My brow furrowed. “What?”

“This exercise,” Sarkin said, waving his hand above us, “is only that. It will help you prepare for the real thing, but it can never be a replacement for it.”

There was resignation in his voice, which confused me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Sarkin led me up the stairs, and I braced myself for the eyes of his horde.

“To the Tharken cliffs,” he answered.

My breath hitched. “But that’s…”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’ll give you the real thing.”

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Chapter 28SARKIN

We reached the Tharken cliffs by the afternoon, just as the bright sunlight crested over the tall peaks, and we could see the stretch of ocean that extended out toward where Elysom lay.

“It’s beautiful,” Klara breathed when we hovered in midair on Zaridan’s back. I’d wanted her to see this. I found myself wanting to show her all the beautiful places of the Arsadia…even though this place also brought many memories with it, tethered tight to me like cuffs.

It was colder here, and even with the sun, there was still a gentle fog bank rolling in from the coast. Cloud cover weaved in and out of the peaks of the mountainous cliffs, reappearing and disappearing at regular intervals.

She might hate me by the end of this training session, I thought, gritting my teeth, my arms wrapping tighter around her.

I was hesitant to do this to her, but I knew it was necessary. Breaking one’s fear was pertinent to success as a rider. Panic got you killed. Fear paralyzed you. Some might not’ve agreed with these methods, but I needed her to understand that there was truly nothing to fear. Not when I was here. Not when I was around. She was my wife. I would always protect her.

Even if I had be cruel first.

I urged Zaridan forward, weaving into the pass of the Tharken cliffs so that the tall mountains jutted on both sides of us. Like they were closing in around us.

“These cliffs will be covered with Elthika in a few weeks’ time,” I murmured into her ear.

“Is this where you saw Zaridan for the first time?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, sweeping my hand in front of her vision. “Just beyond this cliff here.”

And where my friend fell to his death, I thought.

In the rush of adrenaline after claiming Zaridan, I’d flown too high with her during our first flight. When Lygath had thrown Haden off his back, I would’ve never been able to reach him in time, even with a death dive. If I’d stayed closer to the base of the cliffs, if I hadn’t been so elated with my claim, Haden would still be alive.

During Klara’s choosing ceremony, I would be at the very bottom, tracking her movements closely. Nothing would distract me. She had nothing to fear because…I’d learned from that tragic mistake. I would never make it again.

When I tugged on Zaridan’s tethers, she stilled in midair again, her wings flapping rhythmically, keeping us hovering high above the pass below. Wisps of gray clouds floated around us, and Klara shuddered. Our clothes had dried from the waterfall on our journey here, but it was colder closer to the coast.

“No one is watching here,” I told her. It was quiet, save for Zaridan’s wings. The Elthika wouldn’t start migrating to this territory for another two weeks. We were alone here. “All right?”

“Except you,” she answered, shifting to regard me. I supported her back as she did. Her feet dangled over the harness with her turned to the side. “I don’t want you to see me fail either. Most of all, you.”

“That’s inevitable,” I informed her, trying to keep my voice gentle. “It won’t make me think less of you, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“Those are pretty words,” she said, a sad smile on her lips. “But I’m not sure I believe them. You would care what your horde thinks of me. I’m aware of that more than you are.”

I blew out a rough breath through my nostrils, steeling my spine. We swayed with Zaridan’s movements. And we were here for a purpose, even if Klara might not understand it yet.

“When you fall, you want to give your Elthika time to catch you,” I told her. “It’s important to keep a steady mind and to think through it logically. Position yourself parallel with the earth, spread your arms and legs out wide to reduce your acceleration. Anything to give you drag. To give your Elthika time.”

“Have you ever fallen?” she asked, trepidation rising in her voice.

“Many times,” I said. “You can be unseated in countless situations. Last time I fell, we were flying home from the Arsadia two seasons ago. We encountered a storm just before we reached the mainland. Zaridan dodged a bolt of lightning, just like what happened to us returning from Dakkar, but I wasn’t prepared. It was a sharp turn, I’d loosened my grip on the tethers…”

Her breathing went shallow.

“Falling is a normal part of being a rider. That’s why you need to get used to it, Klara. Because the fear of it will get you killed if you panic,” I said.

She looked focused at those words, like she was committing them to memory. It was how I’d picture her in her precious archives in Dothik, her expression determined.

I dragged in a deep breath.

“Remember what I told you before…I’m not your husband right now. I’m not your king. I’m not your friend. I’m your instructor. Whatever I do to you, I would do to any acolyte under my training. Do you understand?”

Her brows furrowed, a frown turning down her mouth. “Sarkin⁠—”

“And falling can happen so quickly that you never see it coming,” I said, gritting my teeth.

I grabbed Klara’s waist⁠—

And I flung her off Zaridan’s back.

Her resounding scream of surprise and fear made everything in me rebel. I growled, restless. My first impulse was to immediately dive for her, just as I’d done in Sarroth that night. I felt wild panic burning in my chest. Not because I thought she was in danger. But because the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel so much terror.

Yet it was inevitable.

“Come on, aralye,” I pleaded softly, watching her grow smaller and smaller below us. “Do what I told you to do. Focus!”

Zaridan’s wings were flapping quicker, and she maneuvered her body so that the angle would be easier for a death dive. I’d done this exercise myself in the year after I’d become a Karath, in the year after Haden’s death. I’d jumped off the back of Zaridan more times than I could count. She’d caught me every single time. I trusted her with my life. I trusted her with Klara’s life. I would never have put her in danger if I had any doubt.

The Tharken cliffs were steep. We were high up in the clouds, but nonetheless, Zaridan began to circle downward, tracking Klara’s fall.

And when I finally saw her limbs spread wide, when I finally saw her stop tumbling and somersaulting wildly in the air and she moved her body into a parallel position, I commanded to Zaridan, “Sethra!”

I pressed my body low against her back, locking my boots into place in the footholds, wrapping my fists twice around the tethers. The descent as Zaridan accelerated created that familiar fluttering sensation in my belly. I grunted against the force, tightening my leg muscles, shoving my inner thighs to the harness. The strength of the force was nearly enough to unseat me.

Closer and closer we got to Klara. Her speed had slowed now that she had control over her body, making it easier for Zaridan to come underneath her at a slight angle, matching her pace so the landing wouldn’t be so rough.

When I caught Klara, all the air whooshed out from her lungs and she dragged in deep breaths, gasping. Zaridan immediately slowed, leveling out. By the time Klara was no longer struggling to breathe, Zaridan was hovering again, the wind quieting all around us. I could even hear the crash of waves along the cliffs of the coast, though they were miles and miles away.