Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Asha… WATCH OUT!”
Jaxon’s voice squeals, causing me to panic climb the unstable staircase.
I get around two steps up when his face distorts into a terrified expression, making my body grow colder.
A sudden tight grip squeezes around my waist, making me wince, as needle-like points dig into my skin.
I try to scream, but the air is drained from my lungs.
My vision blurs, and I start to feel lightheaded seeing Jaxon and Elijah watch from the viewing platform with horror on their faces.
Their faces, contorted and shocked, get smaller and smaller as I’m lifted faster than I can blink.
Their figures now resemble the ant-sized holes in the nets we laid earlier as I see them rushing back into the taming quadrant, hopefully to get some help.
My neck is crooked at the angle I’m being held; pressure builds as I’m carried like a rag doll.
I swallow down the saliva welling in my mouth and try to analyse my surroundings, but everything is moving too fast. The ride has me violently swaying like I’m on a rollercoaster, causing my hair to whoosh uncontrollably over my eyes, blocking my view.
The grip around my waist loosens a little, allowing me to breathe again, and my lungs huff in my chest as they fight for the air to replenish them.
What is happening?
With a gust of wind, my hair escapes from my view, and I can see again. My head snaps to the grip on my ribs, rough yellowish scales encircling me with dagger-like claws. I know those claws. I am in the deadly grip of an elion.
Panic strikes me, and my heart races almost as uncontrollably as my hair in the wind.
Calm down, Asha. Breathe. I take a deep breath to control myself, remembering what Mr Knight had taught me.
Find my anchor. I picture Ryder in my mind until I feel my skin tingle.
My mask is up, my thoughts are clearer now.
I grab the long, scaly claws and push at them, trying to escape the grasp.
The elion retaliates and squeezes tighter, knocking the wind out of me again. I am trapped.
“Stop squirming, child.”
The husky voice interrupts my panic. I look up in disbelief.
The voice, it’s… the elion. I didn’t notice through the panic and struggle that the elion gripping me tightly is Craize.
I can see the underside of his large frame, his white fur shining brightly, reflecting the sun’s rays, the scar that harshens the right side of his face.
I can see the pulsating of his chest as it moves up and down in synchrony with his heavy breaths, a rumble vibrates in his throat, and I am relieved to see that his teeth are still hidden in his mighty jaws.
Hesitantly, I look down, and I swallow sharply when I cannot see the ground below.
I am now soaring above the clouds. The sun’s rays are emitting golden shimmers on the pearly white clouds, making them look ethereal.
An involuntary smile forms on my face. I have never seen a view quite like it. It showers me with courage.
“Are you going to eat me?” I ask, accepting my fate.
If I am going to be eaten, I might as well take in the scenery first. I hear a deep chuckle. Is something funny?
“I’m not going to eat you, young one,” the voice says, making me exhale a loud and shaky breath.
“Try to relax.” He catapults me upwards, making me free-fall into the Earth’s atmosphere.
I scream, imagining myself falling to my demise, and flail my arms around.
Craize swoops under me, so I land on his back.
My hands grip his fur for dear life as he plummets back towards the ground through the clouds.
His feathered wings flap ferociously on either side of me.
Water escapes the corners of my eyes with the force of our descent, and I can see the podiums coming into view as we head back towards the enclosure.
After what feels like a lifetime, Craize gracefully lands on the platform and tilts his wing ever so slightly, encouraging me off and onto the bed of fresh hay.
I shakily shift and slide down, holding onto his fur for balance, until I reach the safety of the hay I’d just laid.
Placing my hands on my knees, I bend over to catch my breath.
I feel my legs vibrate with terror as they regain their stature after being jellylike.
When satisfied, I stand tall, my eyes drowning in Craize’s ocean eyes.
“Some warning would have been nice… I thought I was going to die.” My voice trembles as I stare up at him.
He leans his head in and burrows himself in my hair.
“Apologies, I did not mean to scare you,” he says, but I don’t see his lips moving or hear clicks escape his fanged mouth.
“Wait? How am I talking to you right now?” I take a step back, astonished. “I-I can understand you.” He shifts into a more comfortable position and sits down in the corner of the platform, his left leg hanging off.
“You hear me because I am bonded to you… Star Child.” He gives his coat a lick, and I walk closer to him.
“What do you mean, bonded? You don’t even know me.” I shake my head in disbelief and sit down in front of him, my bottom comfortable on the soft, flouncy hay.
“I know more than you think.” He looks at me and tilts his head as if trying to get inside mine. “Didn’t Oriah tell you?”
“Oriah? You know Oriah?” I question.
“I more than know Oriah, young one. She is my master, my creator.” He purrs a little after he says this.
“Hmmm,” I think out loud, trying to connect the dots. “She made you?”
“Yes, she made all of us as a Gift to the Sun people, along with my cousins, the sky serpents, for the Moonkind when her race came to be,” he says. “Did she fail to mention this information?” I nod my head, still confused at the knowledge I am hearing.
“Gods rest their souls.” He lowers his head, and I see pain in his demeanour. I reach my hand out and stroke the fur between his eyes. “The stigma surrounding them is unjust, but you will change that.” He pauses. “You will change everything, young one.”
“M-me? I don’t understand.” I pull my hand from his head and look away from his gaze.
“You are the product of Sun and Moon. You bridge the divide of your people.” He takes to his feet again and stares down at Sun Castle.
I follow his eyeline and sit down with my legs hanging off the edge. I feel Craize’s breath on my hair as he stands behind me.
“Everyone expects so much of me, but I don’t know what I am doing… I have made a mess of everything so far,” I sigh, lowering my head defeatedly, thinking of what happened with River.
“You will learn.” He nuzzles his head in my hair again.
There is a small silence as we watch the castle from afar.
“Did you know my mother?” I ask. It is the one thing I thought I knew when he clicked at me before.
“Yes, young one, I tried to tell you before, but the bond wasn’t strong enough without your Gifts. That’s why you could not understand me.”
“What was she like?” My memory of her evokes sadness in me.
“She was brave… just like you. Brave soul.”
“Brave soul? That’s what you clicked at me the other day,” I say, thinking back to the elion book of languages with Nala.
“Yes. She was chosen because of her fearlessness,” he says proudly, but this makes me question myself.
“Chosen?” I look up at him.
“Yes. The rebirth of the Starkind was a heavy duty to carry. Oriah needed someone who was not only fearless but also kind and caring. Someone strong enough to healthily carry a Starchild in her womb to full term. Someone like your mother.”
“Wait, so my mother didn’t defy the Gods? She was chosen by one?” I ask, optimistic about getting another piece of the puzzle that is my mother.
“Yes. Oriah had been planning this for years,” he says. “It took centuries to find the perfect suitors.”
“Luca?” I question.
“She brought them together,” he says, and I feel closer to her than ever.
That pull I feel towards Ryder must be the same thing she felt towards Luca. Undeniable chemistry.
“Wow. All this time, people thought he was a criminal; it turns out he was a hero.” A tear rolls down my cheek.
“He saved your race, young one; they both did.”
I wipe the tear from my cheek and smile up at Craize. My attention is broken by the sounds of people down below me.
“Asha, are you okay?”
I peer over the edge and see Jaxon standing with Mr Knight, Elijah and Veronica.
“Tell them that we’re bonded,” Craize says, and I nod up at him again.
“Yes, Jaxon.” I smile and look down at them. “I’m fine. It appears Craize has chosen me to bond with.” I watch as Jaxon’s eyebrows raise in disbelief.
“Perch yourself between my shoulders. I will take you down to them,” he demands, and I do as he says.
His wing feels soft yet bony and strong like iron.
The ridge between his shoulder blades dips, and my buttocks sink into it.
I hold on to the tufts of his white fur, each strand like wire.
Craize takes the long way down and swoops around the podium in spiral movements.
The breeze brushes through my hair, and I feel like I can enjoy it this time.
I can’t help but laugh as we descend from the platform.
He lands and tilts his wing. I slide down with more ease this time, and the astounded group stares befuddled at me.
I look back at Craize, who bows his head towards me.
I do the same, and he leaps into the air, disappearing into the clouds.
Jaxon pulls me into a hug. “Thank the Gods. I don’t have to tell River his girlfriend died,” he says, laughing.
Has River not told him about our disastrous date? Maybe he hasn’t had the chance yet. I laugh back at him.
“Not girlfriend, but I get your point.”
He laughs again, and Elijah gives me a nod. It’s nice to see how much they care. Mr Knight approaches me and points at me jokingly.
“I knew Craize liked you. You have progressed quicker than any of my other students,” he says as we all begin walking back to the floating steps. “If you like, I can squeeze in some extra lessons just for you. Craize will definitely want you around more.”
“Yes, I would like that,” I say, smiling from ear to ear.
The more time I can spend with Craize, the more I can find out about my mother and Luca and…well, everything. The adrenaline is wearing off, and my body feels sluggish and tired. Well, that was a wild ride. Nala is not going to believe this one.