by S. D. Grimm
One creature stepped up to the Mistress’s side—as large as Zephyr and twice as wide. Its fur stood out in black clumps, and white teeth extended past its lips. Flames made up its eyes. Jayden knew the canine-like creature all too well. The barghest, Gnarg. Her heart crumpled. How would they fight this?
The Mistress ran her fingers along the beast’s fur. “Kill the Whisperer. And since the Wielder has chosen not to be my groom, destroy him.” She tipped her head to the black shadow above her. “Smoke, bring the Deliverers to me. The rest of you, demolish.”
Jayden clutched her daggers, but the fear choking her would not dissipate. This time, fear and hopelessness tugged inside of her, and those emotions belonged to her alone. Nothing from Ethan. Nothing from the storm. She looked at Serena, but no warmth of hope emanated from her. Jayden had never felt so utterly alone. Alone with her fear.
And it was crushing.
Logan’s last direction filled her heart: You have to stick together. You have to work together. Never stop believing that together you can beat her.
Connor commanded them, and all the Feravolk shot forward with cries for Soleden. They clashed with the creatures of darkness, and Jayden stood beside Ethan and faced the Mistress as Smoke dove toward them.
Chapter 63
Fire with Fire
Ryan stared at the full moon. It shone hot and red. Like dragon’s
breath. And as the Mistress descended and called her monsters forward, her commands tugged at his heart. She didn’t own half. She owned more. Much more. There was no hiding from Smoke now.
As Jayden stared wide-eyed at the approaching clouds flickering with lightning and mourned the loss of her power, fire crackled in Ryan’s hands. The strongest, hottest flames he’d ever felt.
Serena touched his arm, her mouth open. “You still have your power?”
He curled his fingers into fists. “I’m one of them. Her taint fuels my power. And it’s strong.”
Two hands, dry and brittle as a tree devoid of water, wrapped around his hands, and he looked into Quinn’s eyes. “Ryan. Fire. Fire hurts.”
He looked at the scars on her arms and bowed his head. “The part of my heart that belongs to me, you don’t need to fear it.”
“I know.” She tilted her head so he couldn’t avoid her innocent eye contact. “Fire also heals.”
“It’s not mine. It’s hers. It’s—”
“No. It’s yours.” She touched his chest over his heart. “You fight her, and she knows it. You aren’t hers to claim.”
Ryan stilled the flame in his palms and placed his hand over Quinn’s. Kara was right; he was about to die. So he only had to fight her for a little longer. He could do that. And die himself. Not her pawn. “Thank you.”
“She’s right.” Connor’s voice grew urgent as he spoke, his eyes wide. “Remember? It’s the prophecy. ‘A sorceress will come with power to destroy all the Creator has built. She’ll break the land and the people’s hearts and bring death to those who’d oppose her. But hope will be found when the Deliverers rise through fire, through ash, and heal the heart of the land.’ ”
Ryan looked at his hands. “I don’t understand.”
Connor swept his arm out, pointing at all the dying Forest of Legends. “Burn it. Burn everything.”
“He’s right,” Quinn said. “The land can’t grow again unless the evil is destroyed. Only fire destroys her evil. True fire. The kind from the Creator. Your fire.”
Ryan glanced out at the once majestic trees. They were kindling now. He could easily—I feel your heart. Smoke’s voice filled his mind, and Ryan looked up in time to see the dragon headed straight toward them. “Connor. Look out!”
Cliffdiver dropped in front of Ryan and Serena, who grabbed his arm. “Let’s go. Spread your fire. I’ll kill a dragon.” She pulled him, and he mounted the gryphon behind her. As Smoke’s head descended, Cliffdiver took flight.
“You can’t run from me.”
“I’m not running anymore.” Ryan called the fire deep within him, and it surged through his veins, filling his very being. Heating him from the inside. As Cliffdiver swooped closer to the tops of the trees, Ryan held out his arms and sent a stream of fire from his hands. It slammed into each tree they passed, and the poison inside of them caused them to ignite.
Cliffdiver took them closer to the darker creatures, and they shrieked and writhed as his fire hit them.
And the more Ryan used, the more the tainted part of his heart thrashed.
He felt it wheezing inside of him. It resembled the day Serena had helped him break the bond with Smoke. This time, his heart was too tainted to survive on its own. And as the forest burned, the piece of him tied to the venom that pulsed through him began to writhe.
Smoke laughed.
The Mistress turned her thoughts onto him, and he felt her voice claw into his head. “You’ll die. But I will live on. Once I have the Creator’s power, I won’t need a vessel.”
“I will die. And you with me.”
His fire crackled. Trees seemed to reach for his flame. The more he used, the stronger he felt. The freer. This was his power. It fought the taint. But it wouldn’t be enough to reverse the effects.
Serena touched his arm. “Your fire is killing the poison. The plants are dying, but the heart is beating stronger with every poisoned tree that perishes, Ryan. The forest is getting healthier because of you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
She placed her hand on her chest. “I feel its heart. Or Dash’s heart inside of me feels it.” She looked at him. “Can you hear Smoke?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good. Get me close enough.”
He touched Cliffdiver. “Okay, buddy, get us close to that dragon.”
Smoke’s amber eyes locked onto Ryan. “You cannot kill me. If you do, you’ll be killing yourself.”
“We are not the same.”
“No. But we are linked to her. Killing the forest only takes power from yourself.”
Ryan blocked the voice out. “Cliffdiver, take me to the ground, to the base of that white alor tree. I’ll keep Smoke’s attention, and you take Serena right to the beast’s heart. Can you do that?”
The gryphon glanced over his shoulder, the look in his eye much more animal than before. He hoped the creature heard him. But Cliffdiver headed for the ground.
Smoke targeted him. “I will take you to her. And you will give her the Creator’s power.”
“Come and get me.” Ryan shot fire at the dragon’s face, and as Cliffdiver descended, he jumped off and rolled to the ground. He stood and pulled out his sword. Cliffdiver took flight beneath Smoke’s answering roar of flame.
The Mistress’s voice penetrated his mind, stronger now. “Stand with me. You could live forever. You could be one of the black blood. You could be mine and fill the place the Wielder won’t. You would be my right hand. Not some pet. You would be powerful. Never helpless. Never helpless again.
“No one could hurt you.
“No one would need to heal you.
“The Creator’s power would be yours.
“All yours.”
Ryan shot her a half-smile and tapped into the link he’d been ignoring for so long. “I already have all the power I need. I’m not helpless.” And, for once, he believed it.
He touched the white alor tree in his bare hands and ignited its core. His flames spread into the bark. Deep, deep inside.
Fire crackled and popped all around him and burst out from the tree, scattering bark and twigs in an explosion that didn’t touch him. Black smoke filled the red sky.
The Mistress screeched at him with her eyes wild. “You will not beat me. You are too late!”
And she headed for him.
Ryan clutched his sword. It was made for him. The heat conducted into it but didn’t soften the metal. It made it stronger. Harder. As if dragon’s fire had forged this blade and dragon’s fire powered it. He looked at the Mistress and smirked.
&
nbsp; Today he’d die. But not in vain.
Chapter 64
Brittle
Connor gripped Quinn’s arm and tugged her farther from the moving and consuming flames and out into the area where fire had already burned the forest. He had a direct view of the Mistress of Shadows from here, but the flames wouldn’t come back this way. They were following Ryan’s warpath. Still, he needed to get closer to the Mistress. Her army raced out of the fire and into the waiting weapons of the Feravolk army. Connor was mere yards from them, traveling the outskirts so he could get behind the army unseen and closer to the Mistress.
Quinn nearly fell, and he stopped to help her back to her feet. Her hands clutched him. They felt like dry, brittle wood.
“Quinn, we need to get closer to the Mistress so I can open the door. I’m too weak now to do it from here.” He tugged her arm again, but she wouldn’t budge. “Quinn?” He looked at her and her tearful eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? No. We still have time. We’re still alive, that means the heart still beats.”
She pulled up the hem of her torn dress, and Connor gasped. Her legs had turned into a tree trunk. “I–I can’t move from here.”
A tremor shot through his body, and he dropped to his knees in front of her. “No.” The word came out a whisper, but it echoed from the deepest part of him. How would he save half of them now? How would he save Quinn?
He stood up and cupped her face in his hand. She would die with the forest. “Can you hang on? I need you.” He couldn’t save anyone without her. He couldn’t cause that much death. He—his knees weakened.
She grabbed his arm. “You can still do this. Your power is you.”
“No. It isn’t. I–I need you to be able to wield my power.”
“I’ll do anything I can for you.” She touched the sides of his face, and her hands were like a plant devoid of water.
Heat.
Skin.
Heat.
Fur.
No.
No, no, no. His wolf form started to take over.
“Connor?”
“Stay with me.” His heart ached. His eyes burned. And he couldn’t hold on. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t changing himself. Nothing anchored him in this human form anymore. The Forest of Legends was dying and his power with it. “No!” The word came out in a howl as he lost control and his body shifted into wolf form.
Instead of full color, everything dulled as if he saw with the eyes of a natural wolf, not a bonded one. He tried to shift back but it was like hitting a wall. He was stuck in this form. No sword. Nothing.
Quinn’s frantic eyes locked onto him. “Do you still have your power?”
“I’m wearing the bracer. I think it has enough in it for one shot.”
A tear fell from her eye. “That’s all we need. It’s all you need.”
“No! Quinn!”
Her skin and clothes turned to bark, and a look of determination crossed her face. “Never give up. Never lose hope. Take this.” She tipped her head back, as if trying to breathe air above the surface of the water. Her arms spread and fingers splayed as she turned into a tree. A white alor tree. Leaves sprouted on her branches, and wind ripped them loose. They headed for Connor. He tore at the clothes clinging to him, freed himself and headed for Quinn’s leaves. He had to finish what he’d come here for before he was lost to his wolf side forever.
As he raced for Quinn’s parting gift, he swallowed his grief. And he looked to see Cliffdiver. The gryphon still stayed loyal, taking Serena toward Smoke’s heart.
If he had Quinn’s leaves, would that be enough to stop him from killing all of them?
He stopped just outside the battle. The din of clashing swords and shouts and screams rang in his ears, and he braced himself for the leaves to swirl around him.
Serena held tight to Cliffdiver’s feathers as he flew straight toward the dragon’s chest. This was up to her. Heat and char rode on the wind, and not just from Smoke’s constant barrage of fireballs. Ryan’s flames were saving the Forest of Legends. Now it was up to her to save him. She pulled out her dagger. Heat from Smoke’s breath sailed over top of her, stinging her lungs, blistering her skin. And she didn’t heal. She clenched her hands into fists around her daggers, gritted her teeth for what she was about to do, and prayed Ryan would be all right.
The dragon dove at them.
Thick, black scales drew closer.
Closer.
A heart beat beneath, dark as coal and as hard. She waited one moment more, urging Cliffdiver closer to the beast’s chest. There it was. She held her dagger tighter and slashed open his scales as Smoke flew past.
Smoke roared.
He whirled his body around.
Her cut hadn’t been deep enough, but blood, black as pitch stained the blade.
“Once more. We have to get closer.”
Cliffdiver buffeted wind as Smoke’s tail crashed toward them, strong and spiked. Serena clutched the gryphon tight, but he jolted beneath her as Smoke’s tail slammed into him. Serena plummeted forward, freefalling.
The black dragon swooped below her. She braced herself for a landing on his armored head. A spine ripped into her thigh, and she cried out. Fell hard against his head. She wrapped her arms around one spike as he shook his head.
Pain stabbed her, nothing would quell it. Her powers weren’t working.
She clutched the horn tight as one dagger plummeted to the earth. Then she let herself fall toward the side of his head. If she could just get a hold of the huge curved horn that curled out of the side of his head, she might be able to angle herself right to jump straight for his chest.
Smoke rose higher and higher as he flew straight up. The wind beat against her as he picked up speed. If she jumped now, while he was nearly vertical to the ground, she might be able to land on his chest. Might be able to puncture his heart.
It had to be now. This moment. Her hand grabbed the curved horn, and she held on as she dangled from it and slid to the edge. His huge, amber eye watched her. “Stupid Healer. If you fall, you die.”
She swung toward his scaled chest and let go.
For a moment she remained, suspended in the air as his long neck glided past her. Then she fell. Fast. Faster. Dagger out, she slammed into the dragon’s chest, blade first.
Her weapon sunk deep into the scales.
Smoke roared.
Fire shot out from his throat. The scales heated beneath her touch. And she pushed harder, gripping the hilt tight.
His wings stilled.
Then she hung in the air, going neither up nor down, and then, like a falling stone, he plummeted.
She held her weapon, anchoring herself to the beast, and braced for impact. Connor had said two Deliverers might die. This could be her final moment.
Smoke split the earth and sank beneath the depths. And she lay across his broken body. Blood still pumping from her. Cracked bones groaned. But she’d slain the dragon.
Chapter 65
Barren
Fire spread, crackled, and streaked through the forest. Everything blazed. Ethan faced the beasts in front of him—the only thing standing in his way. He had to get to Ryan and Jayden, to fight beside them and do his best to protect them. But he had no speed and no strength, only his skill with a sword. He lunged and pushed the blade through an animal then pulled it out and whirled to face another enemy. His arm burned. His muscles quivered, and he didn’t know if Jayden still lived.
Something slammed into him from behind, and he whirled around to face a black lion. Furry wings flapped as it swiped him with blood-red claws. They sliced into his arm, and it felt so different than before. This cut burned. Like a fire in his veins.
The poison.
He was no longer immune.
That meant he didn’t have much time. Serena and Connor had better hurry.
He swung his sword at the beast. C’mon, Ethan. You’re stronger than this. But for the first time, he wasn’t sure. What was he
without his talents?
A laugh sounded behind him, and he turned, putting him face to face with a ghost.
He blinked several times, certain he was seeing things. Surely this wasn’t Belladonna.
He shook his head. It had to be the poison. She was dead. Ryan had killed her himself.
A smile snaked across her lips. “Surprised to see me?”
That wasn’t the word he’d use. Ethan clutched his sword and willed himself to regain his lost speed as he raced at her. Before he could make it, someone cut him off, and clashed her sword against his. Ethan jolted to a halt, and his heart slammed into his ribs. “Kara?”
She kicked him and he stumbled back.
“You die today!” He tried to scramble to his feet, but a black lion smacked into him and pressed him to the ground.
He stared around the beast and met Kara’s gaze. The Black Blood Army clustered around them. “How could you?” Every limb shook with the boiling anger inside of him.
“Means to an end, soldier.” She shrugged. “Thea gave me a resurrection spell and instructed me to use it on Belladonna. So I did.”
“You monster!” Ethan pushed against the lion.
It felt heavier, and its purr vibrated through him.
“Nothing personal.” Kara tilted her head, bringing her weapon closer to his neck.
“It is to me.” Belladonna stepped forward. “I have Ryan’s heart, Serena’s will, Jayden’s mind, and finally I’ll have your strength.”
The lion purred against his chest, and its claws slashed into him deeper this time. Heavens, it stung. Kara placed her sword against his throat.
Ethan stared up at her, every ounce of hope leaking out of him.
Belladonna pushed a vial of black liquid to his lips. “Drink and be mine.”
“Never.”
Kara pressed her blade harder. “Sorry, soldier. You’re going to have to do this one.”
Belladonna poured the mixture down his throat and forced him to swallow. He choked, trying to spit and cough, but she held his mouth and nose closed until finally it trickled down his throat. “Now your blood will be black.”