by J. L. Weil
Guilt followed me as I wiggled out of bed to dress, tiptoeing from the room. I was breathless by the time I made it passed the training area, to a field of tall wildflowers and mist. The moon wasn’t full, only a crescent sliver missing. My hair was plastered to my face as the rain sliced through the air. This was a risk, but going off what little I knew of the late queens, it was the best shot I had.
The only way to end this torment was for me to go into Titan Mountain and find the star. Yet, the scorching temperature and pool of lava made it impossible for me to do so. I wasn’t a witch. I had no spells to protect me from the heat. Perhaps I should have struck a bargain with Tianna, tricked her somehow in giving me the fortification I would need to into the volcano.
That was where Zade’s mom came in.
The mossy grass cushioned my feet as I walked, listening, flowers tickling my calves. I swallowed nervously. “Hello?” I called out, feeling like an idiot. Was there a proper way to summon a ghost? “I need your help. Please.”
My only answer was a chorus of crickets, probably complaining about the evening rain. I didn’t blame them. Beads of rain dribbled over my face. Coming out here alone was a risk. I just hoped it wasn’t one I would regret.
“Hello,” I called again. “Please, help me.” I spun in the glade filled with flowers of sunlight and firelight, gleaming under the stars. Everything in Crimson seemed to burn; the trees and flower were no different.
Sticking around for a few more minutes, my arms hugged my torso as I stood in the rain, waiting. And waiting. My spirits sunk, and I turned to retrace my steps back to the castle.
“Have you found a way to obtain the Star of Fire, Olivia Campbell?” A haunting, soft, female voice cut through the patter of raindrops hitting the earth.
I turned, my drenched hair whipping with my moments.
Zade’s mother, the former queen of Crimson, stood a few feet before me as she hovered an inch or two over the ground. Her cloak of white draped around her, the snowy hood framing her golden face. Hair the same dark shade of Zade’s spilled out over her shoulders in loose curls. She looked every inch a ghostly queen.
How long had it been since I’d seen her last? Two weeks? It might have as well been a lifetime ago. “No. That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”
“Tianna’s army is growing. You must claim the star. It is yours.”
“Yes, but how can I claim it without killing myself in the process?”
She angled her head, considering it as if she had long forgotten how fragile humans were. “I only know what I can see, and even then, it is only a possibility.”
So freaking helpful. “There must be a way.”
“All the resources you need are at your fingertips. You must seek refuge in its rival,” she said.
My brain whirled. Another mystery for me to solve. “Do you know what will happen if she is able to retrieve the star before I do?” I asked, since she seemed awfully chatty.
Her cloak flitted with the wind and something distant moved into her eyes. “Death and destruction will reign, in this world and others.”
My stomach dropped.
“Even a single star could make her power mighty and wicked,” she explained and I could have sworn she shivered beneath her cloak.
“I don’t want anyone else to die.”
“It isn’t the stars that will win the battle rising on the horizon. You, Olivia, and you alone are the key to stopping the war before it truly begins,” she confessed with that calm voice.
Lightning struck, slashing across the sky in a spear of white angry light. My eyes darted upward at the crack of thunder that followed. When I glanced back to the spot Zade’s mother had hovered, she was gone.
I wrapped my soaked arms around myself, knowing the time had come for me to get out of the rain and back into the safety of the castle. Lingering would only bring trouble. The storm brewed an ominous omen as I dashed over the lawn with haste.
I snuck back through the castle, much like I had slipped out not long ago, and after changing into dry clothes I lay beside a sleeping Zade. It would be hours before he stirred, which gave me plenty of time to think… to strategize… to outmaneuver the witch.
I didn’t sleep that night. I just lay in bed, my mind wheeling over all that had been revealed. And in the early hours of sunrise, while the sun chased the storm away, a plan formed. There was only one rival to something as hot as a volcano. Zade was that hot and Issik was the only one capable of combating such heat.
A dumb plan that would no doubt end badly, but it beat sitting on my ass and doing nothing. The others might be content to brood and pace, but this girl was breaking out her superhero cape.
With some help…
I’d been through every room on the first floor of the castle, gone up and down the stairs twice, searched both towers and still, Issik was nowhere to be found, but I’d been assured the Ice Prince hadn’t left the grounds. Where could he be hiding? I ascended the staircase again. Every step had me convincing myself this was a stupid idea, but it was the only one I had. If I didn’t act now…
It might be too late.
Time was pressing down on us, with another month coming to a close. My mind replayed the attack on Wakeland. Tianna had known I knew the location of the Star of Fire. What puzzled me was why she hadn’t demanded I retrieve it right then and there, but that would have involved her actually being present, instead of a mirage—an illusion.
Tricky, tricky witch.
With her Pool of Mirrors, it was damn near impossible to be one step ahead of her, not when she constantly glimpsed at the past, present, and even the future. We might already be doomed, but it wasn’t going to stop me from trying to save my home. I should have found a way to destroy the pool when I’d been her prisoner, but the idea of ruining an item of magic left a nasty tang in my mouth.
I passed a hall of open sleeping chambers, peeking my nosey ass into each one. Where the hell is he? My teeth ground together.
Sure, when I actually wanted to find him, he was nowhere to be seen. Every other day, one of them was stuck to my side, but nooo, not today. Today they suddenly decided to give me all the space in the world.
I lost count of the number of doors I searched before seeing the familiar whitish-gold hair. Today he had it tied back at the nape of his neck. The sun from the roof tower warmed my cheeks as I stepped outside. “You are very hard to track down,” I admitted, sounding breathy.
Issik was sitting on an iron chair, sipping a clear liquid straight from the bottle. His attention was focused on something I couldn’t see, a place in the distance. I could only guess it was Iculon.
At the sound of my voice, he turned his head in my direction, brows lifted. “I like to come up here to get away, to think.”
Heat rippled off the obsidian tiles blanketing the roof as I padded over to him and slipped into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. “The view is breathtaking,” I said, staring out into the vast, endless sky.
Issik’s hand moved to cover my knee. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
My lips slightly curved into a smile, turning on the charm. “I need your help.”
His eyes slid to mine, cool and questioning. “This is going to get me in trouble, isn’t it?”
I squeezed his hand, appreciating the callouses against my tender skin. “Before you say no, hear me out.”
“I’m listening,” he conceded, inclining his head toward me.
“I want you to take me inside the volcano.” There. I’d said it. Clear. Cut. And dry. No point in beating around the bush. None of us had the time.
“No,” he stated flatly and without hesitation.
I had expected a decisive no. If he had agreed readily, I would have been disappointed, but I wasn’t giving up yet. “You’re being unreasonable.”
“Me? I’m not the one who is suggestion a suicide mission.”
My fingers toyed with the ends of his ponytail. “Are you saying that going into Titan
Mountain would kill you?”
His features remained impassive and unyielding. “No. Zade and I are the only ones who can withstand the heat, but for two different reasons. The volcano would welcome him, the heir of the kingdom, because he was born from part of this land.”
I prayed I hadn’t underestimated my persuasive skills. “And you are his polar opposite. You’re exactly what I need to get me inside the volcano. It makes sense,” I pleaded.
He rubbed at the stubble on his chin, little white whiskers. “You don’t think we’ve considered this, contemplated all possibilities?”
“I don’t want you to just fly me into the volcano, I want you to freeze it, just long enough for me to find the star,” I explained.
Issik cringed and opened his mouth to object, then clamped it shut. I watched as he brood over the idea. “There must be another way. It’s too dangerous, Olivia. A warriors heart you have, but even the greatest warriors know when to walk away from a fight.”
I refused to walk away. Not from this. “We need to nullify the threat, and the best way to do that is to cool off the volcano. After we get what we went there for, Zade can thaw the lava if it doesn’t naturally do so.” My guess was not even Issik’s dragon breath of ice could contain the molten lava living inside the volcano for long, but I had to try.
His eyes flickered as he warred with the idea. “I should tell you no and walk away, but I have a feeling you’d be stubborn enough to go to Titan Mountain on your own, and I can’t let you do that.”
My lips started to curve in victory, maybe too soon.
“But…” His hand slid down to my thigh, sending a tendril of ice through my clothes at his touch. “I could lock you up in your room.”
Color drained from my face. “You wouldn’t dare,” I hissed. He knew what I’d been through with Tianna, how she had locked me up and of the nightmares that still kept me up most nights.
Those crystal icy eyes softened. “No, I wouldn’t, but I probably should.”
Laying my palm over his chest, I savored the steady beat of his heart. “Issik, you know this is the only option we have, and we need to act before Tianna has a chance to see what our plan is.”
“And just what is our plan?”
“It’s easy. You ice the volcano, we fly in, I snatch the stone, we leave.”
He shook his head, knowing damn well it wouldn’t be that simple. Not with me. “Do you fully understand what your undertaking? You will have the power of three stars residing inside you.”
I hadn’t thought about what it would mean for me. All that mattered was saving them, but now that Issik had mentioned it… I chewed on my lower lip, contemplating the implications. “Is that something I should be worried about?”
Issik’s chest exhaled against me. I was still in his lap, and neither of us stirred. “None of us know if your human body will be able to sustain harnessing the four abilities. The magic of the stones was meant for the most powerful dragons, the kings. When we set out to break the curse, we had no idea the stars still existed.”
A part of me had blocked my mind from thinking about the consequences, only because the first two stones had given me unimaginable skills, but even with that power I still felt like me. My physical body hadn’t changed. “This is something the four of you have discussed, and never thought to mention to me?”
He lifted a hand, brushing the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “We didn’t want to worry you for nothing, especially since you handled two with fair ease. Jase wanted to test your abilities, your limits, see how your body responded over time.”
So my lessons were more than learning to protect myself. Jase was lucky he was in a dark place. I would have marched up to his room, kicked in the door, and gave him a very loud and vulgar piece of my mind. “And what was the almighty Tranquility dragon’s conclusion?”
The corner of Issik’s lips twitched. “Inconclusive. But we’re all concerned. This isn’t just about freeing us from the curse or protecting the home we love. You’re a part of this, and protecting you is as important as the rest.”
I inclined my head to his so we were nearly cheek-to-cheek while I stared out into the clear blue skies. I’d been through too much, endure too much pain to turn back now or to be frightened of who I might become. “What’s life without a little risk?”
Issik’s arms wrapped around me. “We’re about to find out,” he murmured, breathing in the scent of me. “You know the others are going to kill me.”
I turned my head slightly towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll protect you.”
He sighed. “That’s what worries me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Just days ago, I’d seen such horror and sorrow, and now, I was gearing up to a battle of my own. The blade Jase had given me was strapped to the outside of my black leather pants, and another smaller one hidden in the inside of my boot—which I’d swiped from the training area earlier in the day, after I’d spoken with Issik.
The Ice Prince’s face was a mask of patience as he stood in the foyer, ready to carry me into the fiery depths of Titan Mountain. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to do, not mentally or physically, but I had little choice in the matter. This was my destiny. Whether I ever dreamed it would be of such importance or not was inconsequential. For now, I’d face what was ahead, and the consequences that came with my choices.
My choices.
Not Tianna’s.
Not Jase’s, Zade’s, Kieran’s, or Issik’s.
This wasn’t only about them or the witch who cursed them. It was about me. About the people who lived here and their future.
“Have you changed your mind?” Issik asked, peering down at me.
I winked. “Not a chance.”
We stepped out on the veranda as stars sparked into existence. His shift from man to dragon was as beautiful as that first snowfall that glistened on the trees with silver, like they’d been dipped in stardust. He was all frost, animal, and magic.
Every inch my Ice Prince.
He waited until I was seated on top of him, tilting his angular head so he could see me with one eye. ”Time to take that ride.”
He leaped off the edge as he had the first time, to save me when I fell from the balcony at Wakeland. Each dragon had its own flying technique. Issik’s happened to be plummeting at a vertical drop before unfolding his wings.
It scared the ever-loving crap out of me each time.
With every foot, we flew faster and faster over the kingdom, staying close to the surface. “How pissed are the others going to be?” We had left in the dead of night, waiting until Zade, Jase, and Kieran slept.
“If we come back with the star, it won’t matter what we did.”
I wasn’t so sure if that was true, but I liked the way Issik thought. “How old is the witch?” I asked. If she had cursed them a hundred years ago and still managed to look as if she was only twenty, I’d say that’s one hell of an aging spell she was cooking. She was a witch, not immortal, at least I believed.
Issik dipped under a low hanging branch, making sure to clear it enough so not to whack me in the head. “Older than any of us, possibly older than our fathers. She was not born here in the Veil.”
“How is she able to stay so young?”
“We’ve never figured that part out. A spell, no doubt, but she must draw her youth from somewhere, someone, or something.”
And we knew it wasn’t from the stars. “Do you think she knows what we are going after the stone?”
“She can’t keep tabs on all four of us every second of every day. Even the witch needs sleep. Let’s hope fate is on our side tonight.”
I was going to need more than fate. A hell of a lot more. I sighed, taking a moment to appreciate the night, the balmy breeze on my face, and the dragon who trusted me. It could all end tonight.
“Are you having second thoughts?” he mused, feeling my tension, my melancholy.
He could sense my emotions, my risin
g doubt, but I answered him with the truth. “I’m nervous and scared, but it doesn’t change what I have to do.”
“In case I haven’t told you how brave I think you are. You are, you know. Brave. Bold. Brilliant. And resilient as hell.” I swore I heard a smile in his voice and it made me chuckle, relieving some of the tension tight in my shoulders. “And I don’t need a bond or stone to tell me how much I love you.”
My arms wrapped tight around his thick neck and I pressed my cheek against his scales. “I love you too. So much.”
In the silence that fell between us, I scrambled to find any scrap of bravery hiding inside me. I wanted to make Issik proud, to show him I was indeed brave, regardless of the fear making my insides tremble. We swept up with the rolling hills, approaching our destination.
Titan Mountain.
There it was. I swallowed, my fingers clenching against Issik, and the dragon loosed a breath, causing a chill to ripple in my bones. My chest sank.
The obsidian mountain itself didn’t glow, but the pulsing lava inside made it seem as if it were. We circled over the mouth of the volcano, and being this close, the mountain felt ancient. Wafts of heat drifted toward us, causing my skin to glisten with a fine coat of sweat.
“Have you ever been inside a volcano?” I asked, staring into the pit of rich molten fluid, ebbing and flowing below us, its sparks of embers floated in the air.
He circled over the top of the mountain, keeping a healthy distance above. “Believe it or not, no. And I’m hoping this will be a one-time thing.”
“You and me both,” I muttered. “We’ll be in and out before anyone misses us,” I assured over the howling wind.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
“Does it matter?” It didn’t change how I felt about sneaking out, deceiving the others.
“Here we go, Little Warrior. Hold on tight.”
My mouth went a bit dry.
Taking us higher in the air, Issik maneuvered himself into position directly about the mouth of the volcano. When he was satisfied, he plunged, unleashing a stream of ice as he dove in, to squelch the heat before it reached us. My knees squeezed against him, holding myself firm on his back.