The Rider's Truth.

Opening the Box.

Unedited. 

Chapter 29: Opening the Box.

Nethore spun through the air in a tight, dizzying circle as he dived beneath the island that hung in the sky. The wind snatched the sound of Elser's snarl as he pulled up, his wings beating furiously so he wouldn't crash into the side of the island.

Wind tore over my hair. My fingers were bone-white, clenching hard on the hand-holds of the saddle. Nethore flew beneath the earth, where mud stained tendrils of roots poked out sporadically from the trees that had been growing centuries.

My knees were aching from the saddle and air pushed down in a violent gust as we reached the other side of the island and the sky opened again to us. The winter's sun hit the back of my neck for only a second, before a shadow of burning embers descended on us with her claws outstretched.

"Ne!"

Nethore spun, quicker than a blink. A snarl built in his throat as Demor hurtled down, seconds and inches from touching us. "I know human."

Demor pulled out, her long wings treading through the air as she fixed eyes of burning gold on us. Demor hated losing – she suited Gabriel perfectly like that. Outside a competitive realm, she was quite sweet, if not incredibly vain.

Then again, all dragons were vain.

"Not Harvey."

"Keep an eye out for him." Alex wasn't elegant in any sense of the word, except when he was on the saddle and in the air. Alex and Harvey were a sight to behold- graceful and beautiful as they moved together in the sky together completely as one. It was something I had never witnessed with another dragon and Rider. We may all be good Riders, skilled and competent once we complete our training but none of us will ever have that effortless grace that they had.

Harvey and Turana were Nethore's biggest competitors for speed, but while he bristled at the thought of someone beating him, he loved the challenge and the chance to reclaim his standing. Turana was naturally quick because of her tiny stature, a nimble strike of lightening that even Nethore could blink and miss.

Demor turned, revealing the Rider on her back. With windswept curls and burning eyes of violet Gabriel's face was fixed in a competitive snarl as he searched for the ball. I waved my hands tauntingly, a smile curving up.

His eyes flashed, and he sought the sky for my team-mates. Demor's head swung, and she let out a long, hot breath. I felt the flare of their bond, churning like lava burning over the top of a volcano.

"Good luck finding them."

I could half sense them. The Change had ripped open an eye inside of me. Not a Seer's eye, but one where I could sense people over the sound of screaming wind, like shadows of gold, scarlet and silver streaking through my consciousness, mirroring where they were in the sky.

Realization dawned on Gabriel's face, a memory flickering of a golden blur that could so easily be mistaken for a flash of a ray of sunlight as he spun through the air. His mouth curled into a snarl. "Jamie."

I grinned as Demor turned away, her jaws snapping in irritation as she flew away to search for the nimble Thundun dragon. Nethore let out a rumbling laugh, climbing steadily in the air so we could survey our surroundings.

The game sprawled out beneath us was simple. Whatever team had the ball at the end of the hour won. There were three teams- and right now, my team of myself, Jamie and Dem were winning. Peter and gone with Peter and Odette, while Zephyr, Colette and Alex had formed their own little coalition.