Seraphina fought to keep her eyes open, the rhythmic beating of Ignis's wings and the constant rush of wind a powerful, hypnotic lullaby. "I will... remain vigilant," she insisted, her voice slurring slightly despite her best efforts.
Adam glanced back, unimpressed. "Hmm. Suit yourself."
But her body was betraying her. Her eyelids grew heavier with each passing second, her head nodding forward before she jerked it back up. The world around her—the sky, the clouds, the distant landscape—began to blur and swim. Her grip on the scale-ridge loosened.
A sudden, stronger gust of wind, a rogue eddy from the approaching Crags, buffeted Ignis's side. The drake adjusted smoothly, but the jolt was enough for Seraphina, whose muscles were no longer responding with conscious control. She lost her balance completely, her body tipping sideways, beginning to slide off Ignis's broad back into the open sky.
She didn't even have time to gasp.
