Page 180 of The Dragon and the Dove

Caruso was so busy enjoying the ensuing litany of curses, he didn’t notice the Strix taking flight until the ground fell away with dizzying speed.

He looked down. ‘Fuck.’

Mondragon headbutted him.

He hinged backwards and blood spurted from his nose. A rare hit. First the soul-eater and now this prick. He was not having it. He returned the headbutt, cracking every bone in the Stargrazer’s face even through the hard metal of his helmet.

Mondragon howled.

Caruso laughed.

The Strix turned sharply and he lost his footing. He slid clean off the monster’s back. Grabbing the end of Mondragon’s whip, Caruso dangled like a fish on a hook.

The Stargrazer twisted in his saddle, trying to toss him off, but the whip bound them together. If he slipped, then they’d both fall.

Propelled by his own body weight, Caruso sheathed his sword and swung back and forth, reaching for a fistful of feathers. He used it to climb the Strix like a rock.

Mondragon clicked his teeth and the Strix listed again. This time, Caruso was quicker. He gripped the pommel of the saddle with one hand and the mane of the prince’s helmet with the other, pulling him close enough that he could see the grey of his kohl-smudged eyes.

The bastard clicked his teeth again, and the bird banked so sharply Caruso nearly tumbled clean over the Stargrazer. He hung by the gold mane of his helmet, digging his heels into the monster’s rump.

Another click, and the bird arched backwards, chasing its own tail.

Caruso spat a curse as he was thrown skywards, the monster’s beak slicing clean into his back. For a sickening stretch, he hung on by the rungs of his own ribs. He might have admitted defeat, then, let the sharp hiss of his pain overwhelm his baser survival instincts, if it wasn’t for the triumphant chuckle of the Stargrazer seated behind him.

Smug bastard.

Throwing both hands back behind his head, Caruso gripped the Strix by its ears. He arched high and hoisted himself backwards, unsticking himself from that blade-like beak with nothing but the strength of his arms and the furnace of his power. He kicked off the monster’s face and flipped, feet over hands, landing squarely on its shoulders.

The Stargrazer stopped laughing. Ignoring the blood spilling from the wound in his back, Caruso spun in his seat and yanked his sword free.

He pressed it to his neck. ‘Last words, Mondragon?’

The prince opened his mouth—

Caruso cut his throat, and shoved him off the Strix. ‘Don’t care,’ he said, watching him plummet like a stone.

The Strix howled as its rider fell.

Caruso climbed into the saddle, gripping the reins. ‘Play nice, birdie.’

Not a chance. Caruso could almost respect the monster’s wilfulness as it twisted in the sky, trying to shake him from the saddle. He dug in his knees and pitched forward, lowering his centre of gravity.

The Strix refused to give up, thrashing with a violence that swiftly renewed his headache. As he hung upside down by the loosening saddle, he looked for a place that might cushion his landing. The river was rising fast, a skim of black feathers riding the quickening current.

What the hell happened here?

He looked for the Bridge of Tears, knowing the others would be—

Where the fuck was the bridge?

The bird pitched again, completing a circle that made the contents of his breakfast climb up his throat. Flattening his body against its back, he peered over its wing.

The bridge was gone, and so were his friends. The city was in chaos. The cobbles along Merchant’s Way were stained with blood, and Rose-bearers were fighting in the streets, yelling with the kind of fervour that made him realize half of them were no longer enthralled.

The Strix jerked again. Caruso was dangled like a loose button, then hauled upright with such force a buckle snapped underneath him. The saddle slid to one side.

The bird arched, trying to snap the other one. Caruso shot forward, hooking an arm around its wide neck. ‘If I’m going down, you’re coming with me, feathers.’