Rainbow Magic (Dragon Rider #1) {EDITING}

Trouble and the Misfits

Morning came far too quickly for Sora's liking.

Her body ached all over, and she could feel the rocks pressing into her as she shifted onto her side. It hadn't been comfy at all. In fact, if she'd been any less exhausted, she doubted she'd have gotten any sleep at all. Yawning, she sat up, peering at Oz as he crouched at the edge of their little camp. His face was set in a frown, worry marring his expression as he spoke with his dragon.

Sora did her best to tune them out.

It seemed they were having a moment, and she didn't want to intrude.

That'd only get her a knock on the head...

Plus he'd probably stop doing it in front of her once he figured out she could actually hear his dragon.

She wasn't supposed to be able to do that for whatever reason.

Though she couldn't say it didn't come in handy.

They did, after all, seem to be plotting what tortures to put her and the rest of her cute teammates through.

Reluctantly, she pulled herself from her warm sleeping bag, quickly throwing on her clothes from yesterday. Ran's wing shielded them from the worst of the winds and provided a fair amount of heat.

Heat she had no doubts was going to be pulled away from them soon at the sight of Oz's small evil grin.

It didn't bode well for any of them.

She pulled herself out the edge of their little camp, covertly eyeing up the distance between Oz, herself and the gigantic drop a few metres away.

There was no way in hell she was having a repeat of yesterday.

Being thrown off a cliff once was enough – though she'd have preferred to not get thrown off in the first place.

It wasn't good for her health.

Though Oz didn't really seem to understand that.

Still, she felt oddly apprehensive about the day ahead, her stomach knotting itself into a tight ball as she stared out across the mountain range she could just about see in front of her. They were immense, and ridiculously tall. The mountain they were climbing wasn't even the tallest and it had taken them a whole day to get less than a quarter of the way up.

"You ready for today?" Sora turned, greeting the presence she felt sneaking up on her.

Silver stared at her blankly. "No."

"Don't be like that!" Raelynn chirped, appearing behind the duo, strangling them with a well-placed group hug.

"I think we're all tired," Callum mumbled, yawning as he brushed the sleep out of his eyes, sighing quietly as Beatrice wrapped him in a hug. "Oz is a slavedriv—mph!"

Eir clamped a hand over his mouth, ignoring the glare Beatrice sent her way.

"Calm down, Bee," Eisa whispered, eyeing Oz up cautiously. "We were just saving you from having to lug his unconscious butt around all day."

Beatrice scowled. "Who's to say I didn't want that?"

Callum patted her arm. "You prefer me conscious though, don't you?"

"Of course!" Beatrice smiled, nuzzling up against him, ignoring how red he turned.

The poor boy looked like a tomato.

A sudden rustling above them made them freeze, their conversation cut off as Oz looked above them worriedly.

"Pack your stuff up," he barked. "We're moving higher up."

"Sure, give us..." Sora trailed off, staring at their packed bags for a few moments before her gaze turned back on their instructor. "Oh."

"This area might be experiencing some rockfall soon, so get your backsides into gear," he ordered, pointing at the path leading further up the mountain.

It was on the edge of the cliff.

Again.

Sora couldn't help but doubt the logic of whoever had built these paths. They were horrific.

She grabbed her bag, begrudgingly trudging towards the path and the horrors she knew were awaiting them, ignoring the strange niggling feeling she got.

An eerie sense of recognition... of what, she didn't know... so she kept wandering up the edge of the mountain, silently praying Oz wouldn't throw her off again.

Six hours later though, she wished she'd listened to those instincts.