Page 107 of A Trial of Two Worlds
Draw, release.
Draw, release.
Draw, release.
I didn’t dare break from this pattern. If I faltered for even a second, the surrounding harpies would overtake us.
With my string pulled back, I aimed for a creature swooping toward Idris’s flaming spear. Anticipating itsdescent, I released the fletching, the tip of my arrow penetrating through the base of its neck as its scream sprayed blood across the open sky. Before Idris had a moment to thank me, we were once again on the defense.
“Astro should be here soon!” Idris roared through swipes of her weapon.
The fire-lit spear left devastation in its wake as Idris rode her pegasus through the mass of talons, wings, and clouds. Ending the life of any opponent who dared cross her path, the Lady of Crimson City proved her worth in battle, wearing the splattered blood of her enemies as a badge of honor.
The pegasi weaved through the sky as effortlessly as horses ran across the fields. Their instincts kept us alive as we continued to fight against the dreadful creatures of the sky. Relief rolled through me as the sight of a crimson-colored pegasus joined the fold of golden feathers. Astro and other riders rode into battle with us as another group from the main flock of harpies altered their circling course and attacked.
Nisha suddenly took a sharp roll to the right, causing me to drop an arrow and clutch onto her neck as she dove through the clouds. I dared a glance backward, seeing four harpies following us. One of them was noticeably different from the others.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Skylar Cathal
“It’s an alan!” I cursed.
The male counterpart of the species was twice the size of the females, with black feathered wings and even deadlier talons at the tips of his feet and arms. “Hurry, Nisha!”
Sensing my urgency, Nisha folded her wings, sending us into a deadly dive straight toward the earth.
“Sky!”
Shaw’s voice echoed across my mind, but I closed the door to his thoughts, needing to focus every ounce of my strength on clinging to Nisha’s back and not splattering on the ground below.
The speed of our dive formed tears in my eyes as the winds whipped past us. I was helpless, putting all my faith into Nisha and praying she knew what to do. The female screeches faded as they broke off, but I could still feel the male lurking behind us, keeping pace with my mount’s speed. I willed my eyes to open, fighting through the force of the swirling winds.
“Shit!” I cursed. “Nisha, fucking pull up!”
Before I could take another breath, Nisha’s wings opened. My chest violently collided with the base of herneck as I fought against the force of gravity pulling us toward the earth. Nisha banked to the right, but she wasn’t fast enough. The alan roared, his talons reaching for one of my pegasus’s wings, slicing through the magnificent feathers, with blood staining his ebony claws.
“No, Nisha!” I screamed as my mount desperately tried to adjust our flight.
Struggling to remain upright, Nisha flapped her uninjured wing, fighting to extend the other to keep us from crashing into the dirt. She kicked and neighed in the air, but her efforts fell short. The pegasus’s legs skittered across the blackened earth, buckling under the force of our landing and sending me tumbling over her body, crashing onto the ground. Somersaulting, I pulled my head in, protecting myself as best I could, relying on the armor of Aegis to help keep me alive.
As I came to a stop, I forced myself onto my hands and knees, shaky but thankfully alive, with my bow still clutched in my hand and my blades strapped to my thighs. Nisha was injured about twenty yards to my right. I rose onto my knees, strapping my bow across my back, unsheathing a short blade with the alpha’s dagger in my other hand. Tilting my head upward, I scanned the midday skies above, searching for the male harpy.
Black wings blocked the rays overhead as the male dove toward me with vengeance in his menacing cry. Pivoting on my knees, I held out my weapon, ready to fight.
A roar sounded to my left as a giant panther leaped into the sky between me and the male harpy. Jaws open, teeth bared, and blood… So much blood.
Shaw latched onto the male’s throat in mid-air. His teeth tore through the flesh of the creature with ease, the bones cracking as the neck severed in his mouth. The alan released a final cry before his decapitated body hit the ground.
The sky above us erupted in cries from the surrounding females. The ear-shattering scream sent a blinding pain through my skull. I fought to silence their magic, wrapping my own around me like a barrier. I reached for Shaw’s mind, encouraging him to do the same.
“Link your mind with me,”I told Shaw.“Let me help guide your magic.”
Without hesitating, Shaw let me in, and he was able to follow my guidance to shield himself.
“Thanks for jumping in and saving the day,” I said as I rose from the ground, thanking the Gods that our ears were no longer ringing.
“Being your beta is already proving to be a handful.”
