms are almost wrenched from my shoulders.
I grunt, smacking against his back like a forgotten banana stuffed into the bottom of a backpack.
Before I can catch my breath, he kicks off from the cliff again, my heart leaping in sheer panic. But this time, in an instant, his feet touch solid ground—real, actual ground!
“You can let go,” he growls, his tone gruff as he turns away from the cliff.
“Just a bit longer,” I whisper, my limbs shaking, still struggling to regain any composure. He doesn’t wait, stomping off into the frosty woods like the not-so-jolly-red-giant with me clinging to him as if I’m a beautiful kindergarten backpack.
It’s his own fault, really—being so toasty and warm.
As we move deeper into the forest, the crystalline trees tower over us like the skyscrapers back in New York, their immense trunks coated in thick layers of shimmering frost. The entire woods feels like an ethereal, frozen wonderland, the purple light filtering through the branches casting an almost otherworldly glow. The wind whistles through the frozen boughs, filling the air with crackling sounds like glass breaking, while tiny flecks of ice rain down in glittering showers. Even the ground beneath us crunches like brittle bones underfoot.
It’s beautiful. Well, it would be if not for the distant baying of hungry animals echoing across the frozen reddish landscape, filled with a familiar yet alien primal desperation stirring some ancient fear buried deep within the recesses of my mind.
I squeeze Dracoth tighter, needing his warmth, his strength. The flap of wings cuts through the crisp air, accompanied by low, guttural croaks that reverberate through the icy forest. It’s as though the whole place is alive with hidden predators, lurking within the frozen underbrush, watching, waiting.
“This entire planet is far too dangerous for someone like me,” I admit, casting nervous glances around, half expecting a Tyrannosaurus rex to come crashing through the trees at any moment.
“Krogoth’sfemale survived alone,” Dracoth says, spitting the first word with disdain. “She won much honor by completing the Proving.” His massive clown feet crunch through frozen leaves that are as wide as cars underfoot.
“Is she a human?” I ask, incredulous, glancing skyward. Above us, the huge purple sun and moon glare down, giving me the stink eye.
Great.Even celestial objects don’t want me here.
“Yes,” he nods, a trace of reluctant respect in his voice. “The first and only.”
