by Megg Jensen
"Tressa will just have to get used to living without her lover. The next time I see him, I'm going to tear his head off," Connor muttered as he left the room. He didn't even have time to take the mages out of the castle and allow them a proper burial. They'd be destroyed in the ruins of the castle with Decarian and his minions.
Connor stomped down the hallway, back to the main entrance to the castle. He waited there, nervous, as ten men ran back inside to make sure the halls and rooms were clear. Sophia and Mestifito wouldn't leave until they knew everyone had been evacuated. A thousand souls, maybe more, would flee that night. They had encouraged everyone to head south, to the Charred Barrens, where guides would wait to take them into the underground city of the Ruins of Ebon. It was the only place they could hide from the coming demons.
Connor didn't tell them to stay. If his plan failed, it would be best if everyone followed through with Sophia's instructions. If his plan succeeded, they would have to rebuild the castle anyway. It was no place for anyone to be, no matter the outcome.
He had only one person who he wanted to remain hidden in the castle: Jarrett. Let the bastard die with Decarian when the castle fell.
The sun's rays in the west were nearly gone when the ten men returned from their sweep of the castle.
"It's clear as far as we can tell," the tall man in front said. Connor hadn't had time to learn their names. If he survived the night, he would thank them all personally someday.
"Then we will fly," Sophia said. She climbed on Mestifito's back. "Are you coming, Connor?"
He nodded. "I'll fly out last. You take the men and go."
Sophia gave him a curt nod. He could tell she was fighting back exhaustion. She'd had so little rest, and even though Mestifito's blood gave her strength, she was still human. Two of the men clambered on Mestifito's back behind her, including Destrian, their royal Yellow prisoner, and the other eight divided themselves across two other Black dragons.
They took off into the night sky, their wings nearly invisible as they flew into the clouds. Connor turned on one heel and stalked back into the castle. The torches had all been put out, and the only light he had was starlight streaming in the high windows. He ran a hand along the wall, following the hallway to the staircase leading down to the dungeon. Connor descended the long, spiral stairs into the bowels of the castle, like a meal slipping down a dragon's throat. He didn't need light, just a sure step and the will to keep going.
Fighting his fear was the hardest part. Despite knowing he was doing the best he could to save the Dragonlands, he'd seen Decarian at work. He knew how much delight the beast took in death. Connor wasn't looking forward to being one of Decarian's meals if he failed.
Light flickered on the last few steps. Connor entered the chamber before Decarian's underground lair. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for what he was about to do.
"You have returned." Decarian's voice boomed in the cavern as Connor appeared in front of his enemy.
"I have," Connor said, answering the beast for the first time. "I've come for you."
Decarian laughed. "Come closer, little human. Let me show you the face of death."
Connor dropped the package he'd been carrying under his arm on the ground. He unrolled the tarp, revealing a cache of fireworks like the ones they'd shot off after capturing the Red castle. He placed them in even lengths against the walls of the cavern.
Connor swallowed his fear and turned into his Blue dragon. He walked closer to Decarian, standing just outside the line Sophia had drawn on the ground to show Decarian's reach. Without hesitation, Connor reared back and blew dragonfire at the explosives. One by one, their wicks lit, cracking and popping.
"Your little explosives will not injure me," Decarian called out. "Soon I will be free from my bonds. I will eat you first, dragon. I will rip your limbs from your body, suck out the marrow, and use your bones to clean my teeth when I am done."
Connor ignored the beast's promises. He ignored the screams of the minions below, clamoring to roam free in the Dragonlands, bringing destruction with them. He continued lighting the wicks. Once the final one had been sparked, Connor changed back into his human form.
Connor bolted out of the cavern, heading up to the next floor as fast as he could, to light the fireworks he'd placed there. Then to the floor above that, and so on, until the entire castle shook down to its very foundations. He only hoped he could get out in time to save his own life.
Chapter Forty-Two
Tressa flew all day, as hard and fast as her wings could carry her. The ghost dragons kept up easily, not appearing to show any strain. Of course not. They didn’t have flesh to slow them down, not like Tressa did. She felt every beat of her dragon heart, every drop of blood that pumped through her body, every fear that tore through her mind. Though she hadn't known what awaited her in Desolation, she never would have thought she'd bring back an entire army of ghosts from Hutton's Bridge to wage war against Decarian.
As she climbed higher over the Barrier Mountains, Tressa felt her lungs tightening. The air thinned at the peaks. Tressa kept her eyes trained on the rocks the whole way up, hoping to find some kind of break in the mountaintops that she could fly through. So far she hadn't spied a shortcut. Still, she refused to give up. She would fly until she was back in the Dragonlands, burning lungs be damned.
She’d long passed the dark peaks with their unearthly orange glow. Now snow glistened on the mountaintops, momentarily blinding Tressa. She marveled at its beauty. She'd never seen such grandeur while hidden inside Hutton's Bridge. Yes, she'd seen snow, even made snowballs and caught flakes with her tongue, but this was different. Snow covered the tall mountains just as grass covered the land of her home. It felt like another world here.
Tonight she flew home. Tonight she would try to stop Decarian once and for all. If she didn’t—no, she wouldn't think like that. Losing was not an option.
Despite a growing worry in the pit of her stomach, Tressa flapped her wings with greater urgency. Already, she could feel herself lagging. Each time she pushed ahead, the atmosphere sucked a little more breath from her. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes as she realized her will to continue was far beyond what her body could handle. Her stomach constricted, and her chest caved in. Tressa's wings stiffened. She plummeted from the sky, her body freefalling toward the sharp peaks below.
Her mind wandered, remembering the time she'd fallen from Fi's back and changed into her dragon. Not today. This was the end. Her dragon body would be impaled on a cliff, only a shadow to those below who looked up at the mountains.
No one could see the ghosts but her. There would be no one to tell her story. No one to explain why she hadn't made it back to the Dragonlands. She would fade into obscure history. Lips wouldn't speak her name. Children wouldn't hear of her stories. Instead, Tressa would be the one who left the Dragonlands in its time of greatest need and never returned.
Tressa wrapped her wings around her body as she spiraled down and down. She was vaguely aware of the ghost dragons surrounding her, their wings fighting against the upward draft of the air. One by one they sped past her falling body. She smiled wryly. They were trying to catch her. It was sweet, but she'd resigned herself to death. Their formless bodies were less solid than clouds. She would simply fall through them until her body landed on the rocks, broken.
Her eyes closed, accepting what was to come. The end of her story.
Ice spread through her body. A shivering cold unlike nothing she'd ever felt.
Roll over! Alden yelled in her mind. Then blow your fire! Don't give up on us now!
Digging deep to find the last bit of her strength, Tressa forced her body to turn in midair. Her eyes snapped open to see the ground speed toward her. Was this what they had wanted? For her to face death instead of hiding from it?
Then Tressa saw what they'd done, what they’d made. Her jaws opened and she roared, a line of dragonfire streaming down toward their creation. She closed her eyes again,
bracing for the cold, and she landed with a splash in the freezing cold pond.
Tressa dove and spun around to get her bearings, then floated on her back. She breathed another burst of fire to warm up the icy water. Her teeth clattered.
The ghosts had created an ice field with their frozen breath, and Tressa's fire turned it to liquid. It was enough to break her fall.
She wasn't dead.
Yet.
She looked up at the dragons circling her and thanked them with a wave of her tail.
Now what? she asked Alden. I can't fly any higher. My body simply can't tolerate the lack of air. I'll die if I try to fly over the mountains.
We must keep trying to reach the Dragonlands. We cannot stop now.
But I don't know what to do! Tressa said. I'm stuck! I can either go back down to Desolation in defeat and wait there until I can get through the tunnel, or I can die here trying to fly back.
You aren't dead yet. Alden's matter-of-fact tone didn't help her feel better.
I know. I am grateful. I really am. The water was quickly cooling, so Tressa blew another stream of dragonfire, warming it up.
If need be, we will repeat this process over and over again until you can break over the top and fly back down to our home. We will not give up, Tressa. Will you?
Tressa closed her eyes, thinking of her friends who needed her help so badly. She pictured Fi, who was, right now, traveling back to the Red castle with Donovan. She imagined Connor, her brave friend fighting so hard for his family. They wouldn't give up as long as they breathed. Neither would Tressa.
She burst into the air, her body refreshed, energized even. Maybe she could keep going if she didn't push herself so hard. She flew westward, toward the Dragonlands, toward her loved ones. Nothing else would get in her way.
Until the pain struck again moments later. Her chest spasmed more violently this time, and Tressa fell to the ground. She dug her talons into the snow, pulling her body forward.
If I have to claw my way home, I will do it. Tressa glanced up, her vision blurry. The ghost dragons swam in her sight, but she couldn't pick out individual forms. She couldn't think properly. Couldn't do anything other than drag herself, bit by bit, across the frozen ground. Her belly froze, and soon she couldn't feel anything other than the pain in her arms every time she sank her talons into a fresh pile of snow.
Tressa thought she heard voices in her mind. Perhaps they were echoes of memories. She was alone here, facing down her mortality in a way she'd never contemplated. Everything that had mattered to her in the past floated away. There was nothing left to hold on to.
The only thing she focused on was the sparkling snow beneath her head... until the moment her jaw lay on the cold ground and her eyes closed.
Chapter Forty-Three
The Red castle shuddered at the base. Connor flew out of the throne room windows as the floor fell out from underneath him. The walls of the Red castle cracked and heaved, then collapsed, sending debris into the air. Connor banked toward the east, closer to the mountains.
I did it! I actually did it!
He flew in circles around the rubble, then landed. He changed into his human form and crunched across the debris-filled grass toward the giant pile of stones. Connor made his way around it. The pile stood four times taller than him. He couldn't see around the rocks without circling the perimeter. Cautiously, he looked for any sign of movement. Not that he believed anything could survive a castle falling on them. Still, he'd seen too much to walk away without investigating.
After rounding the destruction four times, Connor felt sure he'd succeeded in trapping Decarian. It was possible the beast was dead, but Connor wouldn't take the chance. He'd send word to the Charred Barrens, telling them what he'd done and asking for reinforcements.
This spot could never go unguarded. They would need heavy patrols for the foreseeable future until a more permanent solution could be decided upon. He would do his best to make sure no one ever became complacent. Until he had irrefutable proof Decarian was dead, and the passageway between the Dragonlands and Desolation was closed, he wouldn't rest.
Connor walked across the castle grounds to the goat enclosure. The spindly-legged gray animals bleated at him. Connor leaned over and patted one on the head. They would no longer be bred and slaughtered for Decarian's meals.
A tree overlooked the pen. Before the evacuation, Connor had tethered a pigeon there. He pulled a note out of his pocket, the one he'd written to his friends in the Charred Barrens earlier with hope that his plan would work. He hadn’t been sure he would ever be able to send it. Glancing back toward the massive pile of rubble, hope rose in him that maybe they were finally on their way to peace. With the fireworks, he'd managed to blow apart Blythe's prophecies and save his people. He rolled up the note, attached it to the bird's leg, freed it from the tethers, and sent it flying.
Hungry like always, Connor changed into his dragon and took to the sky. He could have eaten one of the goats, but he figured they deserved a break. Connor flew east toward the Barrier Mountains, hoping he could find an animal to slake his appetite. He flew over the meadow, finding nothing larger than a rabbit. He wanted something bigger. Unfortunately, nothing presented itself. Connor glanced back. The rubble remained still. Feeling he had time to fly a bit farther away, Connor glided closer to the mountains, wondering if there were creatures at the base. He didn't expect to find many animals higher up, but perhaps a stray gazelle might have made its way over.
Still, there was nothing. Connor banked to the right, ready to head back toward the ruined castle.
Something stabbed him in the back.
He thrashed from side to side, but whatever had latched on wouldn't let go. Something else whizzed past his head. He watched the icy spike fall to the ground, impaling a rabbit. The pain in his back changed from a throb to a cool salve as the icy spike that hit him melted, sending rivulets of water down his sides.
Connor spun around, angry. He charged toward the mountains, taunting whatever was out there to attack again.
He didn't have to wait long. Another icy shard landed just short of his snout, followed by another, and another, as he sped toward the source. He flew higher and higher, feeling the tightness in his chest that came with high altitude. Though no more of the shards hit him, he still pursued them as they continued to fall in front of him.
It was only as he started to feel the lurching of his lungs that he realized he'd been drawn up to the peaks. Weakened, Connor turned away, realizing he'd been a complete fool to follow the shards. Something wanted to lure him there, and Connor had flown right into its trap.
He looked down at the snow as he tried to take in deep breaths to counteract the pain in his chest. Then he saw it.
A Black dragon foot sticking through the snow, the talons digging into the ground. Connor pushed ahead, landing next to the snow-covered mound. It moved, only slightly, as the dragon underneath it breathed shallowly.
Connor reared back, aiming a shot of dragonfire melting away the snow. He brushed the rest off with his snout. The dragon didn't appear wounded. There was no blood. Just a Black dragon, lying in the snow, barely alive.
Connor nudged it. The dragon opened its eyes and gazed up at him, delirious. Connor took in a deep breath. He'd know those eyes anywhere.
Tressa!
He lay down next to her on the cold, snowy ground. Connor exhaled gently on her head, letting the warmth of his breath cover her. He was afraid to breathe more dragonfire for fear of hurting her. Slowly Tressa moved again. This time she lifted her head, struggling to push up with her four legs. Connor slipped his head under her body, supporting Tressa as she found her footing. It wasn't long until her legs were less wobbly. Connor pulled back, then smiled toothily at the Black dragon.
She looked up into the sky, her eyes moving as though they were counting something above.
Connor unfurled his wings, then nudged her to do the same. He wished there was some way he could communicate with
her, but they had never established a connection. Instead, he would rely on his actions.
Tressa unfurled her wings, too. She leaned backward on her hind legs and shot into the sky. Connor took off after her. Tressa led the way down the Barrier Mountains toward the remains of the Red castle.
Tressa landed not far from the rubble, and Connor stopped next to her. He changed into his human form, waiting for her to do the same. But Tressa remained a dragon.
"Change!" Connor shouted up at her massive head, struck by the difference in their sizes now. "We have a lot to talk about!"
Tressa shook her head, her eyes downcast.
Connor reached out, resting a hand on her snout. "What's wrong? Are you having trouble controlling your dragon?"
Tressa nodded. Then she looked up at the sky again, as if there was something up there she needed to consult.
"Something shot shards of ice at me," Connor said. "I chased them up the mountainside, where I found you at the top, covered in snow. I don't know where they came from, but we were very lucky. Something is watching out for us."
Tressa looked down at Connor again. He could have sworn she was smiling, as the corners of her mouth turned up and a puff of smoke burst from her nostrils. She did it again and again, pointing upward with her head.
Connor followed her gesture, watching the smoke twist and twirl in the night sky. Then he saw it. Dragons. Nearly invisible dragons lit up between the smoke and stars of night twinkling behind them.
"What in the name of all that's holy?" Connor asked. "Are those dragons?"
Tressa smiled even wider. She blew another burst of smoke.
"I don't believe it," Connor said. "This is amazing." He reached into the sky, and a small snowflake landed in his palm. "Thank you," he shouted into the sky.
Snow began to fall, covering the ground and the ruins of the Red castle.
Tressa trotted over to the rock, nudging it with her nose.
"We ran out of honey," Connor explained. "Decarian was about to break free. Instead of allowing him into the Dragonlands, I brought down the castle. I did it. I stopped the invasion."