The storm raged around them, lightning flashing immediately after the deafening roll of thunder. Aeri's thin tunic and leggings were completely soaked, and she shivered, holding onto the saddle for dear life.
Who were those people? she wondered, reaching up with her left arm to push her sopping wet hair out of her eyes. Not that it mattered. She couldn't see past the sheets of driving rain and the black clouds around them anyways. Absently, she noticed that she couldn't feel her right hand, and glancing down, she saw that her knuckles were white from how tightly she was gripping the saddle. Looking up her arm, she was confused for a moment by the dark stain that had spread from her shoulder down to below her elbow, until vaguely it occurred to her that the stain was blood. Her blood.
Suddenly lightheaded, she numbly reached down to the strap she rarely used, wrapping it around her waist to secure herself to the saddle. "Shade…"
Shade heard his name faintly spoken, and he looked back, shocked to see how pale Aeri was. Noticing the dark stain on her sleeve, he immediately understood. They had to find land. But where was land in this hurricane?
Aeri slouched forward, and sheer terror raced through his heart. Letting out a panicked roar, he renewed his efforts, bringing his wings down hard, blasting forward again and again until his strength was almost gone.
Suddenly the rain stopped, and the atmosphere lightened, until they broke free of the wall of black clouds. The light of the moon left a white trail along the water far below them. Looking around, he could barely distinguish where the ocean ended and the sky began, the calm sea perfectly reflecting the stars in the night. Desperately he searched the horizon for some sign of land, knowing with a sinking feeling that the land they had been following was now far behind them.
Minutes passed, and not knowing what to do, Shade continued his course, looking back and seeing the enormous storm stretching as far as he could see in either direction. So, forward.
Then he spied it. Just a smudge of darkness, so slim he almost missed it. But the longer he focused on it, the clearer it got.
Land.
Hold on, Aeri.