Page 216 - Fourth Wing

training for my legs. I should have spent more time preparing myself for

this. He shouldn’t have to spend his energy on keeping his rider seated.
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

A loud sigh resonates through my mind. “I didn’t think I would, either, so

we have that in common.”
I sit higher in the seat and look out over the landscape, wind ripping tears

from the corners of my eyes. No wonder most riders choose to wear

goggles. There are at least a dozen dragons in the air, each putting their
rider through a trial of dips and turns. Reds, oranges, greens, browns, the

sky is speckled with color.

My heart lurches as I see a rider fall from the back of a Red Swordtail
and, unlike Tairn, the dragon doesn’t dip to catch the first-year. I look away

before the body hits the ground.
It’s not anyone you know. That’s what I tell myself. Rhiannon, Ridoc,

Trina, Sawyer… They’re all probably safely bonded and already waiting at

the field.
“We’re going to have to put on a show.”

“Awesome.” The idea is anything but.
“You will not fall. I will not allow it.” The bands around my legs extend

to my hands, and I feel the pulse of invisible energy. “You will trust me.”

Not a question. An order.
“Let’s get it over with.” I can’t move my legs, my fingers, my hands, so

there’s nothing I can do but sit back and hope I enjoy whatever hell he’s

about to put me through.
His wings give a mighty beat, and we lurch upward in what feels like a

ninety-degree climb, leaving my stomach back at the lower altitude. He

crests the top of the snow-dusted peaks, and we hang there for a breath of a
second before he twists, diving back down at the same terrifying angle.

It’s the most horrifying and yet exhilarating moment of my life.
Until he twists again, sending us into a spiral.