65. Run
N yra set off at speed, leaving the rest of the party behind and allowing them the time they needed to make their escape back to the Great Hall and hopefully safety.
The academy would still need to be able to fight off the forces, otherwise all of this would have been for nothing.
At least for now, Aeden took solace from the thought that they were able to buy the others some time.
They raced towards the training field where they had spent so much time together practising all of their manoeuvres. Now was the time to put all that practice into motion.
Another screech from the griffin alerted Aeden that Orion was closer than he would have liked. He pulled on Nyra’s harness, dragging her to the left.
Orion shot past, a desperately close gust of air pushing against them. Aeden swore they were close enough that he felt one of the wings skimming dangerously over his head.
“ Keep going, Nyra! ” Adrenaline surged through Aeden’s body as they raced into the open field towards the forest .
Aeden knew that this was their best shot. At least the trees would grant them cover from Orion.
Orion circled around again, this time attacking from ahead of them and diagonally. They were near the training columns.
“ Try to get to the pillars, that will buy us some time ,” Aeden said.
Somehow, Nyra managed to draw on energy from somewhere as she sped up. Orion was approaching at speed, his griffin’s talons stretched out in front of it as it desperately clawed at Nyra.
The two of them were able to make it to the column as Orion and his griffin barely missed them once again.
“ Well done, Nyra! ” Aeden said.
They couldn’t stop, they couldn’t hesitate, they had to do the only thing they could: run.
“Shit!” Aeden ducked as one of the poles sticking out from the columns nearly took him out. He leaned forwards, as close to Nyra as he could as the pole skimmed the top of his head.
“Nyra, look out!” It was one of the pits that had been dug in, obstacles designed to help train them now becoming dangerous traps as they desperately tried to escape.
Nyra reached the pit and leapt as high as she could, but her hind leg’s injury meant she couldn’t push off from the ground like she usually would.
Aeden held his breath as the two of them bolted over the pit. If they landed in it now, this would all be over. To Aeden’s horror, Nyra slowed down as she leapt over the trap. Her front legs hit the ground first, her back legs clipping the edge of the trap .
Nyra let out a cry of pain as she stumbled.
The force sent Aeden tumbling to the side as he desperately gripped hold of Nyra’s harness.
Somehow he managed to keep a tight enough grip and pull himself back up into a better seated position.
But the trap had caused enough of a delay to allow Orion to gain on them.
This was now a battle of wills as the edge of the forest drew closer, the place where all of this started, the place where Aeden had found Nyra.
Glancing over his shoulder, Aeden could see that Orion was getting closer and closer, his claws stretched forward once again.
“Keep going, Nyra,” was all he could manage as he reached down to his side, grabbing hold of the hilt of his sword that was strapped into Nyra’s harness. He didn’t need to use it though, as the griffin had no choice but to pull up into the air as Aeden and Nyra entered the canopy of the forest.
They were safe. For now, at least.
That didn’t mean they could stop. The dappled shadow of Orion and his griffin traced across the ground around them. Nyra slowed her pace down to a canter, needing to allow herself to regain composure. That was the logical thing to do.
“Come out, come out,” Orion called down from above. It wasn’t clear exactly where he was, but he was still closer than Aeden would have liked.
“ What now? ” Nyra said, panting. She was bordering on exhaustion, her voice weary.
“ I don’t know, I didn’t think past getting to the forest and drawing Orion away. We need to find a way to get him dismounted from the griffin .” That was all Aeden could think of. “ Keep your wits about you, and stay out of any clearings .”
“Do you think you can actually outrun me?” Orion said. “You’re only delaying the inevitable. The sooner you stop running, the better.”
“ Keep as quiet as possible ,” Aeden said as the two of them slowed down to a near stop, the rustling of the trees not bringing them any comfort.
Ahead of them, Orion’s griffin burst through the canopy and landed on the earth, spinning its head around to find them. When it clasped its eyes on them, it roared once again as Orion’s frustrated face lit up into a wild grin.
“Shit,” Aeden cursed, “run!”
Nyra didn’t need telling twice as she set off at speed once again.
This time they had to navigate between the trees of the forest as she weaved from left to right to avoid hitting them.
Aeden’s chest pounded as he clung on as tightly as possible, leaning into the harness and against the back of Nyra’s neck.
Orion’s advantage had been removed, but even though he and his griffin were now on foot too, that didn’t mean he was slow, not by any standard. His griffin continued to growl as it gave chase, its thunderous feet crashing into the ground.
The trees around Aeden became nothing more than a blur as he focused ahead of him and Nyra, leaning into every twist and turn.
Ahead of them, Aeden could see a clearing, which wasn’t ideal; Orion’s advantage would be returned, but beyond the clearing, he could make out the shimmering waters of a lake, the setting sun sitting just behind the mountains ahead of them.
Perhaps in the dark that would help them – at least they might be able to hide.
That was Aeden’s only thought: escape and hide. He had no way of fighting back.
A stray branch whizzed over the top of Aeden’s head, causing him to flinch. Disorientated, he glanced over his shoulder, a move he instantly regretted when another branch crashed into his chest, sending him tumbling off the back of Nyra.
The blow left him winded as he slammed into the ground, gasping for air as he bounced off the ground. Orion’s griffin surged past, its focus on Nyra.
“Keep going,” Aeden gasped as he somehow managed to stagger to his feet. He stumbled forward as he realised Nyra had reached the clearing and Orion had taken flight once again. “ Nyra, don’t stop .”
“ I’m not going anywhere without you ,” she cried, circling around to head back towards Aeden.
Aeden’s chest burned and he winced as he breathed in. He was sure he had broken a rib. “ Nyra, I can’t run .”
This time Nyra channelled the power of the Weave herself and warmness wrapped around Aeden’s body, focusing on his ribcage. An uncomfortable snap of bone followed as Nyra reset his rib, and he was once again able to breathe, although the rest of his body still ached.
When she reached him, Nyra skidded to a stop, sending a cloud of dust and earth in Aiden’s direction.
“ Climb on ,” she said, and Aeden wasted no time jumping back on her.
“ Where are they? ” Aeden said, looking up in the sky. He couldn’t see Orion anywhere, and that more than anything filled him with dread. That notion was short lived as his griffin came crashing down with an ear-splitting roar before slamming into Nyra’s side, sending them both flying.
The world spun around him, and he skidded to a stop only for his heart to sink. This wasn’t a clearing, it was a cliff edge, with the lake sitting below them.
“ Nyra ,” Aeden reached out, but he didn’t get a response.
Dust whipped up around him as Orion landed on the opening with a thud.
“I have to say, I am getting a little tired of your games!” he growled. “This ends now.”
Aeden desperately wanted to get to Nyra, who was lying motionless just a few feet away from him.
“Nyra!” he cried out as he crawled towards her.
He knew she wasn’t dead; Aeden wouldn’t still be breathing if she were, but she was definitely unconscious as Aeden continued to search his Weave for her.
There was no fear, there was no anxiety, only a black void.
“You bastard!” Aeden said as he crawled ever closer to her.
“Aw, will you look at that,” Orion teased. “Do you think you can actually help her? This prophecy ends with her death, and so will your wretched bloodline. My master will be most pleased.”
The griffin flapped its wings, taking flight and rushing forward to grab hold of Nyra’s motionless body. It squeezed her tightly as blood oozed from where its talons had pierced her hide.
Then it took to the sky and let her go above the lake.
Aeden’s whole world stopped, his blood seeming to drain from his body as a nauseating knot formed in the base of his stomach .
“Noooo!” he cried as he scrambled to the edge of the cliff and watched Nyra’s body crash into the deep, dark lake.
He didn’t know what to do, what to think.
His heart hammered so hard that he thought it might break free from his chest. His worst fears had been realised in one sick move.
Nyra was going to drown, and Aeden was absolutely powerless to stop it.
He was as good as dead, too. His thoughts turned to Vivienne, who had passed mere moments after her Aer-Kin youngling had died.
He feared the water. The water had become his master, but he knew that he couldn’t stand aside and do nothing, he couldn’t let Nyra’s life end like this.
He climbed to his feet and fought the hesitation, fought past the crippling doubt.
He leapt from the cliff edge.
The speed was incredible as he dropped. He placed his feet as straight as possible, raising his hands into the air to make himself as streamlined as he could.
This was going to hurt, but in this moment, all he cared about was Nyra.
Within seconds he crashed into the water, taking a deep intake of air just before he hit the surface, his body crumpling underneath him.
The pain was agonising and he wanted to scream out, but he couldn’t.
He needed to find Nyra, and fast. He looked around him through the clear waters.
It was dark, but he could make out loose shapes around him.
Fear filled every part of him as he swam around in a circle looking for her, all the while his own heart rate quickening as his own body started to fight for air .
Aeden’s head stung in the centre as the pressure built. He swam deeper and deeper, each stroke he took only solidifying his worst fears.
When he saw Nyra’s body at the bottom, bunched in a circle, Aeden swam towards her as fast as he could.
His strokes were getting slower, however, as his air ran low, but he was determined to reach her.
More than anything, he needed her to wake up, but it was getting harder to focus, harder to concentrate as his head pulsed and throbbed.
He didn’t know how much longer he had. The water felt like treacle as he slowly swam towards her.
“ Nyra ,” he said again through the Weave, but he was greeted with nothing but silence.
As he reached her, he placed his hand on her wounded hide and used what energy he had left to connect to the Weave one final time. If he was going to die on this day, at least he would do so with Nyra, but he still had it in him to try one last thing.
The Weave opened up, and he used everything he had to pour the raw power into himself as he funnelled his healing powers into Nyra.
If he could heal her wound, perhaps she would wake up.
It wasn’t much, but it was all he had in this desperate, longing moment.
She was somehow still alive, or their connection would have broken by now.
This was it, his last chance, their last chance.
Tendrils of light erupted from Aeden’s hands, wrapping around Nyra’s body and causing the water to glow around them.
The marine life around them darted away, but then tiny fish swam towards the light, as if drawn to the warm, pulsing power.
Aeden’s hands ached, his body shaking violently as he struggled for air.
He was nearly out of time. His body shook with sheer determination as he stretched their Weave to its breaking point.
It was to no avail. Nyra didn’t move, despite Aeden’s best efforts, his eyes widening with the realisation as his body convulsed. He had run out of air, and as such, he was out of time.
His consciousness slowly faded away into darkness.