The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 31 (Part 2)

"Easy, my dear. We can do this." Kitaya flattened herself against Chaga's back, examining the gap between the silos. If she got this wrong, they'd both be dead. "On my mark, Chaga." She sucked a breath to steel her nerves, her gaze never leaving the obstacle before them. Just a little further. "Mark!"

As they turned, she ducked her head into Chaga's fur. Her battle skirts brushed against the silo, and her beads rapped against it. As soon as they cleared the silos, Chaga leveled out, the muscles between his wings bunching and straining as he beat his wings. They gained enough height to clear the storehouses, and Kitaya took a moment to breathe before scanning the skies. She spotted the kidnapper to the east, flying towards the plains.

Enough of this cat-and-mouse nonsense. She banked east and flew low, pushing Chaga as fast as his wings could carry them. The whistle of wind in her ears escalated into a roar, and she hugged her seat tight. They shot through the sky as fast and sure as a master archer's arrow, over the buildings, the parks, the people.

Kitaya followed the flight path of the kidnapper with her eyes. As she closed in, its rider looked back, red painted face glistening with sweat. Their eyes locked and for a moment, only they occupied the skies. He twisted his lips into a scowl and Kitaya glowered in response.

The distance narrowed between as the shot past the eastern gate and flew over the plains beyond. Just a little closer.

The flyer barrel-rolled, the spin sharp. Time seemed to slow as she watched with horror. A fluttering of frilly clothes, a piercing screech. Down Raylen went, limbs flailing, her screams fading as she fell.

Kitaya leapt from Chaga's back into a fast and deadly dive, her eyes tracking the falling girl. She'd done this rescue maneuver before, but never without a saddle. And never without a person so panicked. Flyers were taught to relax if they lost their mount, which made plucking them from the sky easier.

While she'd never been one to shy away from daring feats, she couldn't ignore the rapid thumping of her heart, the fear gripping her by the throat and refusing to let go. Chaga came alongside her, wings folded against his back, falling as she fell, staying within arm's reach.

Kitaya reached and arm towards Raylen

"Grab onto my back!" Kitaya yelled over the rushing wind.

The girl clawed at her armour and skin, desperate for something to cling to, and locked an arm around Kitaya's neck. Kitaya ignored the momentary discomfort and reached for Chaga's mane, threading her fingers into the gold tendrils.

She got a decent grip, but they too close to the ground. Chaga wasted no time spreading his wings and Kitaya held her breath as their angle changed slowly and the earth rose rapidly. Gravity was their nemesis, dragging them to their doom. She resisted the urge squeeze her eyes shut as the scents of the wildflowers growing in the plains tickled her nose. Her heart fluttered like a butterfly caught in a net. But her fears were unfounded. With the grace and ease of a bird of prey, Chaga leveled out, the grass and shrubs slapping against his feet and wings.

"Good boy," Kitaya said, relief washing over her like a cool breeze of a hot summer's day. "Let's go back." Always trust your mount, they had taught her. She owed Chaga and apology for losing faith so easily.

They flew low, back towards the city. They needed to land somewhere, if trouble found them, Kitaya couldn't fight and fly, and she didn't know who was friend or foe anymore. They other flyers were far off, just specs from her vantage point. She'd gotten too far away from everyone and flying fast with Raylen on board would be too risky.

Going to the castle wasn't an option. If they got attacked, she wanted nothing to happen to it, same with the market and palatial gardens. She took Chaga down to the central gardens, which separated the market from the civil district.

They landed amongst a stand of fruit-bearing trees and bushes, and Kitaya helped Raylen down. As much as she loved flying, having the ground beneath her feet again gave her a comfort akin to a warm blanket on a chilly night.

"I want to go to Papa," Raylen whined, eyes wide and watery with fear.

Kitaya looked at the girl. Small, frail, couldn't bemore than twelve. Which wasn't any excuse for how pathetically helpless shewas. Kitaya held her first spear at the age of eight. "Stay close to Ch—"

Screeches filled the air, and from the trees came a group of rioters. Kitaya unhooked the Behemoth from her belt and placed herself between them and the girl. The rioters surrounded them, red faces contorted into macabre masks of anger and disgust. Forty at least, she counted.

"Watch out!" someone called from amongst the rioters.

Her heart sank when Ade pushed his way to the front, his face the same crimson colour as the other rioters. She bit her cheek to stop the tears welling in her eyes. How could he do this? When he knew how much this meant to her.

"Just hand her over, Kitaya." He took a step forward, but Kitaya leveled the Behemoth with his chest to keep him at bay. "Do you even realize what you're doing right now? These people are beneath us and you're protecting them."

Kitaya opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp tremor rocked the ground beneath her. She planted her spear in the ground and spread her feet. The earth opened up like a gaping maw and swallowed rioters trees and bushes, leaving a circular chasm around her. She held an arm up against the raining dust and pebbles, peeking up in time to see Eriani staring down into the pit at the squirming rioters. Mellidius flanked her, with Shara flapping on his shoulders.

With her lips twisted and brows angled, she looked more like an angry caricature of her regal self. She uttered a single ancient word and earthen bridge grew from both ends of the chasm, sealing together in the middle.

"Mellidius, ensure the rubbish is dealt with," the Queen said, as she took purposeful strides across the bridge. "Are you injured, Kitaya?"

Kitaya shook her head. Other than the already healing scratches from Raylen, she was no worse for wear.

"And you?" Eriani cut her eyes to Raylen.

"I... I don't think so" the girl answered.

The sound of clopping hooves interrupted their conversation, and a carriage pulled up on the garden's path a moment later. Out jumped the Ravinian King, flanked by his guards. "Raylen!"

"Papa!" The girl flew past Kitaya, flinging herself into Damian's arms.

Kitaya supposed the moment should've warmed her heart, yet all she felt was bitter, cold disappointment. She turned away from them, walking to where Chaga sat.

"Kitaya!" Damian called, stopping her in her tracks. "Thank you."

Her fists curled and her shoulders bunched. It took everything within her not to turn around and lash out at them all. She hadn't saved Raylen it for him, but to preserve the integrity of her Nation. But even that had backfired. Millennia from now when scholars recounted this event, the violent rioters who committed treason will overshadows those who marched and chanted nobly for their nation.

All of it everything she'd gone through — challenging Mellidius, the subsequent defeats, the long nights in the infirmary — was all for naught. The entire protest was all for naught. In one, fluid motion, Kitaya tucked the Behemoth into her belt and leapt onto Chaga's back. Then turned away on the crowds and flew off into the east.

[A/N]: I know I promised to upload this earlier in the week. But things happened. This chapter took a lot out of me (as all the action-packed chapters do). Plus I worked long hours this week, and I have another story (Necromancy In D Minor) that I'm working on alongside this one, AND I'm still not feeling 100% better yet. Sorry if I disappointed anyone.

~Tempest