Free Amáne of Teravinea - The Chosen One (The Teravinea Series Book 1) by D. Maria Trimble

stop. They saved me from plunging into the water far below. But the force of my fall caused the leather to dig into my arm. It peeled my flesh to the bone as I swung from her neck by my wrist. My screams of pain competed with the howl of the Valaira. Eshshah fought to keep upright as she headed for the opening of the cave.
    I strained to reach the harness with my free hand, needing to make it to her back before we landed. As my left wrist threatened to break with the force of our flight, I made one last lunge and caught the harness with my right hand. At that my strength failed. I couldn’t urge my body to make the extra effort to climb back up.
    “We’re almost there. We’re going to make it, Amáne.”
    Eshshah and I hurtled toward the entrance of the cave. She back-pumped with all that was left of her strength, but too late. She could not slow down enough as we approached the cliffs.
    A strange calm came over me — I could see everything clearly. I resigned myself to the fact that the end of our lives was imminent. These last moments became like a vivid dream that moved slowly. There was a large cave halfway up the mountainside, like a mouth of a monster opened wide to swallow us. I noticed it was an unusual cave with colors that didn’t seem natural. It intrigued me to see it come at us so slowly.
    In my dream-like state I had plenty of time to gather the last of my energy to pull my legs up so they wouldn’t get ripped offat the entrance ledge. We almost succeeded in entering the mouth without a mishap, but the tip of Eshshah’s wing caught on the stone ledge and she tumbled head over tail. I felt my feet hit the stone floor, and was pleased my legs were still connected to my body. Propelled backwards full speed, my head struck the ground. I felt no more.

I found myself hovering over a beach where I knew I had been before, but couldn’t remember when. The white pebbles below softly glowed in the weak light. A cave opened before me and I caught a glimpse inside. I saw a dragon, which for some reason didn’t surprise me. She was very still. There was a smaller shape to her right, partially under her, and laying in a pool of blood. I looked more closely and found something familiar about those two figures, but I couldn’t bring to mind what it might be.
    Feeling a presence behind me, I turned around to find my mother. She smiled at me, and it warmed my heart to see her again. We both turned to observe the scene in the cave. The dragon stirred, and although quite tangled in her wings, she managed to turn her head and nudge the shape next to her. There was no response from the small figure. Then the dragon lifted her head and the most mournful sound came out of her — a sound I had heard once before.
    Over her keening I could hear my mother’s soothing voice, “Your dragon needs you Amáne. It’s your decision, but I wouldcounsel you to go. I long for you stay, but I don’t believe it is your time, yet. Listen to her, Amáne. Go to her.”
    I faced my mother, yearning to remain with her, but my attention shifted to the dragon in the cave, and I realized I knew her. It was Eshshah, and she needed me. My decision made, I bid my mother farewell and then turned back toward the cave. Like a flash of lighting I found myself lying on my back in searing pain, next to Eshshah. There wasn’t one part of my body that was not in agony as I shook from the cold, the shock and the pain.
    “My head,” I groaned, reaching my free hand to the mat of hair at the base of my neck. It was wet and sticky. My hand came away bloody.
    “Eshshah?” I moaned.
    Trying hard to focus, I could just make out Eshshah’s golden eyes staring at me in anguish. She moved her muzzle toward me and breathed her healing warmth on my aching head to relieve my pain and begin my healing. Her warm breath was not enough to raise my body temperature — my tremors continued. I doubted I would ever be warm again.
    “Eshshah, are you all right?” My