by G. Bailey
“We all knew what we were doing when we gave you our blood,” Dagan says.
“But the last few weeks, I did this. You didn’t know who you were, what you were,” I exclaim.
“You did try to tell us, princess,” Elias replies.
“It doesn’t matter, I did this. I caused this,” I say, getting more and more upset.
“Isola...just trust us. There are things we need to tell you, things that will make you understand,” Dagan says, keeping an eye out for anyone around us. Not that there will be anyone, we are in the middle of the woods.
“Then tell me,” I ask them all, “I can’t believe that you would choose this.”
“It’s my choice, princess. I told you once already...I've made my mind up about you, and I never lie,” Elias says with a smirk, but I see the fear flash over his eyes. He doesn’t want to lose his dragon, and yet he is still going to walk into Dragca for me. I watch as he walks past me and straight into the portal without stopping once. Thorne nods once at me before following him, and there is a long silence between us all.
“I do have to come with you, I’m yours. I don’t need to tell you anything else, doll,” Korbin smirks. I can see his fear too, but like Elias, he walks past me and into the portal. My heart pounds against my chest as Dagan steps closer to me, placing his hands on my face.
“Stay here, please don’t do this,” I beg him, not wanting him to lose that part of himself. I can’t bear for the curse to destroy that part of him.
“Isola, stop it,” he demands as I try to move away from him.
“No, this is crazy, what you’re saying and going to do... It can’t,” I mumble and trail off when his dragon takes over, the blackness burning over his eyes. I stumble away from him, walking backwards towards the portal.
“Stop!” He shouts and storms over to me, pinning me to a tree, and levelling his eyes with mine so I can’t look away.
“If it’s a choice between my dragon, a part of my soul, and you. I. Choose. You.” he says, growling out all his words.
“Dagan...” I whisper.
“It would crush me more to lose you. That would destroy my soul more than anything any curse can do to me. My dragon agrees because you know what?” he asks. I shake my head.
“He would die for you,” he tells me, kissing me gently and stepping back. He walks through the portal as tears stream down my face. The curse meant to protect me, is destroying the only things I care about. I step forward, closing my eyes, and walking through the portal as I hear whispered by the sweetest voice.
“The last light returns, and the darkness will be stopped.”
Chapter 29
Isola
The portal lets me out the other side, and the bright light from the suns blind me for a little bit, until I can open my eyes and see what’s in front of me. Elias, Dagan, and Thorne are stood to one side and Korbin is right in front of me, with a long red sword resting under his chin. A tiny amount of blood dripping down his neck. I follow the sword to see Esmeralda holding it, a smug smile on her painted red lips that match her red cloak. Guards come from all directions surrounding us, raising their swords that shine in the moonlight. I know she has won, I can’t do anything other than lower my hands. She would kill Korbin in a second because he means nothing to her, and I won’t let her kill anyone else I care about again.
“You are all coming to the castle, and then meeting your true fate,” she glances at Thorne, “even you, who dares to betray his mother for a stupid girl.”
“Not a girl, a queen. I didn’t betray my mother, I’m putting right the mistakes we have made. The throne isn’t ours, and my mother is going mad from the power!” he shouts at her, and she shakes her head.
“So, so disappointing,” she tuts.
“No, that would be you. You should really tell your dear sister where you go next time, Esmerelda, and maybe get some more guards,” Melody’s voice comes from above us, and I look up just as she jumps down, slamming Esmeralda to the ground. Korbin grabs her sword, as Esmeralda throws Melody off her. Elias slams a hand into his guard in the corner of my eye, grabbing his sword and running it through the guards stomach. Korbin runs to help them, just as all hell breaks loose and my dragon guard make quick work of killing the guards surrounding us.
“Are you going to fight me fairly, princess?” Esmeralda taunts, “or die quietly, in shock, just like your pretty ice dragon and dead daddy did.”
“You never played fair, and neither will I,” I say, stepping forward. I raise my hands out in front of me, making a long ice shaped bo staff, with deadly spikes on either end. Esmeralda doesn’t wait for more than a second, shooting three arrow shaped fire sticks at me. I raise my staff, hitting each one as I walk slowly towards her. She shoots more and more, until I can just about see her over the fire in front of me until I’m stood right in front of her. I whack her legs out from under her, holding the spike at the bottom of the staff right above her heart.
“Don’t even think about it,” I say, leaning down as she looks up at me with fear filled eyes.
“You…will…regret…this,” she whispers each word as I lift the staff and slam it into her heart, without a second thought. Her eyes widen, her lips parting as blood drips down the side of her face.
“That is for Jace, you goddamn bitch,” I say, making sure she hears every word before letting go of the staff. I look around, seeing the guys still fighting three guards. I make three ice spikes, spinning around and throwing them at each guard using my dragon’s eyesight, pinning them to the trees with the spike in the middle of their stomachs. Thorne and Korbin run to my sides, protecting me even though there is no one left to hurt me around now. I run to Melody, shaking her a little, and she groggily wakes up, holding a hand to the back of her head. I help her sit up as Elias and Dagan get to us, surrounding me and Melody.
“You did it, sis,” she says, pulling me to her and holding me tight. I hear her sharp intake of breath, and she pulls back. I follow her gaze to Esmeralda’s body.
“We have to leave, you shouldn’t have killed her. I see her alive no matter what you did here,” Melody tells me, pulling my arm and I look away from Esmeralda to see the desperation in her eyes.
“The future is changing, and it's darker than ever. That's why we are here. We must run before she gets here, the light must live,” a small voice says, a green head of hair popping out of Melody’s cloak.
“Bee,” I shout, as she flies to me, landing on my hand. She is bigger, and brighter, her skin almost glows now. I feel so relieved to see her, to have her close to me. “I missed you, I thought I’d never get to see you again.”
“Stop darkness, light must win. We must win,” she demands, her voice older and far more serious than she has ever been. I lower my hand as Bee flies to my shoulder, holding onto my hand as I stand up. Melody stands with me, and we look around at all the bodies. So much death.
“I made a vow, and I won’t regret it,” I tell Melody.
“Death always comes with a price,” she says, nodding her head to the left of me. I look around to see Melody’s face full of worry, Elias wiping blood off a sword, Dagan staring at the ice. That is until I see Thorne, who is just staring at the body of his aunt. I killed his aunt. Our families...we have all killed so much of each other. With so much death, can there be anything left but hate? Or just pain. I still walk over to him, softly placing my hand on his arm, making him flinch, but he doesn’t move away.
“I’m sorry, I know she is family,” I whisper.
“She wasn’t family, not after the choices she made and the deaths she caused. You have no idea the destruction she has caused in Dragca since you have been gone,” Thorne snaps out, walking away from me. I go to follow him when I hear a pained grunt.
“Issy,” Korbin whispers, and then falls to the ground as I turn to look at him. I drop down next to him as the others run over, and I look to where he is holding a hand against his shirt and it’s bleeding. I lift it up, seeing a deep
cut, with purple lines spreading out from it slowly. I panic, pulling my hoodie off and pressing it against the cut.
“I’m going to be fine,” Korbin says, but any fool could hear the pain in his voice.
“Don’t lie,” I say, and he holds my hand, squeezing it tightly.
“Here, out the way,” Dagan says, kneeling next to me.
“I’m going to burn the cut, seal it and stop it bleeding. It’s the best we can do until we find somewhere,” Dagan explains, moving my hoodie off the long cut.
“Do you even have your fire still? Without your dragon?”
“I can’t hear my dragon anymore, but yes,” Dagan says, holding out a small flame in his hand. “Only I can’t do it for long. Nothing like the power I used to have.”
“You can’t do that,” I say and look to Bee. “Can you heal him?”
“Not from poison, not without power,” she says sadly and my dragon’s growls, whines and demands I do something in my mind. Anything to save him.
“Look away,” Korbin demands of me, and Elias pulls me away, turning my head into his chest as I hear Korbin scream and scream. I don’t think I will ever forget the sounds of his screams, I don’t want too. It reminds me that I could lose him, it reminds me what I need to fight for. When it stops, I fall to Korbin’s side next to Dagan. I examine the cut, it's burnt and no longer bleeding, but the purple lines look darker and longer.
“I’m okay, don’t worry, doll,” he tries to reassure me, reaching up and wiping some of my tears away.
“He is poisoned, we need to find a town, and a healer quickly,” Melody says nervously, looking over my shoulder.
“Can you walk?” I ask Korbin, and he shakes his head with a tired look. Elias and Dagan lift him up, keeping an arm around their shoulders. But I know he won’t be walking fast.
“Save mine,” my dragon whimpers, before disappearing away in my head.
“What is the nearest town? Where do we go now?” I ask, but I don’t really know who I’m asking. I don’t know where we are, it’s just trees and mountains for a long time.
“To the seers near here, we have to show them you’re alive. To show that you want to fight, and hope they will let their healers save him,” Melody says.
“We have allies here, things you don’t know, Issy. We have a lot to tell you,” Dagan comments.
“I could fly ahead and get help,” I suggest.
“No flying, they will be looking for an ice dragon in the skies, and the reward on your head is high. Poor people do desperate things, and we will be lucky if they even help you save your guard,” Melody says.
“Let’s go now. They will save him, or I will kill anyone who thinks to let him die," I promise, turning around. Looking once more at the ice staff melting into Esmeralda’s body, I wipe a tear away. Jace finally has his justice, but why do I feel like I just made a huge mistake, a mistake that could cause me to lose everything that is alive, for a promise I made to death?
Epilogue
Tatarina
There are rumours the king was seen this way with the princess and other guards,” one of the royal guard says, a nervous look flitting across his young face as he stares at me. I smile, placing my hand on his shoulder and feel him shaking. I laugh, and walk around him in the direction he pointed at. I can’t believe my son would betray me, not for that spoilt princess. He wouldn’t do that to me.
“Your highness, we have located your sister,” a guard says running over to me breathlessly, placing an arm out in front of me to stop me from seeing what is behind him. Like I need to be hidden from the darkness that is this night. I lift a hand, a hot breeze of fire whacks into him, and sends him flying out of my way. I stop, staring at the bodies littering the ground and the one right in the middle.
“NO!” I scream, running over to my sister, dropping down to my knees at her side. There’s a hole in her chest, blood surround her which mixes in with her long red hair. Too much blood, and it’s too watered down. Someone used ice here. My beautiful sister is lost. Who could have done this?
“Queen,” a hushed voice says, making me look up as a dark shadow hovers above us. My dark spirit, Nane, flies out the shadow, floating down to me.
“Nane, she is dead,” I say, refusing to cry. I haven’t cried for many years, and I won’t now. I will get revenge, I will destroy this world for what it has always done…took everything from me.
“The light killed her, the light must pay,” she whispers to me, and lands on the stomach of Esmeralda, lifting a blood covered hand. “Blood and ice.”
“Isola? She did this?” I question Nane, who nods, and I close my eyes as a scream leaves my lips. Black shadows spread out from under me, going in every direction and burning away the trees near me as I try to reel in my anger. They burn the guards, and I hear them screams, their screams are almost pleasurable to hear. Someone has to suffer for this, for my sister.
“I. Will. Kill. Her,” I bite out as I open my eyes, and lean forward, tucking a lock of Esmeralda’s red hair behind her ear. My sweet little sister.
“We can bring her back, bring her back stronger than ever. Bring her back linked to your life, and she will never leave you,” Nane suggests, looking up at me with a wicked grin.
“Will she be the same?” I ask.
“She will have a dark soul, much like yours,” Nane says, and I laugh.
“She had one before death, but now she will want revenge,” I say, a large smile playing on my lips as I place both my hands on Esmeralda’s head.
“Call darkness,” Nane whispers, and sends a blast of darkness straight into me through our bond. Black lines spread down my arms, onto my sister’s face. They crawl up her face slowly and painfully for me. When they hit her eyes, I pull back catching a breath and stand up. I wait for a long time, knowing it takes a while for a body to come back. Finally, Esmeralda’s eyes open slowly. She looks up at me as I stand over her, her eyes blood red, and a sinister grin on her lips as she stands with my help.
“Time to hunt a princess, my sister,” she says, her voice darker and almost sweet. Like a sweet berry that you don’t know will kill you, until you’re dead.
“Then let’s hunt,” I say, and Nane laughs as she floats into the shadows once more, but I hear her dark whisper in my mind.
“Darkness will win, not only Dragca will fall but Earth too…”
The End
Pre-order Wings of Spirit here (Protected by Dragons book three).
Hi! Thank you so much for reading Wings of Fire! A big shout out to Meagan, Christian, Taylor, the girls from RBP, my awesome readers group and everyone that supported me!!
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Also by G. Bailey
The King Brothers Series-
Izzy’s Beginning (Book one)
Sebastian’s Chance (Book two)
Elliot’s Secret (Book three)
Harley’s Fall (Book Four)
Luke’s Revenge (Coming soon)
Her Guardians Series (Complete)-
Winter’s Guardian (Book one)
Winter’s Kiss (Book two)
Winter’s Promise (Book three)
Winter’s War (Book Four)
Her Fate Series-
(Her Guardians Series spinoff)
Adelaide’s Fate (Coming soon)
Saved by Pirates Series (Complete)-
Escape the sea (Book One)
Love the sea (Book Two)
Save the Sea (Book Three)
One Night series-
Strip for me (Book one)
Live for Me (Coming soon)
The Marked Series (Co-written with Cece Rose)-
Marked by Power (Book one)
Marked by Pain (Book two)
Marked by Destruction (Book Three)
The Forest Pack series-
Run Little Wolf- (Book One)
Run Litt
le Bear- (Coming soon)
Protected by Dragons series-
Wings of Ice- (Book One)
Wings of Fire (Book Two)
Wings of Spirit (Book Three)
Wings of Fate (Coming soon)
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