Jade steered Contessa closer to the last spot where she had glimpsed the fluttering of wings. Her eyes weren’t as keen as the draglet’s and it was raining harder now, but she knew what to look for. She cocked her head, listening for the subtle whirring that no amount of grease would ever conceal. And sure enough, below the serenade of the night bugs filling the air with their mating calls, her ears caught the faintest of mechanical humming.

Guided by Jade’s silent commands, Contessa glided under the suspended bridge, zigzagging to make it almost impossible for the assassin to shoot at Jade. The draglet flew toward the wild draglet’s nest dangling underneath. The round structure swayed with the breeze, long tendrils trailing down, making it look like one of those Celestian marine creatures that filled the vampire planet’s seas.

The assassin lay in wait on the shadowed side of the nest, hidden by its large diameter, ready to attack. That’s what Jade would have done if the positions were reversed, but she had an advantage on her hunter. She was counting on the Academy wanting her alive to humiliate her in front of the whole congregation before killing her. Their strict adherence to their code would be her way out if luck was finally on her side.

At the unmistakable sound of flying draglets behind her, her focus wavered briefly. It didn’t come as a surprise that Dragon’s men would follow. She knew she must act fast and get hold of the assassin’s gear before the clockwork wings were lost to her.

Uneasiness nudged at the back of her mind. The feeling was unwelcome, like the touch of the icy raindrops slushing over her head and running down her naked back. A few minutes earlier, the night sky had been still visible despite the heavy rain. Now, the distant Fifth Moon and the bigger and closer Aurealis had disappeared, hidden by a deluge.

Distant sheet lightning lit the sky in shades of pink and white. The resounding booms that followed seconds later confirmed that a storm was traveling toward the palace and the worst was yet to come.

As Contessa balked, Jade weighed her options and found she could live with the outcome, literally. The tempest would soon reach a tropical level, but clockwork wings were built to withstand worse weather if the rider was skilled.

Contessa reared her neck, her head swinging to the side as her dark, round eyes stared at Jade.

“Just a few more meters,” Jade said. “And I’ll let you go. I promise.”

The draglet whinnied when the sky lit and thunder struck. The large body under Jade shivered, but she calmed Contessa with a few caresses. The animal turned, lowered her head, and flew—although unwillingly—toward the nest.

As they neared the structure from an angle, the gnawing sensation came back to Jade, lodging in her throat. The black tip of a wing peeked from around the nest. Something wasn’t right. Why hadn’t the assassin shot her yet? At such a close distance, her hunter wouldn’t have any problem dealing her a non-mortal wound, enough to incapacitate her. The rain falling down by the buckets might have concealed her approach, but by now, whoever was behind that nest must have spotted her.

Unless—

Jade’s heart thumped hard, almost louder than the storm. The truth stared at her mockingly as Contessa rounded the corner and the squall unfolded one of the mechanical wings hooked to the nest. No assassin waited for her.

Lightning struck close, hitting the far end of the bridge and spooking Contessa, who jerked to the side and almost threw Jade off.

The realization that she had been wrong all along hit Jade like a punch, making her gasp.

Since the previous attack, she had assumed she was the target, but the Academy couldn’t know she was alive or where she was yet. Antoine first, and now this second assassin, had been sent to deal with Dragon. Most assuredly, a second team was looking for Jade, and had Antoine killed her, that would have been a fortunate coincidence, but he didn’t have time to pass the information that she was at Sol Palace. Running on fumes had compromised her reasoning.

“Stay where you are,” a man called from behind her, his voice mechanically amplified.

Four of Dragon’s guards flanked her, two per side. At least another three, including the one who had just spoken, hovered behind.

“It’s a trap,” she yelled above the din of the tempest and pointed at the clockwork wing slamming against the nest’s wall. “Nobody’s here.”

The guards reached their own conclusions a heartbeat later. The assassin had wounded Carellian so that the High Lord remained behind as his men left in pursuit of the shooter. It was a basic warfare tactic: Divide and conquer. The entire squad flew away at once, leaving behind only one of the riders. The man glided closer to Contessa, a leather lasso in his hand he swung toward the draglet’s head.

“Don’t betray me now, beautiful girl.” Jade’s plea reached deaf ears because bright lightning lit the sky, and Contessa jumped a few meters high, roaring in fear before a crack of thunder silenced her.

The guard circled them, his arm swinging faster and faster, waiting for the right moment. In between thunder, the whooshing of the flinging lasso resonated loud. A moment later, the leash slid down Contessa’s neck and stopped at its base, tethering her to the other draglet, who started to drag her away from the bridge.

Desperate, Jade calculated the strength of the wind and the swaying of the nest, then stood on the back of Contessa before diving, arms outstretched and fingers reaching for the clockwork wings that were now her last hope.

Hurtling with her head down, she grabbed the tip of the wing and pulled hard. For a frozen moment, she stood there, suspended over the abyss, the clockwork feathers slipping between her clutching fingers. She lost her grip, her body becoming heavier as the unforgiving force of gravity reclaimed her and she began spiraling toward her death.

Although the nanite in her system had gifted her with the possibility of a long life, she had never harbored any hope that she would ever reach an old age. She knew she would die young but had always thought that when the moment arrived, her entire life would play before her eyes. Instead, no memories of her miserable youth in the Celestian ghettos came back to haunt her last minutes. The images her mind played for her were of Dragon.

Ready to embrace her destiny, Jade thought that, as far as endings went, hers wasn’t that bad.

Then a large shadow darkened her sight, and she caught with the corner of her eye the fast approaching shape of the folded clockwork wings. Her hand shot in front of her as the falling gear passed flush with her body. The heavy wings almost dislodged her arm, but Jade didn’t let go.

She grabbed the leather and metal harness with her other hand, then worked against the natural forces that were pulling her down faster now that she held to the gear. Her wounded shoulder screamed at the movements, but she forced her body to endure the pain and pushed at its limits until she slid one arm under the harness.

For the second time in as many days, the river winding through the Rocky Domes rose toward her.

Her heels grazed water the moment she pushed the central command on the harness and the wings whirred to life, propelling her up.

Jade’s luck had definitely improved in the last hour.