Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 51

Bonus Chapter! Truth and Reconciliation day! (Canada)

*Katerina's POV*

Rakota glided above the endless sand of the desert, just above the wall he continued building. I hadn't seen a tree or plant for almost an hour. I'd never seen a desert before, although I soon grew bored of staring at the odd wave-shaped sand dunes. Apart from the ocean, there was no hint of water to be seen.

Only about twenty dragons accompanied us at this point, but most of the naga had given up when we reached the desert. Serepha glided nearby, ever-present, just as she had been since Rakota started the wall four days ago.

I was just as concerned about Rakota as she was. Despite the circling dragons casting various spells to help keep him aloft, each wingbeat was strained, and I was halfway expecting him to fall to the sand below at any moment.

The stone wall continued to rise from beneath the sand, although much more slowly than yesterday. The spellcasting was taking a heavy toll on the determined dragon who had refused to rest for half a day.

My hands tightened on the saddle handle as Rakota began losing height. The wall had also stopped rising. The other dragons' spells kept him from truly falling, but I still braced myself. He hadn't managed a proper landing at our previous stop, and he was even more exhausted now. Serepha immediately circled around, as did most of the other dragons.

Rakota angled his wings back while arching his neck up and simply slid across the sand like a duck landing on a pond. Apart from the initial jolt of his chest hitting the sand, the landing had actually been fairly smooth.

His wings came down to rest on the sand, too tired to even try folding them up. Since inquiries about his well-being annoyed him, no one asked him if he was okay or how he was doing. I slowly unbuckled the harness straps, but he didn't seem to be in pain. Just exhausted.

Serepha landed beside him and nuzzled his shoulder as he panted.

"That's it," he gasped. "That's as far as I can go."

The elderly green dragon landed nearby. "Even if any of us had any magic left to spare, I would have advised you to recover for a week before trying to continue. But in case you haven't noticed, we are in the desert."

"Nope. Didn't notice," I murmured, which earned an exasperated snort from Rakota and a toothy grin from the elder who had camped with us the last three nights.

"I'm glad we got this far," Serepha said. "I can't imagine the naga getting past the Sea Guard at this point."

"I can come back later when I store up more magic," Rakota said, his chest still heaving for breath. "I want to extend this part of the wall and improve a few other spots."

"Which ones?" the elder asked.

I slid to the ground as the two dragons talked about locations and sketched diagrams in the sand. Despite the stretch breaks every couple of hours, my muscles protested the long days of almost non-stop flying.

I winced as I lifted my foot behind me and pulled it higher with my hand, stretching the muscles above my knees. Rakota paused his discussion as he glanced at me, the bond possibly mistaking the sore muscles as an actual injury, and a faint green glow shimmered above my clothing for a few seconds. All the stiffness and strain disappeared.

"Thanks," I murmured as he turned back to his previous discussion.

Even though he was so low on magic that he had been borrowing it from others to finish the wall, he'd spared enough to heal a mild discomfort. My magic still flowed into the bond in a gentle trickle as my body created it.