by L J Andrews
“That’s a nice thought, Jade,” Ced winced. “But I think he really hates me.”
I sighed, digging my fingers through his scorching flesh. My stomach turned when some necrotic pieces brushed off his chest. “Well, even so, can you blame him? You didn’t come and take me under the guise of our ally. Look, I wish he would give you a chance, but all Teagan has ever experienced with lindworms is them trying to kill him and his family. Be patient, Ced. The fact that Teagan was angry your wound wasn’t reported is a good sign.”
“He respects Jade,” Amber added. “I’m positive Teagan will see who you really are soon. Already, I sense a shift in his father. I think Thane values that you didn’t bring harm to me or the queen.”
I nodded, my hands drenched in dark blood the longer I pressed against Ced’s boiling skin. The wound was closing, slowly, but eventually it returned to the angry webbed scars along his shoulder and bicep.
“Feel better?” I asked.
Ced nodded. “A little lightheaded, but the pain is dripping away slowly. I wish I could heal myself sometimes. Remember what I told you, night energy is powerful and can heal even the worst of injuries?”
I nodded, knowing it was practically impossible for wyverns to use our abilities on ourselves. Such a skill would have come in handy when Bron had nearly gutted me at our first meeting.
“I wish I was stronger in the power,” Magnus grumbled.
Ced waved his hand. “You’ve all tried. Hopefully this time the elemental energy sticks.” The prince met my eye, and his face took on a serious tone. “Jade, when are you leaving to retrieve the stones?”
“I think we are going after Sapphire’s stone in the morning, why?”
“I’ve been wanting to talk with you about this for some time, but we’ve never had the opportunity to be alone—I’m fine, of course, if you are here, Amber.”
I didn’t miss the way Amber beamed.
“What do you want to say?”
“The dark High Priest cannot be defeated without all the stones—without all the energies used against him.” Ced whispered, slowly rising to his feet.
“What? I don’t understand.”
“It’s something that I had planned to share with everyone when we joined your people, but since you two are the only ones who will listen to me, I will say it now. Bron has spent years studying all the energies and only growing stronger. Locking away the High Priestess was his first test of strength. I’m amazed Teagan was able to banish him from your home—it must have something to do with his unique blood.
“Since no one can be sure how powerfully Teagan can stand against Bron, it is imperative the stones be found—that includes the fire stone retrieved. There’s a reason I needed to come with you—it will also take night energy. Bron has warped power, I can’t explain it any other way. When the bonds to your bloodline severed when he joined with my father, something changed inside him. Because of the brutality of his betrayal to the elementals, it’s as if his mage power couldn’t remain honorable in the least. Every power he masters becomes dangerous and manipulated. His power isn’t even like the dark mages.
“The High Priestess might have been able to defeat him before, but I fear now, without all the energies Bron will destroy everything. My father fears him and never stands in his way. Though Nag will never admit it, Bron is more powerful. It’s been a miracle the dark High Priest hasn’t disposed of my father before now. I suspect it’s all in the pursuit of power. Lindworms have endless night, and Bron wants more.”
Ced’s body trembled slightly when he finished. My mouth parted, and I felt as though my heart had lodged in my ears, the pounding was so furious. “Why wouldn’t you say anything until now! When we were with you, you never let on how strong he was.”
“Because I didn’t know until the night we escaped,” Ced grumbled, though his eyes drifted to Magnus.
“We told him,” Magnus said. “There’s a reason Nag keeps his warrior prisoners alive. The dark High Priest enjoys experimentation. I’ve sensed a lot of evil in my long life, but there is something devilishly wrong with his power.”
My hand rubbed a tight ache in my forehead as I paced along the hard stone. “How would we get the fire stone back?” I gasped. “Bron has it in his weapon.”
“Yes, I tried to retrieve it before we left, but it was impossible. It will take some thought and some planning,” Ced whispered.
“I must tell them,” I gasped. “Thane, Teagan—they need to know. Everyone needs to know what we’re facing.”
Amber helped Ced stand since his body still seemed weak. Reluctantly, the lindworm warriors followed us back toward the opening of the cave where they would be returned to their prison.
Thane and Teagan were both stalking toward the mouth of the cave when I found them. Amber and Rochelle had led the lindworms back to their cell, leaving me to search the endless cave alone.
“Teagan,” I called rushing toward them. Thane narrowed his eyes, his concern written drastically in his features when I clasped tightly to Teagan’s shoulders.
“What is it?” Teagan asked. “Did he do something to you?”
“No,” I shook my head, catching my breath as I suffocated beneath our new reality.
“I will handle, Tao,” Thane boomed. “It won’t happen again.”
“It isn’t that,” I gasped. “Ced told me something—something about Bron. We need to speak with everyone. I’m afraid without the stones and without help from the lindworms, we might be fighting an impossible battle.”
Chapter 14
The Mage
Gathering warriors and mages by the dozens took longer than Jade would have liked. It was eventually settled that the highest ranking among the races would gather around the fire. And Aunt Liz and Mitch, of course. Mitch had labeled them as the honorary humans. It was true, in a lot of ways.
I placed a hand on Jade’s bouncing knee, drawing her worried eyes to mine. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “We can figure a way through this.”
She nodded, but I wasn’t positive she believed me. Gaia whispered something in Thane’s ear before he stood and the crowd fell to a hush. “I’ve spoken with Queen Jade, and there are some new concerns regarding the dark High Priest and the elemental stones.”
“Has he found them?” Sapphire bellowed, his dark eyes piercing through the firelight like black stars.
Thane shook his head. “No—not yet. But it makes our need to find the stones even greater. As well as our training schedules. We will be facing the fiercest battle yet. Even greater than the divide.”
Thane paused, letting his words settle around the warriors. Raffi met my eye from across the pit. He wasn’t scared—quite the opposite—Raffi smirked as though he was living his greatest day yet.
“I’ll let the queen explain,” Thane muttered, stepping aside.
Jade took a deep breath and stood before the fire. I noticed Tao standing near Leoch. The warrior wasn’t pleased. Thane had rebuked him privately. I didn’t even want to be in the room, but Tao’s face said it all. He would rather slaughter all the lindworms and Bron now than listen to anything Jade might suggest. I kept my eye on him through most of Jade’s recount.
She spoke firmly—regally, even—I was probably the only one who could hear the fear in her voice. Jade explained everything Prince Ced had revealed. The pit was cloaked in a heavy apprehension when she explained about the fire stone. It seemed impossible, but I refused to believe we couldn’t have a chance at defeating Bron. When Jade finished, several mages muttered under their breath strange words that sounded like prayers. Raffi and Dash both paced angrily. Sapphire, Ruby, and Onyx were whispering how best to protect Jade, and everyone else stayed locked in stone silence.
After I thought my stomach would burst from the discomfort in the room, Tao bellowed across the fire. “We have no reason to believe the snake prince. He wants us to believe we need their dark energy simply so he can go free then betray us on the battle field.”
&nbs
p; “Tao,” Thane bellowed. “You and I have had our words, now you will proceed cautiously when you address your queen, or we shall have more than words.”
I smirked, enjoying the power rumbling through Thane’s voice. It made me proud—I didn’t need to hide it. Tao offered a curt nod and his jaw clenched shut. Leoch urged him to stand back in the shadows.
“Though I disagree with Tao’s temperament,” Leoch said, “it does bring up the point—how can we be certain the prince is telling the truth?”
“Because such things are possible, and not common knowledge,” Gaia declared softly, taking her place at Thane’s side. “If the warriors witnessed warped energy firsthand, they would quickly know it was not normal mage power. As young mages, we are taught of such darkness. It warps the mind, and it only happens when a soul is truly corrupt.”
“Or evil,” I offered. Gaia nodded swiftly.
I was surprised when Onyx’s mage, Donovan, stood. The man was older than Gaia—clearly so by the grays in his dark hair and the lines in his face. He was stout, but his stern expression made it clear he could hold his own in battle against the fiercest foe. “It is true, High Priestess, but still so rare we have not documented an instance for at least one thousand years. It seems strange the lindworms would know such details.”
“Unless they heard mages speaking of it,” Jade insisted. “The dark mages guarded the prisons. They likely spoke many things about their High Priest.”
“It’s possible,” Donovan agreed. “We should proceed cautiously, but if it is true, it might be best to find a warded refuge rather than standing against the dark High Priest.
Thane moved into the center of the pit, shaking his head. “I am not going to run any longer. How long have we stayed hidden, always looking over our shoulders? How much have we lost?” he hissed, glancing toward Gaia. “Whether Bron is manipulated or not, does it detract from our goal of taking possession of the stones?” Everyone shook their heads—even Tao. “We bring this to light simply so you might prepare yourselves for what could come. We find the stones, and we devise a way to retrieve the fire stone. We will need all those with expertise in these things to help. Warriors, mages—we train harder than we have ever trained. And we fight harder than we have ever fought.”
Warriors shouted their approval, and the mage energy rippled through the pit, bursting the flames toward the ceiling. Jade smiled, but clamped her grip around my arm as though I might run away. She was anxious—in truth, I still believed we all had a fear of what was to come—but I wasn’t ready to resign to Bron yet. I planned to fight him—I planned to kill him.
When I entered the lindworm prison when the cave had settled in somber sleep, I was bombarded by the burn of the energy of night. Jade was finally sleeping, but tonight I couldn’t seem to calm my mind. I glanced around. The warriors surrounded the prince and hissed warnings at me. Laina only hung her head at my presence.
“What are you doing here, Mage?” Magnus snarled.
“I need to ask the prince something.”
“Speak to our prince with us. You see, we’ve seen what you can do to our people,” a warrior bellowed. Anger trembled along my neck when Laina rushed into the shadows. I knew they’d tried to hurt me, but instead it only reminded her of what she’d lost. Aggravating. Then, in the same breath, I shocked myself, realizing I was feeling empathy for a lindworm woman.
“I will speak with you,” Ced insisted with a firm glance to Magnus. “This mage won’t bring me harm. I’m certain he does only wish to talk.”
Ced’s words were loaded with an underlying meaning. With a huff, I turned around, feeling Ced at my back. I leaned against the wall of the stony prison, waiting until Ced stepped into what little light flickered from the fiery lanterns.
“Jade told our warriors everything you said.”
“Good,” Ced breathed, his dark eyes locking with mine and sending a stir through my blood. “Then you will be ready to face the dark High Priest as best you can.”
“Not everyone believes your reasons for telling such a story are honorable.”
Ced closed his eyes when he drew in a breath. “What do you think? I suppose there’s a reason you’re here other than to tell me elementals don’t believe a lindworm.”
“I want to hear you tell me what you know.”
Ced seemed pleased. He shouldn’t be—I didn’t trust anything about his face. “Bron has twisted his energy. He absorbs the night power as though it is his lifesource—then twists what is already strong into something evil.”
“How do you know?”
Ced sighed and looked to the ground. I studied him and thought it might be good to offer the lindworms to wash. The prince’s hair was tousled and tangled along his neck. Though I knew he was pale, his face was coated in dust and dirt from the prison.
“Because I’ve seen what he can do. I’ve seen him torture my people at my father’s will. Then he brings them back from the brink of death only to do it again. I’ve sensed the darkness—as have you.”
“Yes, but I banished him. If he is so powerful—how was that possible?”
Ced shook his head. “I don’t know.” Strange, hearing the simple sincerity in his voice. It could be a good sign the prince didn’t pretend to have all the answers. “I suspect, but am not certain, it’s because you’re a dragon mage. I believe you could be key to ending the dark High Priest, but even with your power, I would not face him without the stones. Without night energy.”
“Your energy is black, and dangerous.”
Ced shook his head, glaring at me before pacing through his frustration. “No, my power is just different. That’s the truth of it. You are frightened of what you do not understand. I find it funny that such prejudice would come from you. Didn’t you grow up your entire life—different? How was it when no one believed you, when the elementals tried to keep your power hidden even from you?”
“Jade always believed in me,” I snapped.
“Exactly,” Ced gasped. “You had someone who took what blinders the people kept against you. But you will not do the same with us. Night energy is powerful and can cause destruction just like elemental energy, but it can also do marvelous things. I am stronger than even my father with the power. It was the one lesson my mother made sure I knew before my father had a chance to corrupt me. It has paid off, Teagan. I assure you.”
“You assure me that you are the most powerful lindworm. How convenient when we have you locked in a prison with nothing to bargain with.”
Now, I could see that Ced was an actual wyvern and not a man when his eyes flashed with strange bright silver. “What have I got to lose that would encourage me to lie? I’m at risk of execution here, and certain—torturous—death awaits me in my father’s kingdom.”
“That,” I snarled at the prince. “That right there is what I don’t know. I don’t know if all this was planned with Nag from the start. For all I know, your father could have convinced you to seem like a traitor and you’d lead him straight to us.”
Ced grunted in anger. “You all are maddening,” he hissed. “Face the dark High Priest then. Don’t use our help. We have no opportunity to prove our loyalty in this hole, so we will wait here for when he destroys you and then comes for us.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel bad for you, I don’t.”
“Not me, mage,” he growled, reeling around so his face was close to mine. “But you should think of Jade. You say you care for her, think of what Nag will do to the queen of elementals. Think of your mother—you were only just reunited. Do you suppose the dark High Priest will let her live to fight against him any longer? You didn’t see his rage when she escaped—I did.”
I wanted to strike him, but something stopped me. Ced wasn’t wrong. As much as I hated to admit it, Gaia and Jade were the two I worried about the most were we to fail. Thane and I would be slaughtered quickly, but Bron and Nag had special interests in the High Priestess of the mage and, of course, the queen.
C
ed shook his head in disappointment and began stalking back toward our warriors. Clenching my jaw tight, I called after him. “I will speak with my father,” I snapped. “Perhaps we can…offer you a more comfortable place.”
“Comfort I can do without, mage,” Ced shouted over his shoulder. “But watching my people thrive and live in peace—that is something I would give anything to see. We have placed our trust in you, and we will wait until we have yours in return.”
The warriors surrounded their prince. The conversation was over. I left the lindworms with a new heaviness on my heart. I hated Ced—at least, I thought I did—but there was a passion in his words. And the thing of it was, I didn’t feel his heart was anything but true.
Jade looked as though she might be ready to kill someone when it was decided by the royals and the warriors the queen should remain in the cave.
“Jade, your energy is what Bron is searching for,” Sapphire grumbled.
“I’m not going to stay hidden away like a child,” she shrieked.
I shot Thane a glance that warned him it could get intense while I strapped my blades on my back.
“You’re capable, that’s not why we’re asking you to stay,” Onyx said. “It’s because you have more people here who need you to protect them.”
“The High Priestess is not going for the same reasons,” Ruby offered. “I’ll be here too.”
Jade huffed, looking to me for help. I clasped her hand tightly. “Jade, you know what happens when Bron picks up on his scent. That’s why Amber is going to stay too.”
“So, I’m to be locked in here until the end of the battle—then all will hail my name for all I did to restore peace. That is not what I intend to do. I am the daughter of a warrior, I do not plan on sitting idly by.” Jade kissed me angrily, her eyes burning with passion before she stalked away. “I will stay—this once!” She shrieked at all of us before locking her eyes on me once more. “All I will say is you better come back in one piece, Teagan Ward.”
I chuckled, though I didn’t let her see or I thought she may spit fire against me as she stomped away with Ruby and Amber behind her. Gaia smiled and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I will look after her and give her something important to do. She will be fine.”