Up in the air, Raya clung to the immortal’s waist for dear life. The ride was turbulent, the beast flying in an ever-changing pattern. One moment it was soaring up, the next diving down. The murmuration caused Raya’s head to spin.
“My lord,” she said with shaky breaths, “this…this beast is rather unruly.”
“Forgive Sari, she can be quite jealous. She doesn’t allow others to ride her back.”
“Then why did you offer to take me!” Raya argued, swallowing down the bile that rose to her throat.
The immortal’s response was lost in the wind. Sari flapping her wings at a menacing rate. The beast plunged them through the air at a deadly speed. Raya wrapped her arms tighter around the immortal and buried her face into his back. She bit her lip refusing to scream. She would not give the beast the satisfaction.
The horrific flight carried on for what Raya thought was an eternity.
Then, it all stopped.
The howling wind no longer whistled in her ears. Only the sinking feeling in her stomach remained.
“We’re here.”
Raya opened her eyes. She saw the familiar brown dirt affirming they were back on land. Immediately, she jumped off the animal and ran for the nearest tree, vomiting what little liquid was present in her stomach.
When the dry heaving had subsided, Raya lifted her eyes and froze.
A group of nearly a hundred immortals were watching her. Each face appeared smugger than the next, smirking and condemning her with their eyes. She had inadvertently broadcasted her poor cultivation, right before the very immortals she would be competing against.
She looked around, searching for the one that had caused her to lose face. The beast was no longer present, so it took a while before she found him standing near a Narra tree. For once, he avoided her gaze.
Raya strode purposefully towards him, prepared to give him the verbal lashing he deserved. However, her journey was cut short by the sound of war horns.
Raya’s heart thundered with the darkening of the sky.
The sun and moon had aligned.
It was time.
The path to Sandawa finally upon them.
