by Naomi Sparks
Not right after claiming her as my mate.
Nor could we risk leaving the women unprotected. As much as I want to have Lex's strength fighting alongside me, I know we all feel better having him guard the women. Anyone thinking they can sneak into the camp while we're all distracted will be in for one Hell of a surprise. That thought makes me grin slightly, even as the screeching gets even louder.
It only takes a couple more minutes before the dragon comes into view. It's large and green, its scales glittering in the sunlight like emeralds. But as it flaps its wings, I can see it's using a considerable amount of strength, and it's sinking lower and lower to the ground. Whoever this is, it's definitely not an attacker. They're weakened, and if we don't do something soon, they will crash land.
A quick look between us and we all know what needs to be done. Bren and I immediately strip our clothes off, then shift, taking to the sky in record time. We cross the distance between us, then circle around behind, coming up beside the other dragon, using our strength or keep it afloat. Between the two of us, we're able to guide the dragon down where the others are waiting, giving as soft as a landing as possible right now.
Once it's on the ground, the two of us shift back, grabbing our clothes and dressing while the others attempt to calm the dragon enough for it to shift back to human. It takes a bit for me to regain my energy, but by the time the dragon shifts back I'm rested enough to trek back to the camp.
But when the guys step away, my eyes go wide. It's a woman kneeling on the ground in front of them, her entire body looking beat to hell. She looks up and glares at us, but it looks like that's taking all of her strength.
"Let's get her back to the camp," I tell the guys, not willing to just leave her here to die. I don't know who this woman is, but I can imagine she's one of Amasis's. There are so few female dragons left in the world. I'm not going to risk letting one die if I can help it. Besides, with how rare a female dragon is, they're also valuable. And if Amasis wants her back, and she wants to go back to him, then she might just be a bargaining chip for us.
I hate to think of her like that, but I have to be practical. If she doesn't want to go back to him, then there's no way I'll force her to, but if she does, then she might just be our ticket to getting Amasis to back off of Faith. After all, as valuable as Faith's power is, to Amasis, losing a female dragon will be much more devastating.
And even if she doesn't want to go back, that's one more chip we'll have stolen away from him.
The guys carry her back to camp. Judging by the look she gives us, it's not where she wants to go, but she doesn't have the strength to fight us. Maybe once she's healed up, she'll be in a better mood, but I will not hold my breath.
"What's up?" Lex asks, walking over to as when we're in sight. He catches a look at the woman and his eyes go wide. He rushes over and helps us carry her over to the tents.
The woman practically collapses the moment we let go of her, her body shaking, breathing ragged. She's in really bad shape. Even shifting back to human had done little to heal her injuries. If we don't do something soon, she really will die. The only thing I can think of to help her is to share venom with her. Maybe if we were still at the enclave, the Fae healer will know a better way,
A quick look between us, and we all nod, all thinking the same thing. Sometimes, having been with these guys for so long has its benefits. We're all on the same wavelength, and that makes things much easier in times like this. I can tell no one is thrilled about the prospect of sharing venom with an unknown dragon, one that's potentially an enemy, but none of us want to be the reason she dies, either.
Losing a dragon is always a hardship but losing a female one is something the entire race will mourn.
We each take turns, giving her some of our venom. Slowly, her body stills, her breathing evening out. Bren is the last to give her some venom, and after he does, she looks much healthier. She's still injured, and it will take time for her to heal, but she's no longer on death's doorstep.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Katia walks over to stand next to me, her eyes on the woman, her hand still gripping her bow. "Do you know her?" she asks.
I shake my head. "No. I'm guessing she's one of Amasis's. I'm not sure how she got injured though since I don't remember seeing her in the fight. Maybe one of the Fae wounded her?"
Katia shrugs as if she doesn't care who injured the woman. I can't blame her. To her, if this dragon is one of Amasis's, then she's just another enemy. She doesn't understand the value of a female dragon or know how few females in our species remain.
"Ezra, tie her up," Lex orders. "I don't want to risk her attacking us once she regains consciousness."
Ezra nods and steps forward, but Bren puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'll do it," he announces, then goes off to grab some rope. The rest of us all stand guard as we wait, though I'm not sure why. One injured dragon will not do much harm against us, especially with the extent of her injuries. She'll be lucky if she's able to shift again before a few days.
Once she's secure, it becomes a waiting game. We all sit around, exchanging nervous glances and whispering amongst ourselves. Katia leans against me, and I notice she still doesn't let go of her bow. She keeps eyeing the dragon nervously, and I put my arm around her shoulders, trying to ease some of her worry. No matter what, I'll keep her safe.
It doesn't take long for the woman to wake up. She looks around, confused, for a moment, then locks eyes on all of us and she glares at us. "Release me," she demands.
Everyone stares at her, no one speaking just yet. Finally, Bren stands and walks over to the tents. He comes back a moment later with an energy bar. He tears it open then, hands it toward her. She doesn't make a move at first, but Bren just rolls his eyes. "Eat it. It will help you regain your strength."
The woman frowns, then I figure her hunger gets the better of her, and she relents. She wolfs down the energy bar and lets out a long sigh. I know firsthand just how she must feel. Some precious metals will go a long way to helping her heal up, but until we know her intentions, we can't risk that just yet.
It doesn't take long before she's asleep again. Lex motions for us to follow him, and he leads us away from her. She's still in view, and we can get to her in a flash, but we're far enough away to make it nearly impossible for her to hear us, even with a dragon's enhanced hearing.
"We need to figure out where to go from here," Lex says. His arms are crossed in front of his chest. Lex is looking at all of us, but once in a while, his gaze darts over to the female dragon. When no one immediately speaks up, Lex turns to look at Hannah. "Have you had any visions yet? Something to give us a hint of where to go?"
Hannah shakes her head, frowning. "No, not yet." She looks better, no longer looking like just standing will make her pass out.
I've had flashes of us driving through the desert, Katia riding behind me, her arms around my waist. But I have no way to know if they're visions of the future or just my imagination running wild. I can't get beyond seeing the open desert and feeling her body pressed against mine during a long drive.
Lex lets out a sigh, then seems to stare off into the distance. "I guess we should just head out and drive until we find a reason to go someplace specific."
"Business as usual then," Jerrick says with a grin, and the rest of us chuckle.
"What about the woman?" I ask, glancing back over at her. We may have saved her life, but if we just leave her here in the desert, with no supplies, we may as well have left her to die.
Lex frowns as he looks over at her. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to bring her with us. We don't know anything about her, about who she is or where her loyalties lie. For all we know, Amasis might be able using her to track us all down."
"We can't just leave her here," Bren says, stepping forward. His eyes keep darting from Lex to the woman. "If we do that, then we're no better than Amasis."
Lex's frown deepens as he mulls over Bren's words. I can tell he's
not thrilled about either option, and I know how hard this decision must be for him to make. It's one reason I've always felt he was a strong leader. It also meant I didn't have to make those choices.
But I can tell this means a lot to Bren. He seems to care for the woman, and I know it will hurt him if we leave her behind. So, I look over at Katia. "Do you know of any magic that can track her?"
Katia nods. "All the magic I know require something of that person — a lock of hair, blood, a scale. Something tied so deeply to that person that it yearns to be whole again. So unless Amasis has something of hers like that, I doubt he can track her."
"Then I think we should bring her along," I tell Lex. "It seems unlikely that she's here to track us. And that's assuming Amasis has anyone capable of using that kind of magic. The Fae he has imprisoned are supposedly weakening from being held in captivity."
Lex lets out a sigh and shakes his head. "Okay, I guess you guys have a point. Unless anyone strongly objects, she'll come with us. If she poses a threat, we must do something, though."
When no one else speaks up, the issue is settled. And once again, we have a plan.
13
Katia
Despite the long day we all had, we're up and moving before the sun rises. The female dragon the guys dragged back to camp isn't any more cooperative in the morning, but she doesn't do much other than glare at us as we eat a quick breakfast before breaking down the tents and storing them on the bikes. The guys seem to have this down to a science, and before I know it, we're packed up, with no sign we've been here.
They're almost as good at disappearing as the enclave it seems.
I swing onto the back of Galen's bike, wishing I had my own to ride. Still, I guess getting to ride pressed up against Galen isn't all bad. And if things go wrong, I can shoot from the back of his bike if needed.
Galen just starts the motorcycle when a sharp pain shoots through my head. I gasp, all the air knocked from my lungs. I grasp my head and hold it, squeezing my eyes shut. It takes a long moment for the pain to subside and the words to come through.
"Katia! Please, Gods above, if you can hear me, you need to come back! The dragons are back. They're attacking again." I can hear the pain in Lysandra's voice loud and clear as if I'm talking to her face to face.
"I'm coming!" I shout back in my mind. "Hold on. I'm coming."
"Katia!" The shout makes me wince, and it takes a moment before I realize it's Galen's voice, not my own. He's shaking me, his hands firm on my shoulders. "Come on, Katia. Don't do this to me. Wake up."
My eyes fly open as I take in a lungful of air. I look around, in a daze, trying to figure out what just happened. Galen is sitting right next to me, holding me up. It takes a moment to realize I'm on the ground, not on the back of his bike anymore. "What?" I manage to squeak out.
Everyone is standing around us now, looking down at us with frowns on their faces. They all look concerned, maybe even a little frightened.
"What happened?" Galen asks. "Are you okay?"
I nod as I take a mental assessment of everything. I don't hurt anymore, not really. I've never felt anything like that before in my life. Lysandra and I have always had a connection to each other. When we focus, we can communicate to each other, but it takes a lot of energy. It's never been painful before, and that was most definitely painful.
Is it because we're so far apart? We've never been this far from each other before. Or is it because of how rushed she was to contact me? Could it be because she's hurt, and I was feeling some of her pain? I want to figure it out, but judging by her message, I don't have time for that. I look up into Galen's eyes, seeing his worry so clear now.
"I'm okay," I tell him after taking a deep breath. "But the enclave is under attack. Somehow, Amasis found them again. We need to get back there and help them."
Galen's eyes go wide as he processes everything I said. Then, he looks up at Lex, who nods. "You heard her. Get your asses on those bikes. Let's get on the road." As everyone scrambles to make sure they have everything and start their bikes, Lex looks down at me. "Can you guide us there?"
I nod. "I think so. If I focus, I should be able to locate Lysandra, even through the shimmer. It will leave me vulnerable the entire time, and drain a lot of my energy."
Galen helps me stand again, then puts a hand on my shoulder. "I won't let anything hurt you. I promise."
I thank him, then we're on his bike again, on the move. Galen rides at the front of the pack this time, with me guiding him as I'm able to. The others fan out behind him, taking up the entire highway, completely ignoring all the rules of the road. Not that it matters, since no one else seems to be out here. The female dragon still hasn't spoken again and is riding in front of Bren, presumably to keep her from trying to jump off the back and escape, though I'd be surprised if she has the strength for that.
The enclave seems to have moved again after we left, probably to make sure we didn't circle back or that Amasis didn't see us leave. I'm thankful for that since it feels like they're much closer to us than they were before, which means it won't take us all day to find them.
I'm not sure how long we're on the road, but it's probably only a couple hours before we see smoke rising into the sky. My heart hammers faster and harder as we approach. The shimmer protecting the enclave is gone, leaving it completely visible to the outside world. As we get nearer, I can see tents and wagons strewn about, tossed aside as if they weighed nothing. In my heart, I know only dragons have that kind of strength.
Some are burning, their smoke billowing into the sky. The entire enclave looks like a war zone, one the Fae didn't win this time. How many forces had Amasis brought down upon them? And without the Fire Riders' strength to back them up, the Fae warriors wouldn't have stood a chance. No, it wasn't a battle this time. It was a massacre.
Just outside the wreckage, the Fire Riders bring their bikes to a stop, hopping off and looking around. I can't see anyone, can't hear anyone. It's like the entire enclave is gone. There aren't even bodies lying around. Had Amasis taken those, too? Or had Surem managed another relocation spell, this one only taking the people and not their belongings?
The Fire Riders spread out, searching through the wreckage for any sign of life. I can still feel Lysandra's presence here, so I know she has to be here somewhere. Unless somehow Amasis could fool me unless the reason the message hurt so much is that it was a fake, used to lure us all here.
My heart pounds louder now, and I tighten my grip on my bow. If Amasis wants us, he will have to fight for it. No way am I just going to bow down to him, to accept defeat and surrender. He must pry my weapons out of my cold, dead hands.
I move closer to Galen, just to be on the safe side.
"Is anyone here?" Lex bellows out, his voice booming across the enclave. The wide-open desert does nothing to impede it either, and it sounds like it goes on for miles.
"Katia? Is that you?" The voice comes through loud and clear, but I know it's in my head, not spoken aloud.
Lysandra.
I put a hand on Galen's arm to motion for him to stop. If this is a trap, I want him alert and watching my back. "Yes, Sister. It's me. I've brought the Fire Riders. Are you still here?"
A few seconds later, I can feel the pull of magic, the connection to Lysandra growing stronger. I open my eyes and motion in the direction I can sense her. Galen signals to the others, then we head that way, our eyes peeled for any signs of a trap.
When we round a bend, I spot her. Her clothes are tattered, her face and hair covered in dirty and soot. But she's there, moving. Alive. My sister is safe again.
I take off running toward her, Galen quickly matching my pace. But when Lysandra rushes forward and leaps into my arms, he slows, and I can feel his tension waning. It's not a trap, not this time. My sister is here, and so are the other Fae. But when I look around, I see so few of them, nowhere near the number that should be here.
"What happened?" I ask, my voice practically a whisper a
s my throat goes dry.
I can't help but wonder if this is all my fault. If I hadn't left, could I have stopped this? Should I have fought harder against Surem and the elders? Fought for the Fire Riders to remain with the enclave? If I'd done any of that, could I have prevented this devastation? How many people here are dead because I chose the easy path because I left with my mate rather than fighting for some other option.
Lysandra shakes her head, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Surem insisted on relocating after you guys left. He said it would make sure no one would be able to follow the path you took back to us. The elders all agreed. They didn't want anyone to find us again, even you guys. But somehow... they found us again. I don't know how, but by the time our watchmen spotted them and alerted Surem, they had the barrier down and poured into the enclave."
Lysandra sniffled and barely held back tears now. I wrap my arms tighter around her and just hold her, thanking all the gods above that she's still safe. I vow to keep her that way from now on, no matter what the personal cost.
"How many are left? Who is in charge? Did Surem manage to escape? The elders?" What about Tyko? Or Jemma, who always had the best bread. Or Marcell, who taught me to craft arrows? There are so many people I want to ask about, but I contain myself. I can ask about them all later, but for now, we need to focus on the immediate problems.
Lysandra nods and takes my hand, leading me through the crowd. The Fire Riders follow close behind, and I can see them searching, keeping an eye out for any signs the fighting my resume. "They carried off a lot of our people in cages. The elders hid the rest of us. With our numbers reduced, they could strengthen the spell. The dragons assumed we transported elsewhere and left with the Fae they captured."
I nod, trying to hold back my own emotions. I'm glad some of our people could escape, but I'm still terrified to know who wasn't so lucky. Who was taken by Amasis? And who died trying to defend their homes? And how could I ever atone for leaving them, for abandoning the enclave and not staying to fight alongside them as always?