“She can’t help you now,” the red Ddraig cackles as I feel his teeth press into my shoulder. Time slows, leaving me coldly aware of every sensation as long incisors pierce my flesh. Turning my head, I watch them sink into my skin, clenching down when they reach my shoulder joint. With one snap of his powerful jaws, Ekard will easily rip my shoulder away from its socket.
How long can a body last when its life blood is pulsing from a missing limb? No amount of pressure will staunch this bleeding. Windwalker magic can’t spare me either. What’s the use? I’ll be mad anyway once Siri dies. With that thought my eyes drift closed, and I turn my face away from Ekard. A sickening crunch alerts my ears that he’s bitten off my arm. The sound is far worse than the numbing stillness that comes once the nerves in my fingers are no longer sending pain signals to my brain.
Without his teeth to hold me upright, my body drops to the ground, hard. I land in a warm, sticky pool of my own gore. Strangely, my feet grow cold as blood leaves my remaining limbs. I know death approaches when colors begin to drain away from the objects in my sight. Everything fades to different gray tones, darkness masking my peripheral vision.
Siri’s still alive—for now. I hear her roaring my name, begging me to take her strength. Surely the mental bonds we share are not strong enough to mend my injuries. Even a Ddraig as powerful as she must have limits. I try to tell her to save herself, but my mouth will not obey.
The red Ddraig towers over me, and I vaguely see my own hand waving at me from his mouth. Part of me wishes that I could laugh at the image of my missing limb bidding me farewell. That’s my last thought as my world fades completely to black.
With a start I roll out of my makeshift bed, my fingers immediately reaching for my shoulder. Both hands respond to my commands as I wipe my sweat soaked hair off my brow. Slowly, my eyes adjust to the dawning of another day.
A few birds are beginning to chirp in the distance, most still asleep in their nests. The sun has not yet peeked its face over the horizon. The soft hooting of an owl passes over my head; no doubt he’s searching for a last-minute snack before he goes to roost. Siri is right beside me, her tail coiled around me like a protective fence. Enomena and her Ddraig are close to my left, and Lerual sleeps only a few breaths away. The Ddraig that would have belonged to Warbler has always been two steps behind me, yet I confess to my shame that I have barely given her a moment’s notice in the recent weeks. I’ve been too preoccupied with my other concerns. I must do better, I resolve as I stare at the beautiful green Ddraig, whose brilliant yellow eyes always remind me of my old friend.
“It was just a dream,” I wheeze, laughing in shock as I struggle to find the humor in the situation. Relief at knowing Siri is still alive brings tears to my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Siri’s voice rumbles through her chest as she opens one great eye to face me. I feel her consciousness brush against my own, and I can tell she is grumpy from being awakened so early. Wordlessly I pass my dream along to her. Replaying the images brings gorge up in my stomach. Seeing the amount of blood that drained from my missing arm makes me heave. By the time I finish retelling my tale, Siri is wide awake.
“We must be careful,” Siri whispers, her voice dropping until it is no louder than a hushed breeze that might be rustling through the grass. “Drake and his Ddraig are powerful, Iris. We’ve made a formidable enemy.”
“What do you mean? It was just a bad dream,” I reply, my words slowing as Siri carefully shakes her head.
“It was more than a dream, I think,” Siri whispers, her voice breaking as a ripple of fear overtakes her resolve. The thought of Siri frightened makes my knees go weak.
“You think I was having a vision?” I stumble over the words, forcing myself to recall the images of my dream once more. This time, I am not repulsed by the blood and gore I see. My mind is solely focused on seeing the details of my own eyes in the images. I quickly scan through the dream sequence until I find what I am looking for. At the moment when Ekard chewed on my arm, my eyes popped open wide from the pain. I see no irises or pupils—they are completely white. “How is this even possible? I was reading the future in my sleep, Siri!”
“The bigger concern is how we stop this from happening,” Siri replies, carefully rising to stand upright and scan the horizon. Even though she does not say it, I know she is searching for Ekard and Drake. “We cannot afford to sleep without setting up a watch. I’ll speak to Lerual and Anemone tomorrow. They can be trusted, I think. And I might have a few other allies I can call upon to watch over you at night.”
“We cannot go unprotected any longer,” I agree as my eyes land on the scarlet Ddraig. Unlike the rest of our company, he is fully awake. His crimson, murderous stare brightens when he notices that I have spotted him. He
