They scrambled up Cāng Jì's foreleg, finding familiar perches between his golden scales. Yòu Lín tucked himself against the warm curve of the dragon's neck. Ruì Xuě settled behind him, his small hands fisted in his brother's fur.
"Hold on," Cāng Jì warned. "This will be fast."
He launched.
The cavern dropped away beneath them. The tunnels, the crystals, the bouncy rocks, Zhàn Yù's cold voice and colder eyes, all of it fell behind them, swallowed by the rush of wind and light.
They burst out of the mountain into sky so blue it hurt to look at.
Yòu Lín's ears flattened. His eyes watered.
"WEEEEEEEEEE!"
The sound tore out of him before he could stop it. Behind him, Ruì Xuě was making a sound too The wind whipped past them. The peaks of the Dragon Mountains rose like spears around them, their white caps catching the sun.
Cāng Jì banked. Hard.
