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

voice quaked, barely a whisper.
    Not answering my question, she said in alarm, “Amáne, I didn’t hear your heart.”
    In truth, she was probably right, because there had only been one other time that I’d spoken with my mother after she joined her ancestors. It was on that same beach in the shadows. I must have been dead, or near dead, to have met with her on the other side. Eshshah had called me back — again. I feared had I not returned to Eshshah, it would probably have meant the end of her life as well. Shaking off that disturbing thought, I replaced it with another, “I can’t feel my legs.”
    “They’re pinned under me,” Eshshah said. “I can’t move off without fear of crushing you. You’re tangled too closely in the straps.”
    I found myself restrained in an unnatural position. After tumbling into the cavern, I ended up on my back on Eshshah’s right side, feet toward her tail. My left arm was painfully stretched across the front of my body by the leather straps that made up my harness. Blood dripped down my arm and onto my chest from the laceration on my wrist. Moments ago these straps had saved me from being tossed into the sea. Now they held me bound to Eshshah.
    My pack was trapped under me, adding to my pain — though fortune was with us it had not been lost to the Valaira. Groaning, I inched my free hand behind my back, slowly willing it toward the opening of my satchel until my fingertips felt the haft of my dagger. With stubborn persistence I managed to extract my blade. I brought it around and sawed at the straps that held my left wrist. Concentrating on cutting the leather, I suffered through the added pain. The taut leather strap popped free. I squeezed my eyes shut, gritted my teeth and moaned, cradling my wrist to my chest.
    “Ugh, that’s going to leave a scar.” I grumbled, trying to make light of my agony.
    Eshshah turned her healing warm breath on the carnage that was my wrist. It became instantly bearable — on its way to healing. Remarkably, it was not broken. Finally, I had loosened myself enough to shift my body so Eshshah could free my legs. I eased up slowly to a sitting position using her leg to support me. After a few moments waiting for my head to stop spinning, I pulled myself painfully to my feet — careful to not slip on my blood that pooled on the floor.
    My first concern was her wings, as I noted their unnatural angles. She rolled to her four legs and carefully opened them, testing for damage. I helped her search for rips as she stretched them out one at a time. She breathed her healing power to mend the few we found. Satisfied, she folded them properly. After such a violent crash, I was thankful she had escaped relatively unharmed. Still shivering, but aware we were at last out of danger, I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. My tears flowed as I gave in to my emotions.
    The wind still howled inside the cave, creating spirals of dust and leaves that twisted around us. The deafening roar added to my aching head.
    “Let’s see what kind of place we’ve been cast into,” Eshshah said. “I need to get you warmed up before you break all your teeth with your chattering. Maybe there’s somewhere I can start a fire — your lips are blue.”
    “Where are we?” I stammered. “Eshshah, this isn’t a natural cave. It looks like it was man-made — or at least humanly expanded upon. We’ve landed in some kind of entrance cavern. But entrance to what?”
    Although dusty and uninhabited, I could see it had once been a magnificent entrance. The path we had cleared as we slid in the dust on our terrifying arrival revealed polished stone inlays of intricate designs. I knew of nothing like this in Dorsal.
    Eshshah put her nose in the air and sniffed. “Dragon — but it’s an old scent. There’s been none of my kind here for a long time. This may have been a dragon and rider outpost to guard the outer reaches of Teravinea. My ancient memories recall