One of the largest serpents—a monster easily sixty feet long with scales that shimmered like oil in the dappled sunlight—suddenly coiled its body and launched itself upward. It rose like a striking cobra, its massive head reaching an impossible height, jaws opening to reveal fangs as long as daggers.
It snapped at the air where Veer had been just moments before.
Kaya felt the rush of displaced air as they barely evaded the strike. Veer spiraled upward, gaining altitude, his wings working frantically to put distance between them and the reaching serpents.
"How long can you keep this up?" Kaya asked, feeling the strain in Veer's body, the way his breathing had become more labored.
"Long enough," was his only reply, but she could hear the uncertainty beneath the words.
