Enslaved

Chapter 45

Kaida flapped her wings hard, exhaustion seeming to chase her through the sky as they made their way back to camp. She looked up through the strands of hair that had escaped her plait during the ambush on the slavers and her eyes immediately locked on Ryuu where he flew swiftly and unfalteringly at the head of the group. His slightly different colored armor shone with the sunlight and she smiled slightly before her wings faltered and she cursed quietly, tearing her eyes off him and focusing on flying again. She could not forget the look he gave her when he saw her in those tunnels earlier- completely relieved at the same time as his fury simmered around the edges. He had been so concerned about her, she had been slightly taken aback. A pang went through her side again and she winced, her arm snaking around her waist again. During the battle, one of the slavers had gotten in a good hit on her and she had heard something crack when they did. Her breathing had been a little labored since then and she knew something had been damaged. She looked back up, debating whether or not to try and get Ryuu's attention when she saw something whiz out of the tree line directly in front of him.

"Ryuu!"

She watched as Ryuu snapped his wings in and dropped like a stone for only a second before be was back up in the sky, his head staring in the direction that the projectile had come from. She saw Ryuu flick his wings and they all stopped to hover in place, their heads turning to watch Ryuu and the trees alike. Kaida flapped her wings hard and pushed through the crowd of hybrids, trying her best to not clip any of them with her wings as she made her way toward Ryuu. She finally flew up to his side, her ribs screaming at the extra exertion it took to get there.

"Ryuu, what happened?" She asked, looking in the direction he was. "Are you okay?"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ryuu turn to her and she turned to meet his gaze, keeping his face eyelevel with hers as they hovered.

"I am fine, thank you." He said, his eyes still brimmed with repressed anger at her stunt she had pulled but thankfully it was less intense than it had been earlier. "That was an assassination attempt, I believe."

Her eyes widened in surprise and her head whipped back around to the place she had seen the thing fly out of.

"How did they know where we were?"

She turned back to Ryuu, wrapping her arms around her waist as she struggled to stay at his level, her breathing out of synch.

"I have reason to believe that we have a traitor in out midst."

Kaida's eyes widened again, her heart hammering in her chest.

"A traitor?" Her voice was quieter than the wind. "In the rebellion? Aren't there enough working for the Emperor?"

Ryuu's laugh was cold and Kaida flinched at the sound.

"There should be."

Kaida looked at the ground far below them as se thought, the ache in her wings getting worse by the minute. She turned back to Ryuu and drew her wings up for another down flap when a searing pain ripped through one wing and then the other, causing her to cry out and snap them closed. Just like that, she was falling, the wind ripping her hair out of its plait and up around her face like a halo. What happened? She forced her wings open and let out a yell, the pain forcing them shut once again. She felt hot tears flip from her eyes and streak into her hair. Was this where she died?

A hand grabbed her right under her left shoulder and yanked, breaking her plummet. Her hair fall back around her shoulders in a mess of tangles as the sound of fighting caught up with her. Her wings pulsed with pain and she looked up, trying to locate the source of the ruckus. There were about a dozen hybrids coated in camouflage with the Emperor's symbol on their chest fighting the rebellion midair with large, double edged swords. She sucked in a breath of surprise, how were they supposed to win this? Especially while holding freed slaves who couldn't fight or fly with their wings still shackled?

"Kaida!"

She jerked at her name and switched her gaze to who was carrying her, blinking in surprise when she saw Ryuu struggling to stay aloft in the sky with his shaky, one-hand hold on her. She met his eyes and was surprised at the pure panic that swam within the green depths.

"Kaida, where are you hit? Can you fly?"

She swallowed, trying yet again to open her wings with no luck.

"It hit both wings." She breathed. "I can't open them. Ryuu let me go, I can't fly."

She felt despair crawling its way up her throat, all her old feelings of hopelessness choking out all the air around her. A tear fell from her eye; she thought she had been getting stronger but it had all been a lie. The slavers were right, she would never be anything other than useless scum.

"Kaida." She blinked, breathing hard. "I will never let you go. You are a part of this rebellion, you are family. We take care of each other."

She looked up at him and he held out his left hand a soft expression on his face despite his panic filled eyes. She reached for his hand and he grabbed hers tightly, yanking her up to him and swinging her body around so he was carrying her with one arm around her back and under her wings and the other under her legs. He let out a breath and she felt their hover steady for a second before they started rising in the air again.

"I will never let you go."

Kaida looked at him and nodded, swallowing the apologies that swarmed in her mouth for her attitude. She turned and looked back to the rebellion to see them surrounding the remaining enemies, a few of them looking injured but for the most part they all seemed to be alright. Kaida smiled. She had been worried for nothing.

"How about we question these betrayers, huh?"

Kaida turned back to Ryuu and nodded, trying to ignore the pain in her wings and ribs. Ryuu gave her a grim smile, his eyes now holding nothing but resolve before squeezing her shoulder briefly and shooting into the sky, aiming straight for the heart of the enemy.