Page 73 of The Ember and the Emerald

I dove, dirt exploding around me as monstra claws scythed through empty air, missing me. Barely. No time to pause. I snatched another stone from the pack and hurled it. It struck his belly and bounced, causing no damage.

Nooo!

When he circled back for round two, I didn’t panic. I pumped my arms, running as fast as my feet could carry me. Heat scalded my heels, streams of fire licking the ground in my wake. My lungs felt like sheaths for knives, every breath cutting. I yanked another rock free of the pack. I would shove this one down his throat. Let’s find out what that did.

As the creature opened his mouth, I launched my missile. He swallowed it. The glow inside his throat jerked as if the stone had hit a knot. Then he sank his claws into my shoulders, pinning the pack to my side, slicing through flesh, scraping bone. I screamed a raw, animal sound when the ground fell away.

He yanked me skyward, higher and higher, and I saw more and more stars burst behind my eyes. Wind howled. Pain roared. My blood burned hot, even when the temperature dropped. So much for escaping the vision. I’d only rewritten the ending and made it worse.

Higher. Higher. Clouds and smoke churned below us. We soared until my breath frosted my throat. Escape? Not an option. Not without dying.

My teeth were chattering by the time we joined hundreds of other flying beasts. Only then did my captor level out. None of the others attempted to deep fry me. A pleasant surprise.

Despite the ever-thickening darkness and my growing dizziness, I looked over at the monstra holding me captive as best I could, hoping I would and wouldn’t find Jasher. As my vision hazed, I couldn’t tell.

A dark, imposing mountain loomed up ahead, stabbing the heavens. My queasiness intensified as we began to descend. When he released me, yanking his claws from my shoulders, I fell, tumbling through darkness⁠—

“Uff!” I crashed into something soft that reeked of musk and smoke. Feathers, hay, silk—bones? The backpack slammed into my ribs. I rolled over, gasping, and froze.

A nest. Huge. Littered with scales that shimmered like crude oil.

I was in the monster’s cradle. He’d brought me home—to Ian.

22

IN BED WITH THE ENEMY

Cold wind whistled all around as I huddled in the nest that crowned the mountaintop. Scores of beasts filled the night sky, screeching at the moon, each call a nightmare of sound and wrath.

I have to get out of here. I crept to the side and peered down the jagged elevation, hoping to discover a way down miles of sharp obsidian rock.

A searing stream of fire came whirling down.

I wrenched back, barely avoiding incineration. The monstra responsible shrieked at me, revealing rows of molten-veined fangs.

Okay. Noted. As long as I remained in the nest, forgoing any escape attempt, the monstra would keep their fire to themselves. Frustration swelled, but I swallowed it. I was well and truly trapped.

I’d have to find another way out of this. I hunkered down near the warmth of the still-burning hay, the faint orange light in sharp contrast to the dark, smoky sky. Minutes—hours?—passed.

Hoping to find a weakness or vulnerability, I watched the monsters. What I saw: power, unity, defenses.

My defeat.

I sniffled and hated myself for it.

When the moon sank, their numbers dwindled until only twenty were flying circles overhead. The ache in my shoulders worsened, the wounds seeping, draining more and more of what little of my strength remained. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for serpens-rosa. Without it, my muscles would give out as soon as I applied pressure.

Focus on the positives. I had my backpack and the stones, though they no longer glowed. Plus, I…

Had no other positives, I realized.

Hot tears welled, the horror of it all finally overwhelming me. First, I lost Jasher. Then Ahav?

What happened to him? To his soldiers? Did they blame me for the death toll? If they didn’t, they should. I blamed myself. Despite my vision, despite our precautions, the monstra had executed a flawless ambush I’d encouraged.

Eventually, the last of my adrenaline fizzled, and my heavy eyelids sank. Abused muscles grew lax, my head lulling, a dark sea sweeping me away…

Dreams came as they always did: sporadic flashes. The same visions I’d seen before, with differences.