Page 167 of The Edge of Darkness

Nivelle’s eyes widened. “What do you do with them?”

“I breed them,” Vanir said. “Mostly for battle, but I’d be lying if I said we didn’t use them for a bit of entertainment and competition every now and then.”

“The arena games are a good time. I’ve won many bets on your champion bull,” Niall said.

“He’s still undefeated—intelligent bastard. As cunning as he is strong. One day he’ll meet his match, but until then, I’m counting on many more years of raking in my own winnings.”

I imagined the so-called “arena games” to be a wild throng of highland fae, chugging ale like it was water, and cheering on their chosen champion as they watched the Dreki battle it out with each other. It probably wasn’t much different from an event like the King’s Guard competition.

The thought soured in my mind the more I lingered on it.

“So, you ride them?” Nivelle pressed, an eager lilt to her voice.

“We do.” Vanir leaned around Niall and me to get a good view of the witch. “You seem most intrigued. Something you’d like to try your hand at, perhaps?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she watched as Roirdan dismounted at the fenceline and hopped onto the first rung of the wooden partition alongside the other fae. He hung his arms over the top beam, pointing at the different Dreki as conversation ensued.

“I’ll watch, for now,” Nivelle finally said.

“Clever.” Vanir grinned. “Come on. Let’s not miss all the fun.”

With our horses secured nearby, and the enclosure emptied of all but one Dreki, we joined Remic, Silas, and the other handlers as Roirdan, who now stood shirtless, wrapped his hands and wrists with cotton bindings. I couldn’t believe he was about to climb atop such a brutal looking creature. Each of its scales had to be the size of my hand. And its claws were razor sharp. One swipe, and any being would be flayed in two.

“Figure out a name for him yet?” Vanir called out to Roirdan from inside the fence, where he held the rope that kept the snout of the angry creature closed.

“Nope. I’ll figure that out once I get him in the air.” He finished his bindings and beat his fists against his bare chest, making sure the cloth held, then punched the air a couple of times—for good measure.

Beside me, Nivelle rolled her eyes.

The fence gate swung open and Roirdan stalked inside, tying his hair back with a leather strap as he locked eyes with the beast. It thrashed its dark green head, yanking Vanir a step out of place and earning a sharp tug against its maw in return. The growl it let out was a seething, menacing sound, fully aimed at its handler.

Vanir sent out a pulse of power in a show of dominance, and the creature seemed to settle, though its barbed tail still beat the ground with malice. It did not want to be ridden, but Roirdan approached the beast with every intent of breaking its resolve. He was a conqueror ready to lay waste to the creature’s innate instinct and bend it to his will.

Or he was completely insane, just like Vanir.

I gripped the fence, anxious and excited at the same time, while Niall stared ahead, eyes narrowed on his commander as if he were conveying some sort of pep talk to him in his mind. When Roirdan smirked and shook his head, I knew that was exactly what he was doing.

The Dreki marked Roirdan and angled its backside toward him, whipping its tail in his direction. But Roirdan was quicker. He dodged the lashing and set off into a run, zigzagging out of reach of each following strike.

The beast was several hands taller than him, so he used his momentum and the running start to scale its side, locking his right foot into the stirrup and slamming into the saddle. He wound the leather strap tightly around his left hand, then drew his dagger from the sheath at his hip.

Smoke shot from the Dreki’s nostrils as it bucked and thrashed, but Vanir held firm to the rope as Roirdan leaned forward and cut through the binding that kept the creature’s wings pinned at its sides. Newly freed, the appendages unfolded in a fury, snapping the air as the smooth, leathery membranes stretched open and began flapping. The force sent a pulse through the atmosphere with each movement, and as the creature’s body lifted, Roirdan yelled out, “Askridda!”

Vanir released the rope, and we watched as Dreki and rider ascended into the air, rising dozens of feet with each flap of wings.

The highland fae who stood around the fenceline hollered as the beast climbed higher. Roirdan tugged the straps and leaned hard to his left, reaching his dagger across the beast’s neck and pressing it into its flesh, forcing it to bank toward the rocky cliffs to the west. When he and the Dreki disappeared behind them, I released a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

“Fucking fates,” Niall said, letting out a breath as well.

“And he does this for fun?” Silas asked, shaking out his wings behind him as if the thought of flying any other way was sacrilege.

“He’s a crazy bastard,” Remic said in response.

I turned to Niall. “Have you ever ridden one?”

A smile teased at his lips. “Would it turn you on to know that I have?”

“Absolutely,” I said with no shame.