Enslaved

Chapter 38

Ryuu's wings felt heavier than they ever had as he soared to the falls, making sure the very last of the rescues were in front of him. His armor dug into his skin and scales alike, pulling him toward the ground as his wings fought to keep him airborne. They had been away for a little over a week on this raid and Ryuu had barely slept for any of it, making sure that they hadn't been followed and that they wouldn't be ambushed in their sleep. He hovered for a second above the falls, watching as the last group disappeared down the cliff before he tucked his aching wings in and dropped from the sky, falling face-first toward the ground. The wind ripped at his eyes and wings but he kept his lids open, making sure to watch out for slow fliers. Just as he saw the ground he flared his wings open and caught the air, jerking to a stop and hovering for a moment and wincing as pain lanced through his wings. Without him allowing it, his wings closed halfway and he dropped through the sky, his brain too tired to comprehend what was happening.

His armor was dragging him down faster and his brain was moving too slow, too muddled with sleep to think clearly. He closed his eyes, feeling the air as it whipped around him just as something slammed into his side and he felt his drop turn significantly slower but not completely. He opened his eyes and met the mismatched gaze of his soulmate, making him smile slightly before he saw how fast the trees were moving around her and his wings jerked open from instinct. How had she gotten up here so fast? He broke away from her just as they both slammed into the lake, the cold water jarring his senses and waking up his thoughts as he kicked to the surface. He broke the surface of the water and looked around, his eyes searching rapidly for Kaida when the terrifying thought crossed his mind: what if she couldn't swim? He took a deep breath before he ducked under the water and looked around in a panicked circle, finally spotting her golden hair off to his left, her eyes terrified as she tried to claw her way to the surface unsuccessfully. Her wings were open and acting as anchors, dragging her down deep into cold, unflinching arms.

He dived without a second thought, using his wings to propel his way through the water to her quicker than his legs could. He reached her and grabbed her hand, halting his downward swim and redirecting it upward toward the dim light that looked ages away. He pumped his legs and wings hard, feeling the drag from Kaida's open wings as they grabbed at the water and he resisted the urge to yell. This was all his fault, if he had only been more awake, more alert like the leader he was supposed to be, none of this would've happened. He broke the surface and flapped his wings as wide as they could go, grabbing the air and painfully pulling himself from the water, the muscles in his wings and back screaming at him. His arm which was holding onto Kaida felt like it was getting pulled from his socket, her weight dragging with water. His toes finally exited the water and he looked down to see Kaida's head break the water but not move, her hair plastered to her face and her head lolling to the side. Ryuu's heart stuttered and his head jerked up, his eyes scanning the shore for anybody who wasn't preoccupied with getting the chains and cuffs off the new hybrids. He finally spotted Kajeel, standing at the edge of the shore talking with a healer and Ryuu yelled over to him, his voice hoarse.

"Kajeel!"

His second in command's head whipped toward him and not even a second later his wings were open as he launched himself into the sky, arching his flight across the water toward them. Kajeel reached them and he grabbed the hand Ryuu wasn't holding and together they pulled her up, Ryuu refusing to let go despite his second's help. She was fine, she had to be.

"What happened?!" Kajeel asked him as they soared toward the shore as fast as their wings could take them. "Ryuu, what happened?! One second I'm helping all of the rescues and the next you're screaming at me from the lake!"

Ryuu shook his head as they reached the shore and they gently set her down, Ryuu himself dropping to the shore not a moment later and kneeling down next to her, brushing the hair out of her face and feeling for a pulse. A very weak heartbeat brushed his fingers and his shoulders slumped in relief, his brain wide awake with terror. Kajeel grabbed his forearm and shook him, causing him to look over to his second.

"Ryuu, what happened?"

Ryuu let out a breath and stood, facing his second at the same time as Kajeel looked at his face closer.

"Ryuu, don't tell me you haven't been sleeping again." Kajeel sighed angrily and ran a hand through his hair. "You can't go on a raid and make it back without sleep! Kaida could've died saving your idiotic ass, Ryuu, how would you have felt then, huh?!"

Ryuu nodded, his wings shuffling against his back and his mind painfully processing exactly what Kajeel's words implied. A cough sounded behind them and Ryuu whipped around, meeting Kaida's eyes as she sat up and coughed again, a slight dribble of water coming out from between her lips before she shakily stood up, shivering. Kajeel pushed past Ryuu and grabbed either side of Kaida's arms, looking down into her eyes.

"Kaida, are you okay?"

She looked up at him and nodded, taking deep rattling breaths. Kajeel sighed and let go of her arms, shaking his head as he turned back to Ryuu. Ryuu looked at his mate for a moment before he stepped forward and engulfed her in a hug, wrapping his arms around her at the same time as he opened his wings slightly.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you so much."

She wrapped her arms around him after a moment and rested her head against his chest.

"You said you would always be there for me." She whispered back. "So I figured it was only fair to return the favor."

He laughed and pulled away, noticing how Kajeel had disappeared back into the crowd of new hybrids. Kaida looked at him and frowned, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Ryuu, have you not slept the entire time you were away? There are bags under your eyes the side of this clearing. You need to get some rest." She told him, her voice still low. "You can't run this camp and go on raids without sleep. I told you to sleep before you left!"

Ryuu just nodded, his brain screaming at him mentally for letting her do anything so reckless for him. He turned to go when he felt her hand grab his.

"Ryuu, it's okay." Her voice wavered for a second. "Seriously. I'll wake you up tomorrow and we can catch up then."

"Kaida, how are you so okay about all of this?" The words just burst from his lips, exhaustion breaking the barrier he usually kept up when he spoke. "You could have died."

She just looked at him for a second before shaking her head.

"I couldn't watch you die." She said. "I can't lose anybody else close to me."

Ryuu's heart lurched as she let go of his hand and he resisted the urge to stay there with her as he turned around walked off toward that lonely willow tree to get some rest, his brain whirling. What did she mean by 'anybody else'?

"I missed you." Ryuu heard her voice and paused, his chest shuddering. "And I worried about you every day you were gone. I couldn't let the last time we saw each other be so long ago."

Ryuu looked over his shoulder to see her standing with her arms wrapped around herself and he knew his eyes told her what he was feeling when he saw her face relax. She then smiled at him before gesturing back toward the tree and he reluctantly turned around and walked back toward the tree, his thoughts full of a sleepy type of happiness.