Chapter 7 - The Sky Belongs to the Bold
Kestrel let out a deafening roar that shattered every glass window in the courtyard. With a single, explosive thrust of his massive hind legs, he launched into the night sky.
The sudden acceleration nearly ripped Winn from his back, but she leaned forward, burying her hands into the thick folds of his neck scales, locking her legs tightly against his torso.
Down below, the academy shrunk into a cluster of tiny stone buildings surrounded by torchlight. Winn gasped as the cold mountain wind slammed into her face. For the first time in her life, she wasn't looking up at the sky from the mud of the stables — she was soaring through it.
Kestrel spread his wings wide, catching a massive thermal draft rising from the canyon. He banked hard to the left, leveling out into a graceful, effortless glide that completely defied the official reports calling him "uncontrollable."
He was smooth. He was powerful. He was perfect.
As they circled over the academy, Winn looked down and saw Chancellor Reev standing in the main plaza, surrounded by guards, staring up at them in shock and fury.
The five-day deadline wasn't up yet — but Winn had just performed a flawless night takeoff, proving to every guard and cadet in the courtyard that the untamable beast was fully bound to a stable hand.
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"They won't let us land softly, Kestrel," Winn murmured into his scales, her mind racing. "If we land, Reev will arrest me for treason to cover up his vault. We have to expose him to the entire academy at once."
Kestrel rumbled softly in agreement, his golden eyes glowing in the dark as he banked back toward the east wing of the castle.
