by LJ Andrews
“Let’s try it somewhere else,” Raffi insisted. He tore the blade from the snow and rushed to the opposite side of the fire. Stabbing the blade in the ground, the shadow remained the same—only more stretched now from the distance. Raffi let out a cry of glee, unusual for him. “You’re right. I can’t believe it, but you’re right.”
Mitch smiled smugly. “So, what lesson did you learn from Thane’s riddle, warrior Raffi?”
“That sunlight and shadows can lead the way.”
Mitch shook his finger, the grin only spreading more as he trudged toward the backpack. “Nope, I don’t think that’s it. I think what you’ve learned is the lesser magis is quite brilliant.”
“It’s true Raffi, that might be the lesson Thane wanted you to learn,” I said, a new wave of hope rippled over my skin. “Let’s go.”
It took us a total of six minutes to clean up our supplies and burst into the sky atop Raffi’s back. Mitch took the honor of holding the sword straight with the sun beaming along Raffi’s scales. Occasionally, the shadow would drift throughout the day, putting us on a new course. When the moon rose high into the sky, we were disappointed to know we were lost again. Reluctantly, Raffi lowered to the ground and we set up a camp.
“Where are we?” Athika asked.
I took in the trees, but Mitch pulled out a cell phone.
“You didn’t bring one?” he asked with a glance at me.
I balked. “I haven’t had one of those since I was arrested—and no, finding dragon warriors didn’t bring a cell phone to my mind.”
Mitch smirked. “Oh, I stole mine back the first week I got to the house. I don’t have a signal now, but last I checked we were only a few miles from the Canadian border.”
“The shadow keeps pointing us north, too. Sort of in the direction of the cliffs those fae talked about.”
“Creepy,” Mitch said, but he grinned.
“Raffi,” I went on, “it’s going to get pretty cold if we stay on this route. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine, I’ve fought in cold areas before,” he muttered, closing his eyes. “You take the first watch again. I’m sleeping after an entire day of carrying you wingless creatures.”
Somehow taking the night watch wasn’t so draining tonight as it was yesterday. We had direction and hope, and for all that had happened, I couldn’t hope for more just yet.
The next morning, the shadow of the blade took us miles over the border. Raffi’s back was coated in a sheen of frost. His enormous wings shuddered in cold the longer we stayed in the sky. Athika, Mitch, and I were bundled from head to toe in thick coats, but it still didn’t keep the sting of the wind off our skin.
“Raffi!” Mitch shouted. “The shadow, it’s gone. There’s no shadow at all.”
Raffi grunted and dove without warning toward the frosty earth. We leapt from his back and waited for him to shift. Raffi’s usually burning skin was tinted blue, his lips purple, but he moved swiftly to take the sword from Mitch.
“Take this,” I insisted, wrapping his shoulders with a fleece blanket. “It’ll do us no good if you freeze because you think you’re a macho man.” I shoved his shoulder when he breathed a sigh of relief from the warmth.
Raffi staked the sword into the ground.
Mitch was right, despite the overcast sky, not even the slightest hint of a shadow came from the blade. It was one of the stranger sights I’d seen, but no matter how we shifted the blade, the shadow was lost.
I thought Raffi would rage, but instead he beamed and sheathed the blade on his waist. “We’ve found them.”
Chapter 18
“I don’t see anyone up here,” Athika shuddered, clutching her thin body in the bulky coat.
Here meant a cliff. Probably the same cliffs warned to us by the forest fae.
A snowy mountainside with jagged peaks reminded me of an arctic glacier. Were it not for the few sparse trees and gray stones jutting from the snow, it might look entirely like a slab of ice.
Nothing in the form of human, magis, or wyvern life seemed to exist for miles, but Raffi looked above us to a ledge.
“I thought I sensed them, but I was so cold I wasn’t sure. They’re here,” he whispered, climbing over a boulder-enforced ridge.
“Raffi, wait,” Athika called out, following close behind.
Mitch took a deep breath, but didn’t move.
“Hey, you okay?” I whispered, gasping slightly when a rush of arctic wind assaulted my face.
Mitch’s breath trembled, and he bounced to keep warm. “Yeah. I’m just, you know, probably walking into a nest filled with warrior dragons. I’m fine.”
I laughed, my chapped lips splitting a bit against the hostile air. “You’ll be safe. Come on, let’s go. I’m freezing, I might welcome them eating me if it means I can get warm.”
Mitch scoffed and followed me up the slick rocks. I pulled myself over the edge, reaching down to help Mitch. My breath rushed from my lungs when I saw what was before us. An enormous cave loomed on the ledge.
Black, dark as pitch, stretched as far as I could see. I hadn’t noticed the cave when we’d landed. The mouth seemed as though it had opened from nowhere. Raffi stood straight and attentive at the face of the enormous opening, the blanket lost at his feet. Athika had one hand on a knife on her belt, and both stood still while two men approached.
Each man was draped in furs and pelts. They held enormous spears, their bodies fit and strong, as though made of stone.
The lead man stepped forward, face unreadable beneath a wrapped fur over his chin. He wore his long blond hair in a braid down his back, his eyes reminded me of the dawn in a gray sky. He paused, studying Raffi with a narrowed gaze. Raffi didn’t move, but the corners of his mouth twitched. He was fighting a smile.
“Raffi of Soturi,” the man said respectfully after a tense pause. I’d never heard Raffi’s true name, only his human name used in Wyvern Willows.
“Hello, Leoch,” Raffi said, with a breath of relief. He grasped the man’s shoulder and squeezed. “It has been too many years.”
Leoch nodded and glanced to the other man at his side. “Tao, announce that our brother Raffi has returned to us.” Leoch glanced around for a few moments, seeming to realize Raffi hadn’t come alone. “Who have you brought with you?”
“Leoch, is Thane amongst you?” Raffi asked, ignoring him. “I’m afraid I don’t come with happy news. Our queen, she’s been taken by lindworms.”
Leoch and Tao gasped, their jaws pulsing angrily. Leoch spoke in a hushed tone, but behind it was a bit of despondency. “We’ve lost the jade bloodline at long last.”
“She isn’t dead,” I said. It drew the two warriors’ eyes to me. “She was taken against her will. They want her to mate with the lindworm prince.”
“Who is this? What a strange energy he has,” Tao said, his voice heavily accented, but I understood enough.
“He is the new jade mage,” Raffi said. “This is the ruby mage, and our fae thief. He’s been incredibly useful in finding you.”
Tao and Leoch hadn’t followed Raffi’s other introductions of Mitch and Athika; their eyes hadn’t left mine. The wind whipped even more, and I thought I might freeze to death.
“On second thought, Tao,” Leoch whispered, his rich brown eyes never blinking from my face. “It might be better to speak to Thane immediately.”
“He’s here.” Raffi released a long breath and met my eye with a new excitement I hadn’t seen before.
“Come inside,” Leoch said, nodding toward the mouth of the cave. I eyed the new warrior curiously. He seemed suspicious, and I had a guess it was because Raffi had announced me as the jade mage. I wasn’t certain how the warriors would react—would I have to prove my honor to the entire fleet? I wanted to ask Raffi, but he’d grown too engrossed in following his fellow warriors inside to even notice.
Once we crossed into the darkness, the air warmed at least thirty degrees. Still cold, but without the harsh air that froze
my nostrils together. Athika stood at my side, and Mitch practically hugged me from behind. I sensed everyone’s nerves apart from Raffi.
“So, Raffi, it seems you have a grand tale to tell,” Leoch said. “How was it the queen was lost under your watch?”
Raffi shifted on his feet. “I’m ashamed to say it happened. I should have been more vigilant.”
“Raffi,” I said. “This wasn’t your fault at all. I was the last one with Jade, so if anyone is going to blame themselves, let it be me.”
Leoch stepped closer, too close. His nose nearly touched mine and he scrutinized me with such intensity I forgot to move away. “You say you are the jade mage?”
“I know everyone thinks the bloodline ended, but—”
“I never said the bloodline ended,” Leoch said, surprising me. “I’m just wondering how you know you’re the jade mage?”
“Well the armor on his arms might prove that,” Athika said. She’d crept closer, knife in hand, ready to strike if needed.
Leoch narrowed his eyes. “Show me.”
Raffi nodded his approval. Reluctantly, I tugged my coat off my shoulders—the air bit hard against my shirt. With a curious glance at Leoch, I rolled up my sleeves.
Leoch grabbed my arm, studying the marks with hungry fascination. “I can hardly believe what I’m seeing.”
“He also has the queen’s personal seal on his back,” Raffi said, as though it would impress Leoch.
“Truly?” Leoch let out a strange gasp. “May I see?”
I tugged my arm away from the warrior, unsure why he seemed so calm, almost thrilled I was there. Most people were suspicious, unkind even. But Leoch seemed ready to share a drink and hug me.
“Can you take Raffi’s word for it?” I asked, utterly discomposed. “It’s pretty cold.”
I didn’t hear Leoch’s response because a shrill cry echoed along the walls of the cave.
“You!”
We all whipped around in time for a plump woman, wrapped in thick woolen scarves and a long robe, to rush at us in the dark. Her eyes were probably blue in most light, but in her mad dash to reach us they were a sort of ghostly gray.
I hardly had time to recognize she held a knife in her hand before she lunged for Mitch. Quickly, I stepped in front of my friend before the mad woman stabbed him in the heart. Athika stepped in front of me and pulsed a barrier of energy between us. To my surprise, the woman fought back with the raising of her palm. I felt the scorch from her blast along the back of my neck.
“Yaba,” Leoch bellowed. “Stop this, now!”
“These are the ones, Leoch, the ones who attacked me. Who tried to read the correspondence!”
Understanding hit me across the face. I glanced at Athika, who only snarled toward the older mage. “Is this the courier?”
“Yes,” Athika said with a growl. “Yaba, you always were one to overreact.”
“You and your thief should be hung up by your hair for what you did. Athika, it has been years, but I knew your mother, your father. They taught you never to reach your hand in a courier’s pack.” The old mage’s cheeks flapped from age.
Yaba lunged once more toward Mitch, but I stopped her. She glanced me up and down, staring at my face curiously almost as if she recognized me from somewhere.
“Why would you steal a correspondence?” Leoch snapped, looking to Raffi.
“We were searching for the High Priestess,” I answered for everyone.
Silence settled in Yaba, who immediately turned her gaze to Leoch. The warrior swallowed and stepped toward me, his voice low and menacing. “Why were you looking for the High Priestess?”
I averted my eyes until I found the strength to speak. “Because we need help defeating King Nag. He’s found most of the royals and is after all the stones. We had to know if she . . . if she had joined with her husband.”
“Husband?” Leoch hesitated. “You mean, the dark High Priest?”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s possible she’s joined with him and—”
“That line of talk will cease. Now.” A powerful voice boomed into the mouth of the cave. Leoch turned and lowered his head in respect. Raffi’s eyes widened, and for half a breath he seemed frozen in place before he too, lowered his gaze. Mitch tapped my arm, and slowly I turned around.
Tao had returned, but he wasn’t alone.
A towering man stood ahead of the warrior. His broad shoulders were wrapped in wiry gray fur, and every inch of his body was stacked with muscle. His golden hair was long enough to tie behind his neck, but not nearly the length of Leoch’s. I noticed a menacing scar along his neck when he turned his head and scanned the group. His eyes, a piercing blue, took us all in.
“Anyone who accuses the High Priestess of joining with that fiend will swiftly meet their end,” he said. “Now, who spoke against her?”
Athika stepped in front of me, shielding me from his sights, but I felt strangely at ease in the presence of the warrior.
His eyes stopped on Raffi and he cocked his head slightly. “Raffi, why have you come? Where is Dash? Where is the queen?”
“Thane,” Raffi breathed out in reverence. “We’ve come seeking the help of all warriors. Our people are threatened.”
So, this was Thane.
I kept peeking around Athika, anxious to get a closer look. I could see why he would be considered the head warrior. He emitted honor and valor. His jaw was strong, and he seemed as though he would cower to no one.
“Thane,” Leoch said softly, directing Thane’s attention to where Athika stood in front of me. “The words against the High Priestess were not said in malice—more in ignorance. There is a mage here who . . . who is uncertain whom to trust as he searches for help.”
Thane’s eyes followed Leoch’s pointed finger. Athika stiffened, but I nudged her out of the way.
“Teagan,” Mitch whispered.
“It’s okay.” I stepped out to face the great Thane.
He straightened his shoulders, his eyes slowly taking in my face with caution, until it all changed.
His reaction was . . . unexpected.
Thane took a harsh step back, a hand to his chest, as if he needed to check his heartbeat. He whipped his gaze to Leoch, whose eyes said a hundred unspoken things, then he faced me again with a contorted expression.
“It’s not possible.” His voice came harsh and rough.
“He is the jade mage, Thane,” Leoch whispered gently. “I saw the marks myself.”
“Thane, I give my assurances Teagan is on our side,” Raffi said. “He has stood against the dark High Priest and walked away victorious. He does not serve the lindworms.”
A shudder danced down my spine. Raffi was quick to defend me and that could only mean Thane did not receive me well. My fingers twitched at my sides ready to fight—and surely die—when the warriors attacked.
“Teagan?” Thane rasped. He didn’t look ready to attack, more pass out. Then his glare caught Raffi. “He stood against Bron?”
“I know it’s hard for everyone to believe. I didn’t know any of this existed either, but . . .” I began, but the more I spoke, the more Thane backed away as if I scalded him.
“Forgive me.” Thane glanced at Leoch. He shook his head.
The pressure from the warrior’s shift knocked me, Mitch, and Athika over. Thane was enormous—larger than Raffi. His wings were earthy, like red clay in the rain. And strangely, his eyes remained the vibrant blue. Most wyvern, apart from Jade, had dark eyes after they changed forms. Thane eyed us for a trembling breath, then darted from the cave. The ground shook in a wave, leaving us in a stunned silence.
Leoch bent down and helped me back to my feet, smiling.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did we do something to upset him?”
Leoch shook his head, smiling sheepishly. “No. Thane battled with the dark High Priest and was close with the High Priestess. We’ve been here many years waiting for some sign things might change. I think we all were beginning to lose
hope. It’s just surprising to see the bloodline restored. Come, meet everyone. Thane will return.”
“When?” Raffi asked a little petulantly and glanced out the mouth of the cave.
Leoch shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s the first time Thane has changed forms in nearly nineteen years.”
I was stunned. Nineteen years and then all at once taking to the sky? I glanced once more over my shoulder at the open cave, searching the skies for the great warrior, but he was gone. I wanted him to return, even if he seemed displeased we’d come. I needed him for answers. If Thane had been close to the High Priestess, then he’d have those answers, no mistake.
If she was my mother, it was the first time someone might know details of my past and I’d scared him away.
Chapter 19
Inside the warriors’ cave was a bustling city. Not all wyvern warriors were men. I counted endless females who seemed just as fierce, even if most warriors remained in their wyvern forms.
Raffi shifted and joined in some of the groups. Dragons breathed fire, snorted, and puffed smoke in greetings. I expected Raffi wouldn’t shift back for a time.
Yaba followed close behind Leoch, casting an occasional scowl at Mitch and Athika, though for some reason, I won the crass woman over. The old mage would always finish her scowl with a grandmotherly grin at me before facing forward once more.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked, taking in the massive cave. Torches lined the walls, casting dancing shadows over the tops of huts and sleeping crevices large enough to house two full grown wyverns.
“Oh, a little over seventeen years last I checked the months,” Leoch said. Tao whispered something in his ear, and Leoch nodded before Tao rushed away.
“So, your leader stopped shifting before you even came?” I pressed.
Leoch only nodded.
“Teagan, look,” Athika said, pointing to the countless ledges above our heads. “Mage.”
Over the ledges in the cave, people peered into the dark, and I was engulfed in powerful energy. Each surge unique, like a fingerprint. Some attached to water or air. Others had fiery souls that reminded me more of the warriors.