by L J Andrews
“She’s not wrong,” I said. “Keeping Jade locked in here for long will be more dangerous than having her in the thick of it.”
“It’s only this time,” Sapphire insisted. “It’s still so recent since she escaped. We just need to give it time. Mitch, are you coming, or not?”
“I’m coming,” Mitch huffed when Bianca, the mage who’d helped hide Sapphire’s stone, and him trudged up the slope.
Thane kissed Gaia and whispered against her ear something that brought a smile to her face. I was curious, but turned my attention to Aunt Liz. She squeezed me tight and patted my face. “You be careful. I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now, but you be careful.”
“I will,” I said, smiling and waving once more before following Thane and the two royals outside. Raffi, Dash, Leoch, and Tao were coming to ensure the two royals would remain safe. I didn’t like the idea of Tao coming, but I suspected Thane wanted to keep his warrior away from the lindworms.
Thane handed me his weapons, preparing to shift in the early morning light. “What do you always whisper to Gaia?” I asked, feeling the rush of air when Sapphire’s body morphed into the royal blue wyvern.
Thane smirked, tugging a final dagger off his leg and handing it to me. “We always say a piece of our mating vow whenever we leave each other. You have my hand, the fire of my heart, and my love. You are my soul, and I am yours.” Thane stretched his shoulders back, chuckling at me when I studied his dagger. “You find it nauseating?”
I shook my head. “No, I like it—a lot. It means something when you leave.”
He clapped my shoulder and smiled. Onyx huffed through his snout a puff of steam. I hadn’t even noticed the others were all changed. Mitch and Bianca were settled and ready to take flight. Thane took a deep breath, easily shifting into his massive form. I tucked all the weapons beneath my arm and settled behind his wings.
“It isn’t far, but we should aim to return by nightfall,” Bianca shouted when we shot to the sky.
Our searches would always be cut short because of nightfall and staying away from the power of the stalking lindworms. As we soared toward the clouds, I glanced over my shoulder—the thought surprised me, but I actually wondered if Prince Ced would have been a safe addition to the search. Clearing my throat, I turned toward the sun. That was assuming he was as powerful as he claimed. And I wasn’t so sure.
Bianca was right. The noon sun had hardly peaked when she and Thane made the collaborative choice to dive from the air and plod along a rocky cove tucked away along the eastern coastline. I breathed in the salty air, feeling a wave of energy I wasn’t used to fill my chest. I liked water energy—but also the breeze was different than the mountains back in Wyvern Willows. When this was all over, I believed I could be quite content living a coastal life.
Thane scanned the area, his scales slowly peeling back into his bare chest and dark pants. I handed him his blades again, and we watched Bianca lower to her haunches to search the earth. Sapphire shifted quickly, his breaths heavy as he clutched his chest.
“What’s wrong with you?” Mitch grumbled at Sapphire. Mitch had red scale marks along his cheek and his hair on one side stood on end. I scoffed, finding it humorous that my human friend had become so accustomed to life among dragons he could fall asleep while flying on the back of one.
“I haven’t felt so much of my own energy in…so many years,” Sapphire grinned. “It’s here.”
Bianca nodded, slowly unfurling until she was standing once more. “Yes, this is where we came.”
Thane agreed. “But this is also where I left you. Do you remember where you hid the stone?”
Bianca nodded and took to climbing the back of the cove. The rocks were loose, and it wasn’t an easy climb. Sapphire was more agile and helped Bianca toward the ledge she was pointing toward. Onyx stayed guard at the cove entrance with the rest of the warriors. There was a heaviness in the air. Though I didn’t sense the lindworms or Bron nearby, the tremble of fear was still on the surface of my skin. They were out there somewhere, and we needed to hurry.
“It requires blood,” Bianca shouted down. Her face contorted and pained. “I made it very difficult so that anyone without loyalty to the sapphire bloodline couldn’t reach it. The mage of the bloodline is required.”
Now I understood why Sapphire’s face was so pained. “Mini is dead,” he growled.
My brow furrowed, and I stepped forward. “But I took the charge to protect you,” I huffed, starting to climb. “Remember? We both felt a connection. I’m your mage now.”
Thane gripped my arm and shook his head. “It wouldn’t require just a small cut,” he growled.
“Do I have to give my life?” I shouted at Bianca.
She shook her head fiercely. “No, but I warn you, it won’t be painless. I was younger—maybe still a little angry—you can see it in the amount of blood I required.”
Turning to Thane, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to die,” I assured. “But this is what we need to do. You know Mini is dead. I’m all Sapphire has as a mage.”
“Will it even work?” Thane bellowed at Bianca. He wasn’t going to let me go that easy. “With a declared bond instead of a destined bond?”
Bianca nodded. “There was a vow of protection. Though not as strong as the bloodline mage, it should satisfy the warding. I’m sorry, Thane.”
Thane’s face curled, but he released me and I finished the climb. There was an altar of stones. To an unsuspecting eye, it might look like a natural pile, but I saw hidden beneath one of the larger rocks a mage symbol. Sapphire was pale even beneath his dark beard.
“You don’t have to do this, Teagan,” he whispered.
I scoffed, attempting to hide my apprehension. “Of course I do. We wouldn’t want to spill your snobbish royal blood, now would we?”
“Never mind, he can do it,” Sapphire said to Bianca, bringing us both to laugh.
Bianca took a deep breath and moved toward me. “Hold out your arm,” she instructed.
The mage was skilled with her blade. I winced when the cutting edge carved into my forearm. That wasn’t the worst part. Bianca squeezed my muscles and skin as though she were wringing out a towel until the stones were splattered in bright, steaming blood. The symbol on the stone glowed in the royal blue that matched Sapphire’s wings.
“Take it,” Bianca whispered with passion. “You must be the one to take it from the altar.”
Clutching my bloodied arm that throbbed like a hundred needles were jabbing in my skin, I reached beneath the stones. I grinned widely when my hand clasped around a smooth stone the size of a walnut. Removing it gently from the rocks, I studied the impossible strength of the stone. Sapphire’s energy erupted along its rough edges and in the veins of the shimmering blue. The stone was beautiful. A rich, pure hue with still some of the gray rock embedded in its beauty.
I handed the stone to Sapphire, and the moment his hand touched the rock, a rush of wind erupted through the cove. He grinned, the vibrant black of his eyes lightening to a mysterious ebony.
“I never thought I’d feel this again,” his husky voice whispered through a smile.
I grinned, wincing only when Bianca clutched my forearm and began tugging the skin so she could heal my gash. Thane released a breath it seemed he’d been holding the entire time I’d sacrificed my blood for the stone and raised his sword high over his head. Onyx, Raffi, and Mitch cheered, though it seemed Raffi would have enjoyed a little more action.
When the bleeding stopped, I jumped down from the ledge, holding my tender arm slightly. “I’m going to go wash all this off,” I muttered, showing Thane my blood-dried skin.
“We’re leaving soon, so don’t be long. Night is only hours away.”
Waving my hand over my head as my signal I understood, I made my way toward the shore. It was more of an excuse to see the ocean than a real need to clean my skin. I’d never witnessed the shore before. Though Aunt Liz did her be
st to expose me to nature, it was always forests and camping and rivers. This though—the salty breeze, the shrill squawk of gulls sailing over the misty gray waves. As I said, I think I could live perfectly content by the edge of such massive water.
“He’s blinded because of the connection.”
A voice echoed in my ears when my spirit calmed by the water. My mind was calm, my heart soared from our success, and the voices just came. At least, I thought I’d heard the voice—it almost seemed more like a thought.
“You should watch what you say.”
That was Leoch’s voice. Scanning the shore for any sign of the warrior, I was puzzled when I was utterly alone. Only the rippling waves against my feet kept me company. The cove was a distance away. A shadow passed overhead, and from behind the hazy clouds I made out two shapes. If Leoch hadn’t dipped his blue wing beneath the cloud line, I wouldn’t have known.
Tao and Leoch soared over the ocean, circling the cove and obviously keeping watch from above. My jaw dropped when Leoch’s undeniable voice came to me again—but now, with my attention to the sound, it was clear it was in my head.
You know that such thoughts led to the divide, Leoch snarled.
You support what the queen says? Her desire for a utopia among the wyvern race will get us all killed.
But you speak not only against the queen but Thane himself.
As I said, my trust is in Thane, but the queen has the seal of his son. His bias—though unknowing—is clear, Tao hissed desperately.
Tao, you cross a line. We serve the throne, and our success today should give you hope we will have the power to defeat the lindworms, and the prince, should he betray the queen’s trust.
But what will be lost—
Enough, Leoch growled, his frustration filtering through my own thoughts as though I had become a part of him, in a strange way.
I’d heard enough myself.
Grappling with the fact that I’d actually listened in on a private dragon conversation with my mind, I darted toward the cove. There was a ripple of dread passing through my system. Even my armor seemed to respond because of Tao’s harsh words about Jade.
I tried to convince myself I hadn’t heard the warriors. Thane met my eye when I returned to the cove. He studied me for a moment before signaling to the others and shifting quickly. Sapphire handed the stone to Bianca before rolling his skin into his royal blue scales. Mitch clamored on top while Bianca turned toward Onyx.
Glancing to Thane who stomped next to me, I closed my eyes, unsure if it would even be possible.
Can you hear me? I asked in my mind. I focused all my energy on images of my father. I didn’t want anyone else to hear, but I honestly didn’t understand how the connection worked.
Thane billowed a fiery stream from his nose and stared at me, his blue eyes more powerful and electrifying when he was in wyvern form.
Yes, his booming voice echoed in my mind. How…when did you know this could happen?
I climbed along his neck, tucking behind his wings and clutching my chest as my heart raced. I had heard the conversation, and that meant there were warriors who were not as loyal as we needed.
I don’t know, it just happened. Are we speaking privately?
Thane shuddered his head and took flight, the others close behind. If you will it to be, he replied.
Good, I swallowed hard catching sight of Leoch and Tao joining Thane at his flanks. Because we’ve got to talk.
Chapter 15
The Queen
Although I wanted to be as frustrated as possible when Teagan returned, I actually found my time spent privately with the female royals, Gaia, and the mages enjoyable. Of course, I wouldn’t tell him that whenever he returned. Aunt Liz had formed a friendship with soft-spoken Rochelle and enjoyed watching the mage create patterns in the soil with the wave of her hand. Gaia stood at my side, eyeing me with a gleam in her golden eyes.
“You have such strong energy,” Gaia grinned, brushing her hand across her body and creating a beautiful wisp of light. “Do you know how to use it during battle?”
“When a zomok attacked Sapphire, I used it to throw glass once. But I’m usually the healer,” I muttered, running my hand through the iridescent gleam of power in her palm. The energy filled my heart with a swell of warmth.
“That’s good,” Gaia praised, but her smirk hinted it wouldn’t be enough. “Care to learn how to move mountains?”
I knew she wasn’t being literal, but then again…
I nodded briskly, shaking away the fur pelt wrapped around my shoulders. Gaia’s eyes drifted to the seal on my arm, and I enjoyed the way she grinned. Every loving glance from Teagan’s mother brought a sense of belonging I didn’t know I’d lost with the deaths of my parents.
“It can be challenging to control energy while trying to stay alive,” Gaia muttered lightly, as though it were normal to spend the days fighting for her life.
“How far does the energy connection go?” I asked, feeling the rumble of the earth under my feet when Gaia opened her palms. The fire in the iron sconces danced in bursting flames spreading high along the rocky walls. With just the slightest effort, Gaia created spectacular twists of energy.
“With you and Teagan?” she asked. “Very deep. Athika, would you and Ruby care to demonstrate?”
Ruby smiled and jumped from an upper ledge into the den. Without waiting for Athika, Ruby rushed toward one of the sconces and dipped her fingers into the flames. The royal closed her eyes and smiled as the fire licked her brown skin. “I do love fire,” Ruby whispered.
Athika stalked by Gaia and me, twirling a small dagger in her grip. The mage had a completely new feel to her energy. She was playful, and it was as though I were getting to know an entirely different person. I knew Athika valued Teagan, but it seemed she was finally satisfied being only mages with each other.
Ruby cupped the curtain of flames in her palms. “Even without my stone, I can command fire,” Ruby breathed, her eyes drifting to me.
“What about you, Athika? What connection does fire have with you?” I asked.
“You know how Teagan seems to feel everything? Like he hears the wind, the trees—everything?” I nodded. “That’s because he’s the jade mage—the bloodline of all elements. My strongest connection is with fire. Yes, I can harness the energy of the earth because I’m a mage, but fire is like—a friend. Ruby, are you just going to ogle it all day?”
Ruby sneered, the flames igniting her face in frightening shadows. If Ruby’s good heart wasn’t known already, in that moment I might think her terrifying and dangerous. Athika busied about straightening a leather jerkin over her cotton tunic and had the dagger tucked between her thighs as she worked. She’d just urged Ruby to act, but seemed oblivious that the royal had reeled her arm over her head and tossed the flames across the space.
Ruby’s fire expanded, spreading like a river breaching the banks. The flames opened into massive wings, releasing scorching heat across the den. Ruby’s palms were opened wide, giving a clear view of her missing finger. Bron had taken it when he’d tried to kill her.
The flames swirled and danced, ever creeping closer to the mage while Athika readied herself. I felt a trickle of nerves when the wall of fire snaked close to Athika’s legs. Then all at once, the mage reeled on the flames, her palms wide, and the fire shot straight to the domed ceiling. Like an inverted waterfall, the current of flames gathered and flowed toward the sky. Athika lowered her palms, her focus still on the fire while Ruby continually added to the current. Athika dipped her dagger in the molten heat, and with a glance her blade remarkably burst into flames as though the entire weapon were doused in oil.
“You see how they work together. The mage manipulating the energy, and the royal commanding and inviting the power to work amongst them,” Gaia instructed. “The same can be with you and Teagan. It can get to the point where the energy will simply react to the both of you without you even planning with Teagan.”
“Wa
s it that way with my mother and you?”
Gaia nodded. “Yes, when we connected, it was as if we were one mind.”
Athika now closed her fists. The wall of fire collapsed, breathing dangerous air that singed my cheeks. The mountainous fire was now nothing more than a controlled breath of flames cupped in Athika’s hands. The fire in one palm, her burning dagger in the other, Athika smirked toward Ruby.
“Where shall we say beloved King Nag may be standing?”
Ruby pointed to a corner that was clear of people. Athika rushed forward, darting and slashing her burning blade against invisible opponents. Ruby darted at the same distance. The fire wasn’t intimidating in the size Athika kept it, until the moment she released it to the air and Ruby leapt up. The sound of Ruby’s skin peeling into her wyvern form shuddered the battle den. The fire ball bobbed in front of Ruby’s square snout. Without hesitation, Ruby breathed a powerful stream of flames from deep in her throat. When her own pyre collided with the energized flames, the den burst into such a display of heat I stumbled backward. The wall of colorful flames engulfed the targeted spot, along with anywhere Athika led the wall with her hands.
Gaia winked at me and stepped forward. “Impressive,” she muttered with a chip in the back of her tone. “But remember, the dark High Priest holds the stone. What shall you do if he—” Gaia opened her palms wide, and the fire wall trembled. Ruby hovered off the ground, her wings fanning her own flames, but then Gaia’s force took hold. Ruby roared and billowed more pyre at her wall. “—takes your power into his own?” Gaia snarled.
When Gaia closed her fists, there was a blinding burst of heat and light. The wall of fire melted like dripping wax and flowed toward Gaia’s feet. Bending down, I marveled when the High Priestess dipped her fingers in the liquid fire and absorbed it into her skin like a sponge. Athika bellowed her frustration, rushing forward and stabbing her fiery blade into the stone. There was a tug of energy. Gaia smirked at the ruby mage as they battled over the fire. Ruby soared low, blasting dragon pyre at Gaia, who raised one hand overhead, shielding herself from the blast.