by Lynette Noni
Repeating Saefii’s earlier instructions in her mind, Alex recalled, ‘The first challenger who sets foot back on Lendasa Marna after completing the circuit will be declared the victor.’
None of the Tia Aurans had set foot back on the island, meaning that none of them had won—and that was because their draekons weren’t allowing them to.
I know you were curious about those extenuating circumstances I mentioned, the ones keeping me from returning to Medora as soon as I felt our connection again, Xira said before Alex could ask what was wrong with the flying creatures. So this is the part where I tell you that I wasn’t just the Heir of the Sky Kingdom in your world.
Alex stilled at his words. With Zaronia’s passing, he would have inherited her title as leader of the draekons. And apparently not just the small group who had resided in Medora, but all of them.
My kin will continue obeying my order to keep from landing, but their bondmates are becoming frustrated, so we should finish this quickly, Xira said.
Alex remained mute with shock at the knowledge that she was bound to the Ruler of the Sky Kingdom.
Put like that, it does sound rather impressive.
Alex’s shock swiftly dissolved and her eyes narrowed. Quit reading my thoughts, Xira.
Quit projecting them, he fired back.
I’ve changed my mind—I haven’t missed you at all.
A rumbling mental laugh. You always were a terrible liar, Alex.
And with a mighty stroke of his wings, Xira pushed them away from her competitors, moving so fast that none of them would have been able to see anything but a hulking black shadow tearing through the air.
Alex felt a twinge of guilt at not being able to let her friends know she was safe, but she’d be able to tell them herself as soon as they completed whatever circuit they had to do.
I hope you know where you’re going, she said to Xira. Because this task didn’t come with dot-pointed instructions.
Don’t worry, Alex. I’ve got this.
And he did have it. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing and where he was going, flying them up and around the islands, surging through overflowing waterfalls, spiralling around mountain ranges and other natural landmarks, and even snaking his massive bulk through pillars of the imposing fortress. His manoeuvrability was impressive for a creature so large—nothing had changed over the years except that he’d grown bigger, stronger, faster, better.
And when they finally circled back and came to land on the clouded island, Alex was met with stunned eyes from both humans and Tia Aurans as she slid down from his scales and placed her feet firmly on the ground of Lendasa Marna, effectively winning the race—and passing the Gate of Courage.
Fifteen
“Whoa-ho-baby!” Jordan cried, the first to break the silence as he stared at Xira with comically wide eyes.
Alex understood his reaction. Her draekon truly was impressive.
But Xira wasn’t the only magnificent beast now atop the cloud island, because within seconds, the six others had landed, responding to Xira’s mental command that they were free to be at ease now that Alex had won.
Aware that she had cheated—or that Xira had done so on her behalf by ordering the draekons not to let their riders win— Alex couldn’t bring herself to care, not when she had been set up to lose right from the beginning.
The Tia Aurans dismounted, five of whom glared daggers at her, with the sixth, her earlier rescuer, looking like he was a breath away from laughing.
As if fearing the wrath of their riders, the six draekons took to the air almost as soon as the Tia Aurans were clear, with Xira being the only one now remaining.
I need to leave in order for the Gate to return you to Vardaesia, he told Alex. But I’ll check in with you later. Sound good?
Better than good, Alex told him, running her hand along his glossy black scales—or what she could reach of them. She still couldn’t believe they were together again, not when she had been so afraid that he was gone forever.
Watch yourself, Alex. The Tia Aurans are a proud race—they won’t take lightly to what happened here today.
Feeling their glares like physical pinpricks against her skin, Alex had already figured as much. But still, she nodded. Talk to you later, Xira. And thanks for saving me.
Again, he said pointedly.
Alex grinned as she agreed aloud by saying, “Again. And it probably won’t be the last time.”
A deep, audible sigh came from Xira, and then he said in a rumbling voice that caused Alex’s friends to jump, as if they hadn’t expected him to be able to speak, “I’m already missing the peace and quiet of the last few millennia.”
His tone was humorously tired and, laughing now, Alex said, “And you called me a terrible liar.” She pushed against his considerable weight, not sure he even felt her nudge. “We’ve already established that you missed me. No take-backs.”
“Impossible mortal,” he grumbled, yet with clear affection as he nudged her in return, a slight shift of his weight that sent her stumbling away. His actions, however, had also been to move her clear of him so he could stretch out his massive wingspan and then launch himself into the sky. Until later, Alex.
She smiled as she watched his enormous shadowy figure sweep through the air so fast that he was like a blur, and then he was gone from sight.
Just like he’d said, the Gate had been waiting for his departure, because a moment later there was a brilliant burst of light and Alex and her friends, as well as the six Tia Aurans, were flash-transported—parroned—back to the stadium.
But this time they weren’t met with cheers. Instead, there was an eerie, stony silence that surrounded them.
The six Tia Aurans parroned away almost instantly, flashing straight up to the viewing box with Saefii, Calivere and Tayros, talking furiously amongst themselves—too low for even Alex to hear in the otherwise quiet atmosphere.
“I’m not sensing good things here,” Bear whispered as Alex and her five friends closed ranks.
Alex felt the same, since not only were the Tia Aurans in the audience subdued, but they were also looking down with grim, almost appalled faces.
Resisting the urge to tug her sleeves down and hide as much of her glimmering skin as possible, Alex instead raised her chin, holding her head proudly in the face of their clear judgement.
When Saefii stood, all eyes turned to her, and the six Tia Auran competitors parroned back to the dais once more. Five of them remained separated from Alex and her friends, as if being near the mortals would put them at risk of contracting some kind of disease. But the sixth one, Alex’s rescuer, strode straight over to her in an undeniable show of support, sending her a quick, reassuring wink as he stopped by her side.
“The Gate of Courage has been completed,” Saefii said, her grave tone matching her face. “However, there appears to be a dispute over who the winner is.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Declan called. “Your rules said that whoever set foot back upon that Lendasa place first would be the winner. Alex landed first—that makes her the winner.”
“Alexandra cheated.”
While Alex had admitted as much to herself earlier, that didn’t mean she appreciated the empress’s blunt announcement. Not when the circumstances of her ‘cheating’ had been what they were.
“What?” shrieked D.C. “How can she have cheated if we weren’t given any rules?”
Alex laid a calming hand on her friend’s arm.
Saefii’s tone was unyielding as she said, “Alexandra concealed her true nature from us—just as she has since first arriving here.”
“What’s she talking about?” Jordan whispered to her, concerned.
“They didn’t realise I was bound to a draekon,” Alex whispered back, not going into detail about Athora’s ring and its effects, since none of her mortal friends had ever been able to see the difference it afforded.
“In hiding what you are,” Saefii continued, “one could conclude that y
ou should therefore forfeit your right to claim victory.”
Alex opened her mouth to object, to argue her case and point out the impossibility of her task had she not been bound to Xira. But someone beat her to it.
“The girl won fair and square,” said her Tia Auran rescuer, his arms crossed defiantly over his powerful torso. “As her friend stated, there were no rules, which means she did not cheat. She simply used the resources she had at her disposal in order to win.”
“She’s bound to Lendasa Marna de lah Korim,” Saefii hissed in an unexpected show of temper, using the Tia Auran phrase for ‘Lord of the Sky Kingdom’—a title Alex knew Xira would love even more than her earlier suggestion of ‘Ruler’. “You would have won the race yourself, Raife, had her draekon not ordered the others to remain in the air.”
“Then shouldn’t I be the one complaining?” her rescuer— Raife—questioned, his brows raised pointedly. “It looks like I’m one of the few here who appreciates that we were all outsmarted by a mortal. Good on her, I say.”
Alex heard her friends stifling their amusement, but she was too focused on the tense exchange between Raife and the empress to find any humour in his nearly taunting words.
With narrowed eyes, Saefii said, “The girl never would have outsmarted anyone had you not assisted her during the first stage of the test.”
“By ‘assisted’, I presume you mean how I saved her life when no one else was going to?” Raife shrugged, a casual move, yet his silver eyes were stormy. “No rules against that, either.” His tone hardened. “Just as there were apparently no rules against pushing what was believed to be an unbound human off Lendasa Marna and leaving her to fall to her death.”
His suddenly cold gaze flicked over to the long-haired Tia Auran, his censure clear.
Alex had no idea why Raife was defending her so staunchly. None, whatsoever. But she was beyond grateful that he was going head-to-head with the empress and didn’t appear daunted by her in the slightest.
“Regardless of all that,” Raife said, his voice deliberately lighter again. “Ultimately, the judgement falls to Tu’eh Saeron ess Telari, and the Gates have already spoken. There is no contest here—the mortals have passed the Gate of Courage. How Alexandra won the race doesn’t matter, just that she did.”
Murmurs rose around the crowd while Saefii looked down upon the dais with glacial eyes, her nostrils flaring. But if Raife was right about the Gates themselves determining the winner, then there really was nothing the empress could do.
“I guess congratulations are in order, mortals,” the empress said stiffly, visibly reining in her ire. “Your testing will continue tomorrow at dawn.”
Unlike the previous days, this time it was the Tia Aurans who disappeared first. Saefii and Calivere vanished from their thrones, with the masses following behind. Tayros was delayed slightly by parroning down to relieve Alex and the others of their golden cuffs, but then he too disappeared with the rest of the remaining Tia Auran competitors. Only Raife remained, his otherworldly features endlessly amused as he turned to Alex.
“Looks like you did have another surprise up your sleeve, after all.”
His eyes trailed over her exposed skin, taking in the golden glow of her vaeliana bond. His own glimmer had disappeared now that he was no longer touching his silver-coloured draekon—an interesting development that Alex presumed must have something to do with their different races. Or perhaps because he was immortal and she wasn’t.
“Your empress isn’t pleased,” Alex said, rubbing her arms self-consciously. “None of them are.”
“You surprised them, that’s all,” Raife said. “We’ve never encountered a mortal who has bonded with a draekon. They’ll get over it soon enough.” He paused. “And really, you’re not just a mortal, are you?”
His face still held clear amusement as he shook his head in wonder.
She didn’t need to answer—he’d seen for himself that she was capable of more than a normal human. So instead, she quietly said, “Thank you, Raife—for saving me up there. And for helping me the rest of the way.”
Raife grinned. “Guess you owe me one, Alexandra.”
That she did. But all she said was, “Alex.”
He nodded, still grinning, and turned to include the rest of her friends who were silently following their conversation. “I’m looking forward to watching your remaining tests, mortals. You should be proud of how much you’ve accomplished so far.” He looked them each in the eye before finishing, “Despite how it may seem, you have many supporters here, some of whom hold lofty positions of power. So stay focused and get through the next three days, knowing that there are those of us who are rooting for you to succeed.”
A bright flash of light surrounded them before anyone could reply, and suddenly they were back in their shared common room.
Alex was reeling from Raife’s unwavering declaration of support. Whoever he was, his encouragement meant the world to her.
She looked between her friends, noting their own dazed and contemplative faces, presuming they were considering his words and thinking along the same lines. But then D.C. spoke, and Alex wondered if she was wrong about what had arrested their features—or at least, D.C.’s.
“That was one ridiculously attractive man.”
Alex pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, not having expected her friend to break the silence in such a candid manner.
Pointedly clearing his throat, Jordan said, “You know who else is ridiculously attractive?”
D.C. blinked at him, shaking herself from her stupor, then patted his cheek. “No competition.”
Jordan practically puffed out his chest, making the assumption that she was rating him higher than Raife on the handsome scale. But Alex shared an amused grin with D.C., knowing that her comment could have been taken either way. And Jordan had taken it the wrong way. Because there truly was no competition. While all those in Vardaesia were like Meyarins when it came to having unnaturally good looks, Raife was in a class all of his own. Jordan couldn’t hold a candle to the stunning immortal—no human could. But, fortunately for him, he didn’t need to, since D.C. was already besotted with her decidedly mortal boyfriend.
“Right,” Bear said, looking slightly queasy at the way Jordan and D.C. were glancing adoringly at each other. “Time for you to fill us in on what the hell happened out there, Alex.”
“Was that Xiraxus?” Jordan asked, his expression animated when he turned from D.C. to her. “You never told us how huge he is.”
“I want to know about Raife saving you,” D.C. said, with a dreamy sigh that had Jordan sending her a sharp look and her responding with an impish one followed by a swift kiss of apology.
“I’d rather hear what he meant about you being pushed off the island and left to fall to your death.”
The words were said by Kaiden, his tone quiet enough in its intensity that the others stilled, all of them looking at her in question as they realised the gravity of what she had faced.
With a loud exhale, Alex moved to sit on the couch, knowing she had a long explanation ahead. Only when they were positioned around her did she reveal all that had happened, starting with the stairs of death. Mid-discussion, she learned that Kaiden did have a levitation gift that allowed him to help the others; or rather, he used a telekinetic ability to keep them all stable as they slowly moved from step to step, before assisting them with that final leap up to the Sky Kingdom. Controlling the powerful ability for so long and for so many people had drained him, though, as evidenced by his pale features and the way he was rubbing his temples. But when Alex sent him a concerned look, he managed a small—if strained—smile and nodded at her to continue.
So she did, sharing everything from Raife’s rescue to the spiteful immortal who had shoved her off the island, to Xira’s arrival and the winning of the race.
“That’s insane,” Jordan said with wide eyes when she was done. “All of it.”
“You’re like a cat, Alex,�
� Declan said, shaking his head. “Nine lives.”
Her features ashen, D.C. said, “More like ninety-nine. Or nine hundred and nine.”
Amused that her Medoran friends knew what she’d thought to be a Freyan idiom, Alex said, “Whatever number it is, I’ll take it.”
She still had trouble believing what had transpired. Shock was beginning to set in, and while she no longer felt the exhaustion prompted by the concealment ring, she still hadn’t recovered from her earlier fatigue.
Glancing around, she realised she wasn’t the only one who looked in need of some downtime. Everyone appeared as shattered as she felt. Kaiden and Bear in particular; the former who was still rubbing his temples—a worrying concern—and the latter whose sallow skin and dark eyes had steadily worsened since he’d arrived in Tia Auras. Alex was worried about him, mostly because, to the outside, Bear appeared almost normal, acting as he usually would. And yet, she knew he had to be overwhelmed with sorrow on the inside, despite his assurances that his grief could wait.
“We all have the afternoon off,” Alex noted. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m thinking of having a quick lunch and then a not-so-quick nap.”
They still had a number of hours before sunset, and while Alex could go and visit the city again—this time perhaps being able to enjoy it—what she really wanted was to sleep. She wasn’t in Tia Auras to sightsee; she was there with one goal, and in order to see it through, she needed to be in top form.
Of her friends, only half were of the same mind. All of them did join her for a light meal delivered by Kaiden’s helper, Sorin, along with D.C.’s helper, Latania. But afterwards, Jordan, Declan and Bear opted to go out and explore the city, while Alex, D.C. and Kaiden all decided to remain in. The three boys were parroned away by Jordan’s helper, Enka, who Alex presumed would return them safely when they were done.
Alex wasn’t sure if she was happy Bear had gone with the others for a few hours of distraction—very sparkly distraction—or if she should have encouraged him to stay and rest. But she also knew that the last thing he needed was for her to smother him with reminders of his grief, so she’d said nothing and waved them all off with a smile. By that stage, Kaiden had already retreated to his room to recover from the strain of controlling a gift that wasn’t technically his, which left only D.C. with Alex.