by L J Andrews
“We reach out to the heads of the families,” Thane continued. “Ask them to send those capable to stand with us. Gaia, can you find the earth mages who stand neutral in the priesthood?”
Gaia must have caught my curious expression because she explained before she answered. “Some mages do not declare loyalty to the priesthood of our people, but they are not enemies either. They do not bond with wyverns, only the earth. They live peacefully, but do not worry themselves with battles between the races.”
“Well, if we tell them the lindworms are going to wipe out their people and their beloved earth of its energy, maybe they will rise with us,” Athika hissed.
“That is what we must tell them,” Gaia agreed.
“Okay, well where are these peaceful dragons and mage?” I asked.
“That’s the trouble. It will take some time gathering their support. They avoid us,” Thane insisted. “But at least on the wyvern side, there is always a loyalty to the truly valiant and righteous desires.”
“We don’t have time,” Peran bellowed.
“I assure you, Peran,” Ced interjected, “Bron has a purpose for your brother. If Onyx is still resisting him, he has a long way before he steals all your brother’s energy.”
“Yes, and what if he tires of Onyx’s stubbornness and kills him?” Peran muttered.
Ced sighed and inched a little closer to the embers. “You can decide differently, but I warn you, attacking the dark High Priest where he has built his twisted empire will provide many losses.”
I’d learned since finally trusting the prince that Ced hated nothing more than wasted lives. He was strategic in every move he made, always keeping the hope his people would escape unscathed. When his lead warrior, Magnus, had been killed, Ced had taken it hard. I could understand why he was waiting to mate with Amber. Even if she didn’t like it, I could understand.
“I trust Ced on this,” Thane admitted, meeting Peran’s eye. “We want to get Onyx back—you know as warriors, defending the royal lines is our purpose—but I will do it where I see the greatest chance for success.”
“We agree,” Shiv said. “We want our brother back—alive. High Priestess, can you tell me with a surety that when we meet Onyx again, he will be damaged?”
“Yes,” Gaia whispered. “Should Bron use Onyx against us, you must be ready to face your brother with him not realizing whom he fights against. I will do everything in my power to heal what has happened.”
“We all will,” Jade insisted. Peran seemed to relax when Jade spoke. Though she was a dragon, Jade was talented with healing energy.
“Then lead us, Thane,” Shiv mumbled. “Tell us how we gather our people completely.”
Mitch tapped the smooth edge of his knife back and forth against the stone, watching me and Raffi toss jagged blades against a thick log in the battle den.
“So, we’re going on a hunt for more dragons. Where have they been?” Mitch grumbled. “They just enjoy life while we’ve been standing against the lindworms and nearly dying every time?”
“You sound like a pouting child,” Raffi chuckled. “You have your leaders in the human world, too, armies like the warriors, and then common people. Like you.”
Mitch huffed and tossed his knife so it sailed straight past Raffi’s head. “Common? I’m anything but. I’m like a god to humans now.”
Raffi chortled, gasping for air after laughing far too long. “You haven’t even seen another human in weeks, let alone one who would call you a god.”
Mitch wrapped his arms around Raffi’s neck while the warrior was turned away, and like usual they flailed around, wrestling, each desperate to defeat the other. I rolled my eyes and tossed a final knife before settling against one of the benches where Sapphire brooded alone.
“You okay?” I asked.
Sapphire met my stare. There was something smoldering in his coal-like eyes. He shook his head and sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I just keep thinking of Onyx. I agree with the plan, don’t get me wrong, but I also know the common wyvern people might not be as receptive as we hope. After the divide, the royals were protected, but the common people were thrust into a world filled with humans and dangers they didn’t know how to meet. I’ve worried often about the families that were left to fend for themselves for so many years. I had always hoped the elder council had kept watch over them, but after Jade told us Aldwin slaughtered the elders—well, who knows what they’ve had to endure to keep their families safe.”
“But if it’s the right thing to do,” I offered slowly, “they’ll stand up for their royal.”
“They might send a little help, but we will in turn need to offer them assurances. Assurances for protection, for safety—things I’m not sure we can promise.”
“Well, we’ve got to try,” I insisted.
“That we do,” he agreed.
“No one has ever mentioned all these mages and dragons before,” I muttered.
Sapphire scoffed. “We’ve had a few other things we needed to explain first.” I chuckled and folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t mean this wrong, but I’m glad it’s Onyx with Bron. He was always the strongest in will. His mother was a warrior, you know.”
I didn’t know, but I shook my head. “Onyx is strong-willed, but I’ve seen a strength inside each one of you. You wouldn’t break either, neither would Jade, or Ruby or Amber.”
Sapphire scoffed. “I just want to get him away from Bron. If his mage is having such violent connections, can you imagine what it must be like to be there?”
Shaking my head, I watched Raffi finally release Mitch from a choking headlock. “I don’t want to imagine. We’ll get him back.”
“You will be going to find both the mages and the wyverns. Being a dragon mage and the new king, it seems fitting that you would address both races.”
“Whoa, back up. I’m not the king,” I insisted.
“Through your mating bond, you are,” Sapphire said with a subtle smirk. “Did you not realize that?”
My throat tightened, and my clammy hands slipped over my forearms. “No, I guess not.” I was stunned for a few quick breaths before I smirked and shoved his shoulder. “So, that means you need to bow to me then.”
Sapphire laughed, a real laugh, and shook his head. “Nope, I will not. I’m a royal too, you see.”
“This is probably something I should write in my reflection journal,” I sneered.
Sapphire buried his face in his hands and breathed a few sharp breaths to keep in his throaty laugh. Sighing with a smile, he leaned back against the rocky wall. “Through all this you’ve kept your sharp tongue. I’m glad. I’m sure this isn’t how you wanted to spend your new union with Jade, chasing reluctant dragons and mages.”
“I wanted one day,” I said softly. “That’s what I asked for. One day to just be okay with her. We both knew it wouldn’t last, not until this is all over. I got my day.”
Sapphire slapped his hand over my shoulder and smiled. “Good. You both deserved at least that. I’d better go save Mitch. Becoming Raffi’s second isn’t easy.”
I laughed, watching how Mitch slashed his knife so Raffi would quit hissing in his ear. “What do you mean his second?”
“This is exactly how he was with Dash at the beginning of their friendship,” Sapphire said sadly. “Raffi proves strength through his little tests, just like he did with you before he trusted you. I have a feeling, in coming years, Mitch will become Raffi’s most trusted ally.”
I scoffed, trying to picture such a thing. I tried to picture many things. How life had twisted into something beautifully unbelievable. Imagining life after the fighting was over was now impossible—being a king? What would I be asked to do? I didn’t know how to rule. Running a hand through my hair, I determined I would leave that to Jade. She was good at being queen. She was wiser than she gave herself credit for and just had a way with both races.
Watching my friends spar a little less competitively after a reprimand f
rom Sapphire, I thought of standing against Bron and Nag. It was morbid, but I feared who might be lost.
Shaking my head, I turned away. An idea had been bubbling in the back of my thoughts since Gaia had explained the bond between Donovan and Onyx. My heart thudded as I moved through the tunnels. I would try, but truthfully, I didn’t know what would happen. Though I shoved such thoughts away, I knew there was a real possibility I could wind up killing the mage instead of helping him.
Chapter 4
Jade watched me wrap the leather sheath around my shoulders. The morning was drafty, and her eyes sparkled from over the edge of the quilt she kept tucked around her face.
“I feel like I should be going with you,” she whispered.
I smiled, creeping along the quilts. I rested on one elbow, my free hand tracing her profile until her skin rose beneath my light touch. I kissed her quickly, holding her gaze for a moment. “We’re just going beyond the wall a little ways. It’ll make it easier to feel any energy outside of the protections we set up. I thought you wanted to help Ced with Donovan.”
“I do,” she sighed. “I’d like to understand what’s going on if Onyx is really alive so I can help if we find him.”
“Lots of ‘ifs’ in that sentence,” I muttered. “You don’t think Onyx is alive.”
Jade’s lips pressed tight together. “Is it terrible of me to err on the cautious side? To not allow myself to get my hopes up yet? I pray he’s alive—I wish him to be so terribly it hurts. But I also know how bonds fade over time, and as we learned, energy doesn’t travel instantly. What if Donovan is receiving a connection, but it’s so delayed we’re too late?”
I rested my head next to hers, stroking her jaw. “I’ve thought the same things, so no, it doesn’t make you terrible. When you sent that signal to us from Nag’s lair, and my mom told me it can take time to come, I thought the same things. Even if we find out we’re wrong—that Onyx was alive, but…we were too late, don’t you think we should keep trying?”
Jade lowered her eyes, her fingers running along my jade armor. She nodded, but there was a glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Yes, of course. We don’t abandon our people.”
“Then what is it? Something is still bothering you?”
Gently, she kissed one of the ribbons of green and met my eye. “Bron doesn’t want you on his side anymore. He knows you won’t abandon Thane. He’ll be looking to hurt you more than anyone. I can’t help but think, what if…he takes you, and like Onyx—what if he changed you, what if he turned you against me?”
“Jade,” I breathed, resting my forehead against hers. “Don’t think I don’t wake up with the same fears. Nag wants no one more than you and Ced. You betrayed him, made him look like a fool. I made several vows, to defend your life—which I will against Nag. But also your heart’s happiness. Now, if me dying or turning into Bron’s brainless minion doesn’t make you happy, then that’s just simply not an option.”
Jade laughed and pulled my mouth against hers. “It absolutely wouldn’t make me happy,” she whispered against my lips. “So be sure that you don’t become a minion. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’ve been having such an emotional time with all this. I feel as though I might burst into tears at every little thought of what might happen. We all knew it would come to this. I will be stronger—I promise.”
Lifting from the bed, I sheathed my swords and smiled. “I don’t know anyone stronger than you, my queen. Maybe you should go flying before you help Donovan. It’s been awhile since you’ve shifted. That always seems to clear your head.”
Jade seemed to consider the idea, but her mouth turned down. “It just doesn’t appeal to me today. Eisha suggested the same thing yesterday. I think I’m worrying her,” she said with a wide grin. “She constantly reminds me I had an aversion to shifting when I was a young child and fears it is happening again.”
Tugging on black boots, I nodded. “Yeah, my dad told me about that. He said he was always walking around in human form because the warriors didn’t want to step on you. Well, shift or don’t shift, I love you either way,” I teased, kissing her forehead before making my way toward the tunnel entrance. “I’ll be back before it’s dark.”
“Remember,” she shouted at my back. “No minions!”
I laughed until I nearly ran into Mitch and Leoch.
“Finally,” Mitch grumbled.
“You’re a bundle of joy this morning,” I groaned. “I think you might be a little jealous you don’t have a dragon queen begging you to stay in bed.”
Mitch scoffed, his nose wrinkling in disgust. “Neither do you,” he insisted. “Jade doesn’t beg. One word and you would do anything she asked.”
I laughed and tugged the straps around my shoulders tighter.
“Raffi beat him at their target throwing this morning,” Leoch chuckled. “I’m afraid he hasn’t quite recovered.”
“He cheated!” Mitch snapped. “Tell me, Teagan, if you didn’t have powers and a dragon suddenly tried to swallow you whole, would you miss a few shots?”
“Well, isn’t that what it will be like against Nag and the dark High Priest?” Leoch offered.
“Hey,” Mitch said, pointing a finger. “I don’t need your logical comments. He cheated, and I demand a rematch.”
We stalked through the halls until we circled to the mouth of the cave. Ced, Sapphire, Ruby, and Thane were already waiting with Raffi and several other warriors. There was a mage for every wyvern. Athika nodded a greeting to me as she finished braiding the sides of her hair so every strand was well out of her face. “You seem tired, Teagan—”
“Don’t start,” I interrupted. “No one needs to stick their nose in what goes on in my own personal space.”
Mitch chuckled, and I was pretty sure Sapphire flushed. Exactly the reason I didn’t need any immature comments. Raffi, Sapphire, and Eisha had practically raised Jade; they didn’t want any unwanted imagery.
“Oh, well way to steal all my fun,” Athika pouted, smirking right along with Ruby.
“Have your fun,” I muttered. “Just remember, whenever you form your own union, I’ll be right there with all the comments you never want anyone to say.”
Athika laughed, turning her face away when Ruby shifted in an instant. Her crimson scales peeled back so quickly I could sense her anticipation to begin our search. I hoped we would find something, if only for Ruby’s sake. After Peran’s declaration that he believed Onyx was alive, something had awakened again in the royal. She was desperate to see Onyx safely home.
“We’ll search just before the first town,” Thane muttered at my side before turning to the others. “We’re looking for any hint on where Onyx might have been taken. If anything seems out of the ordinary, signal to the others.”
I watched as each warrior, Ced, and Sapphire shifted and took on their rider. Mitch strode along Raffi’s spine. They could come to a truce when serious action was required, but I was certain the moment we returned it would be competitive business as usual.
“Jade did not wish to come?” Thane asked, handing me his blade to hold.
I shrugged. “She wants to be in two places at once. She wants to help us, but also wants to help with Donovan. Since I’m going outside the walls, she decided to stay here. Honestly, this has upset her a lot. I’ve never seen her so emotional so often.”
Thane lifted a brow, stretching his shoulders for a pause. “I’m certain this is overwhelming. She’ll be alright. She is the queen, after all.”
I nodded. “She’ll be good. She just cares a lot.”
Thane clapped me on the shoulder quickly before stepping away toward the ledge. Slowly, his skin rolled back, revealing his thick, armored, russet scales. With two steps, I climbed up his broad shoulder and settled the extra blades in a holster I attached just behind the notch of his wing. Thane roared and took to the sky in a rustle of wind. I still wasn’t seated, but I’d ridden enough dragons by now, I could easily balance against the crook of his neck while I made sure
all the weapons were secured.
Crossing the walls offered a definite shift in energy. The palpable clash of the death that had ripped through the mountainside along with the peace of spring sent a flash of nausea through my insides. I looked back to the walls. They were gone. Only snow-capped peaks remained. Exactly how we needed it. Any unsuspecting hiker or enemy wouldn’t be able to find the cave.
Thane plodded along the grassy clearing. The second his claws dug into the soil, I slid from his back and watched his scales peel away. His skin along his chest was flushed from the shift after so long. Since the walls went up, many of the dragons in the cave didn’t change forms. It was mostly due to space in the cave, but also, wyverns could sense mage energy easier in their human forms. I didn’t understand why, probably because the bond between dragons grew tighter when they were in wyvern form. But that was just a theory. Bron was our most direct threat. At times, I forgot there was a lindworm king who wanted to take control of every royal elemental and their stones. Nag frightened me, but only for my reasons with Jade. Bron was the one who would end us. Though Nag was evil and dangerous, I knew Bron was the power behind the entire threat against the elementals.
Raffi, Leoch, and Haitian, a warrior who once protected Aunt Liz’s house, remained in wyvern form just in case we had any dark visitors. Mitch rushed to my side, breathless, with his dark curls wild over his eyes.
“So, what exactly are we looking for?”
“Just any signs of Bron or Onyx. Anything that could lead us to him.”
“What about that? Ew, that’s sort of gross,” Mitch gagged, pointing toward a cluster of boulders.
I swallowed down the putrid scent, covered my mouth and nose with my hand, and inched closer. Sprawled along the stones was an open, rotting carcass. The creature seemed to be a small fox or badger at one time. Its pelt and bones were opened in an unnatural way. Each paw was hammered to the stone, so the limbs were spread wide. The ribs splayed like wings, leaving the chest cavity exposed. I coughed as I studied the disgusting display. Mitch was right—something had done this intentionally. The heart was blackened, as though cooked until the sinews charred. Blood marked the stones in fading symbols and splatters. It was hastily done, but if I studied the blood enough, I could make out mage language.