The Shores of Rethan (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 5)

I - Crashing Down

Rhenor still didn't like heights, but after flying for hours, he was slowly getting used to them. He still got a little queasy when looking down into the dark blue waters below them, but he also couldn't help but be in awe of it all. He'd never seen the ocean like this, especially not from above, and while the seeming infinity of it was daunting to behold, Rhenor couldn't help but wonder if sailing on a ship was truly as unpleasant as he'd assumed his whole life.

He grimaced when he heard Kaz huff, the sound very loud given how large he currently was. He must have been getting tired, though that was more than understandable since they'd been flying for a few hours now.

The tiredness was visible even in Kaz's wings, as their mighty flaps got slower and slower. Thankfully, there were a few islands on the horizon where Kaz would be finally given a chance to rest.

Rhen wouldn't mind stretching his legs a bit either. Due to Kaz's somewhat sharp scales, Rhenor had put his cloak over the dragon's back, so he and Elaya could fly with him without slicing their legs open. But that did very little for cramping muscles from the long journey.

Rhenor moved his legs as much as he could at the moment, wincing at how sore they were. Riding on a dragon was much less comfortable than on a horse, he was sure of that. And he still had no idea how he felt about Kaz being like this.

Rhen had mostly managed to accept that Kaz was a dragon, but he still had trouble dealing with him looking like this. Though mostly Rhenor missed Kaz's messy hair and those smiles that always made his eyes sparkle. He wanted to properly hug him and kiss him, make sure he was healing okay from the torture he'd gone through, and much more. And Rhen could do none of that as long as they were on the move with Kaz in his dragon form.

"Let's go to the big one," Elaya said loudly over the wind from where she was sitting behind Rhenor, pointing at the island in the middle. It did look much more inviting than the other two Rhenor could see since instead of mostly sand, there were fields of grass and a dense forest.

Kaz turned his head to look at the two humans, nodding and beating his wings faster, clearly eager to be finally given the chance to rest. Rhen ran his hand over the side of Kaz's neck as if by instinct, feeling the dragon's heart race even over the scales. Rhenor grimaced. They could have stopped along the way, but they hadn't because it hadn't seemed vital, and Kaz had been adamant he wasn't tired enough yet. But clearly, it wouldn't have hurt, and it wasn't as if they needed to get anywhere at any specific time.

Rhen would make sure to try to convince Kaz to take a break next time.

He was just about to voice these thoughts when he felt Kaz flinch, his size making it impossible not to notice. And so did Elaya. Rhen threw a look over his shoulder, trying to figure out what was going on, but all he was met with was a wide-eyed, confused look from her.

"Something's..." she said, trailing off as her frown deepened. "Something's wrong."

Rhenor tensed up. He had no idea what this could mean, but he did know that Elaya wasn't being vague on purpose. And the fact that she didn't know what was going on, just that something was, sent chills down his spine.

Kaz somehow managed to push himself even harder, flying rapidly towards the island. Rhen could practically feel the dragon's exhaustion, seeing the muscles on his wings shake with effort as they approached land.

Rhenor wanted to tell Kaz to slow down, that he didn't have to rush to get them to an island they couldn't even be sure was safe. But he didn't get to say any of that because suddenly something was flying toward them.

Rhen barely got the chance to look at what was it was before a metal net hit them. Rhenor found himself pinned to Kaz's back under the weight of it with barely enough time to brace himself when he realized Kaz's wings were now pulled down by the net.