Chapter 13 - The Last Stand at the Pass
The council did not take her refusal lightly.
Two days later, an emergency courier arrived bearing news that a rogue faction of disgraced academy officers, loyal to Reev’s imprisoned network, had seized control of the Red-Gully Pass—the very mountain checkpoint where the illegal shipments had first been intercepted. They had taken a dozen young recruits hostage, demanding Wyn’s surrender in exchange for their lives.
When Kalen brought her the dispatch, Wyn didn't hesitate. She didn't wait for council permission or royal approval.
She walked straight to Kestrel’s pen.
The massive black-gold dragon was already standing, his wings half-spread, his massive tail sweeping the straw aside as if he had been waiting for the exact moment she arrived. He didn't wait for the harness; he lowered his head immediately, his snout pressing gently against her shoulder in a silent, resolute gesture of absolute unity.
Kalen scrambled to mount his own red dragon nearby, his broadsword strapped securely across his back. “The royal regiment is two hours behind us, Wyn. We shouldn't rush the pass alone.”
“If we wait two hours, the hostages won't survive,” Wyn said, swinging herself effortlessly up into the deep groove behind Kestrel’s neck plates. She gripped the steel lead-ring with steady, battle-tested hands. “Let’s go.”
With a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the courtyard, Kestrel launched himself vertically into the stormy morning sky, his massive wings catching the high-altitude gales with breathtaking power.
Within minutes, they reached the jagged, fog-shrouded peaks of Red-Gully Pass.
Below them, perched on the narrow stone bridge spanning the deep canyon, a dozen armed renegades held the young recruits at swordpoint, their commander waving a blazing torch near a stack of volatile blasting powder stacked against the cliff face.
“Drop your weapons and come down alone, stable girl!” the commander shouted over the screaming mountain wind.
Wyn didn't speak words. She simply tightened her grip on the steel ring and leaned forward against Kestrel’s neck, whispering a single word in the ancient, rhythmic cadence she had used during their long nights together in the pen.
Kestrel didn't dive headfirst into the trap.
May you like
Instead, he banked sharply, riding the thermal draft off the sheer rock face, and unleashed a torrent of white-hot, precision flame that didn't touch the hostages, but melted the iron support chains of the renegades' barricade in a single, blinding flash of light.
Before the stunned renegades could react, Kestrel descended like an avalanche, his massive talons striking the stone bridge with absolute, controlled precision, shattering the barricade and sending the renegades’ weapons clattering harmlessly into the abyss below.
