Chapter 16 Aug 19, 2025 They weren't ready. Not really. But readiness had never mattered much at Caerborn. When the horn blew at dawn and the mission scroll was shoved into Mira's hands, she didn't even have time to blink before Liorith was saddled and snorting at the gates. "A rogue wyrm?" she repeated, scanning the map in disbelief. "How does something that big just escape?" Bastian adjusted the strap on Vharok's saddle without looking at her. His expression was flat, unreadable. "Same way everything else breaks out of this place. It stops listening." "I didn't think we'd be the ones chasing it," she muttered. "We're bonded now." His voice was clipped and cold. "No more drills. This is what comes next." No instructors. No backup. Just them. Mira mounted Liorith with stiff fingers and a twisting stomach. For the first time, Caerborn's walls stayed behind. The cliffs below gave way to jagged canyons and wild wind. She'd never flown past the perimeter. The sky out here felt heavier, like it knew how easily it could swallow them. The trail led through a shattered gorge, the rocks scorched black by old fire, the ground split with clawed craters and dried blood. It didn't feel like a hunt. It felt like a warning. "Something's off," Mira said, eyes narrowing at the tracks below. "They're layered. Different sizes. Different weight." "This was supposed to be a lone wyrm," Bastian muttered. "But the signs-" "There's more than one," she finished. His jaw locked. "Ambush." They didn't have time to get ready. The sky exploded. Shadows dropped from the cliffs, wings spread like shrouds. Not one rogue. A clutch. Twisted, malformed dragons-wild eyes, melted scales, jaws frothing with rage. They weren't flying. They were falling. And Mira's stomach dropped with them. "Break off!" Bastian shouted, but the first wyrm was already on them, barreling toward Liorith's flank. She shrieked and spun, wings slicing the air. Mira held on with all she had, knuckles white against the reins. "Behind you!" she yelled. Vharok twisted, flame spraying wide as he caught another beast midair. Smoke clogged the canyon. Screams-human and not-echoed off the stone. "They're circling us!" Mira shouted. "We need to climb!" "Go-go now!" Bastian barked, but the cliffs trembled before she could act. Another wyrm hit the ledge above, claws digging deep. The rocks cracked, a rumble starting low, rising fast. The entire outcrop began to fall. Liorith shrieked and twisted her body beneath Mira, but the impact had already thrown her. The saddle bucked. Mira's body spun, slammed against the ledge, and slid hard to the edge. Her breath vanished like it had been stolen. Stone split beside her ear. She tasted blood. Heard nothing but her pulse. "Get up," she muttered, forcing her arms to move. "Move, Mira-now-" The ridge cracked again. A massive chunk of rock-twice her size-broke loose and began to tip. Mira's eyes widened. She crawled backward, knees slipping on dust-slick stone. The shadow swallowed the light. "Liorith!" she screamed, coughing through the smoke. "Liorith, please!" She didn't know if the scream was heard, didn't know if her dragon could reach her in time. Her voice felt small, useless, drowned by chaos. Then-something warm, solid, human-closed around her hand. She looked up, blinking through the ash. It wasn't Liorith. It was Bastian. His hand was wrapped around hers, arm straining, jaw clenched with effort. His entire body braced against the falling ridge. His eyes found hers through the dust, and for one terrifying second, neither of them breathed. "Hold on," he growled, voice ragged. "Don't you dare let go." Mira gritted her teeth and anchored herself to the one steady thing in the storm-his grip. His fingers tightened. His boots scraped. Rocks tumbled around them, some bouncing off his shoulder, others missing by inches. "I told you," she gasped, voice shaking, "this was insane-" "Stop talking," he bit out. "Move." He yanked, and she surged forward, her elbow slamming into his chest as the ledge behind them collapsed into the canyon. The sound was deafening-rock hitting rock, wings shrieking in the distance, one wyrm's howl echoing like death. Mira sprawled against him, panting, chest heaving. His arm wrapped around her back without hesitation. She was trembling. So was he. His heart thundered where their ribs met. For a second, she forgot the dragons. The canyon. Even the pain in her shoulder. "You came back for me," she whispered. "You screamed," he said, still breathless. "What was I supposed to do? Fly away?" She stared up at him, something hot rising in her throat. Her lips parted, but the sound never made it out. Liorith dove from above with a furious cry, landing nearby and flaring her wings wide to shield them. Vharok followed, landing with a snarl and a puff of smoke that curled like warning. "Behind us," Bastian said quickly, adjusting his stance. "One of them's not down yet." Mira reached for her weapon, muscles still shaking. "We finish this. Together."