“I didn’t—” Sparky sputtered. “I mean, was that—”
“Shh!”
Brighty held up her finger, demanding silence as the magic simmered across the dark and a subtle golden sheen lit the room. Aethi’kine magic. Here. This was bad. This was—
The ground shook violently and Brighty stumbled to find her balance. Rustling feathers filled the silence as the avians around her used their wings to steady themselves. Archer and Jolt dropped to their knees. Captain took off running.
“Stay!” Brighty ordered her apprentice, then raced to follow, pushing through the door already closing behind Captain Rokaro. If she were anyone else, the shocking switch from darkness to full sun would have blinded her or stung her eyes, but light was her magic. A gasp escaped her lips just before the captain’s as the two of them took in the view through the crystals.
Dragons.
From their location at the edge of the city, the house had an uninterrupted view of the barren tundra beyond. Every other day, it had been filled with nothing but ice, rock, and clear, open skies. Now flames sparked on the horizon as six beastly bodies rushed toward them. In the mist, they never would have seen them coming. But up here where clouds were rare and the blue was endless, there was no mistaking the sight.
“The queen?” Brighty asked.
“It must be,” Captain confirmed, not glancing away from the danger soaring steadily closer. “They’re coming after her.”
Brighty tried to ignore the rapid thumping of her pulse as she asked her next question. “And Rafe?”
“I don’t—”
“Is that him?” Patch interrupted them in a deep voice.
Without turning, Brighty sensed the rest of the crew squeezing into the small corner bedroom, the shuffling of their boots and the whisper of their sighs easy to recognize, every sound unique and familiar. She squinted to get a better look at the dark spot flying just ahead of the dragons. Horror widened her eyes.
“That’s not Rafe.”
“How do you—”
“There are three of them, look. It’s not Rafe. It’s those things.” Fire burned her veins, so hot for a second she was sure Pyro must have been playing a prank. But she wasn’t. The inferno came from within, a flood of panic.
“If he’s not there,” Jolt muttered slowly, “where is he?”
“With the queen, I’m sure,” Captain interjected, her normal authority frighteningly absent. “He must be.”
“What if he’s not?” Brighty gulped as a sick foreboding twisted her intestines in a knot worthy of the worst storm. Logically, she knew that she and Rafe were just friends. There was no cosmic connection tying them together. There was no thread of fate woven through their souls. And yet, in that moment, she just knew he was in trouble. She couldn’t explain it. The understanding came like a punch to the gut, stealing her breath. He was in trouble, and she had to help the only way she knew how. “We have to stop them.”
“Brighty.” Captain grabbed her arm, catching her before she even realized she was turning toward the door.
“Think about this,” Archer cut in, worry sharpening his normally carefree voice. “We’re in a city full of avians who despise mages. Even with our magic, they’re stronger and well trained, not to mention they currently outnumber us by, I don’t know, a thousand to one. You’d have to be crazy to—”
“Maybe I am,” she snapped and wrenched her arm free, taking a moment to meet the eyes of her crew. “Maybe I am crazy to think none of that will matter with a herd of dragons breathing down our necks. Maybe I am crazy to think they might fight with us rather than get burned alive. Maybe I am. But I’d rather be called crazy than a coward.”
“If the king and queen are here,” Captain interjected, her tone meant to soothe the tension, “they must have a plan—”
“Are you kidding me? This is Rafe we’re talking about. Of course he doesn’t have a bloody plan.”
“She’s got a point, Cap,” Pyro muttered.
Brighty spared a moment to look outside. The dragons had already closed half the distance between them. The creatures flew even faster. In a matter of minutes, they’d be here.
“We don’t have time for this.” She back to her crew. “We’ve spent our lives hunting dragons, and I, for one, am not about to stop now. Join me or don’t—I really don’t care. Those creatures will tear this city apart, and us with it. I won’t sit around and watch it happen when I can fight the bastards instead.”
With that, she tore through the stunned crew, not entirely sure when she’d become such an upstanding person, yet certain Rafe was somehow to blame. A hiss slid through her lips when she reached the outdoors. It was freezing, as she knew it would be, but with all this sunshine and clear skies, the frigid bite came as a shock every time. She never thought she’d long for the fog, but she did. At least down there upon the sea she didn’t have to listen to the incessant chattering of her own teeth.
A roar broke through her complaining. Brighty ran around the side of the building and skidded to a halt as six raging dragons barreled down on her. Archer was right. This was idiotic. This was crazy. What in magic’s name could one dragon-hunting crew and a team of novice mages do against this? What could she do out here by herself?
Dammit. I’ve got to try.
Bracing herself for what was to come, Brighty squared her shoulders and sent the most powerful beam she could gather across the vacant tundra. In an explosion of brilliant white, her magic and the dragons crashed together. Roars filled the air. Fire and light ricocheted across the sky. One of the creatures howled.
The black one, she thought, eying it through the radiant display. Of course. The one made of shadow.
Brighty homed in on the spot, shooting another blast of power at the creature. It jerked backward as her magic slammed into it, crippled by the light.
She didn’t relent.
The dragons soared closer. The ground shook as geo’kine magic painted the air green. The snow around her melted and condensed into a slithering tendril rearing to strike. She didn’t care. She kept her magic trained on the shadow creature, not letting up as it fought to escape her hold, body twitching within the center of her pure, unfiltered light. If she could just do this, if she could just stop one of them, maybe it would make a difference.
The group was a hundred feet away, then fifty, then twenty. One of the dragons arched its head, fire bubbling visibly at the back of its throat. Brighty winced.
This is going to hurt, she thought as flames barreled from its snout, the sound of its fury rattling her bones. This is why I told myself not to care about people. Caring makes you do crazy, idiotic, noble things that will only get you killed.
Yet she didn’t try to run.
She didn’t try to save herself.
She let her power flood out in waves, determined to fight until the very end, only turning away when the heat of the blaze was close enough to burn her skin.
The pain never came.
Red sparks flew past her face and caught the inferno before it struck. Then blue ones raced by, grappling with the shoot of water aimed at her torso. Then green. Then yellow. Then purple, until a rainbow lit the skies.
The shock must have been written on her face because Jolt ran over and nudged her with her hip. “You didn’t really think we’d let you die, did you?”
Sort of? Maybe?
“All right,” Captain shouted. “Pyro’kines on the dragons. Hydro’kines on the blue creature. Geo’kines on the green one. Brighty, I want you on the black one. Everyone else, do what you can to help. If you have wings, use them. If you’re under the age of eighteen, get the hell inside. And for the love of all the gods, someone find an alarm or a horn or something to alert the avian soldiers, because we can’t win this fight alone.”
They scattered, little more than a handful of ragtag sailors and two dozen novice mages with wings, but they were the queen’s army and they were all this world had left. So somehow, they’d bloody well find a
way to save it.
54
Rafe
Rafe couldn’t believe his eyes as Sphaira slipped into view. Nearly a dozen dragons darkened the skies, but he’d expected those. What he’d never anticipated was the flood of magic reflecting off the crystal domes and bursting through smoke. What he’d never dared imagine was the sight of avians and mages working together to fight a common enemy. Yet as he neared, the truth was undeniable.
While flocks of birds from every house concentrated on fighting the dragons with swords and spears, a small set of pyro’kines raced between them, stopping the flames and taming the fires. Aero’kines stirred the winds, sending the beasts off balance so their attacks went astray. Two concentrated auras of blue and green rose from opposite ends of the city, what he could only imagine were water and earth mages fighting the two hybrid creatures. While Da’Kin had been drowning beneath the onslaught, somehow Sphaira was holding on. Maybe because it was a city built of crystal instead of wood. Maybe because its soldiers now had both wings and magic. Maybe because the sight lines were clear so high above the fog. Rafe didn’t know, but he was proud—until he noticed one being was absent.
Where is it? Where is it?
The shadow creature was missing, and the realization sent a pang of dread down Rafe’s spine. If it had already reached the stone, they were doomed. Lyana couldn’t fight it on her own. Yet a golden gleam still emanated from the palace looming in the center of the city, and though the isle was dropping, the pace was almost too slow to notice, gradual and controlled. She was alive. She had to be, which meant there was still time.
All right, Taetanos, you vicious bastard. Fate stole my family. It took my wings. It turned me into a dragon. For once in my gods-damned life, you owe me a win.
Help me find it.
Help me save her.
The breeze shifted direction and a billowing plume of smoke brushed to the side, unmasking the black figure hiding in the darkness. Rafe dove for the spot, cutting through the air with all the speed he could muster.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Before he got there, a brilliant white beam slammed into the creature, eliciting a wail. Rafe followed the path to its owner and a laugh barked through his lips, easing the tension in his shoulders. Brighty, of course it was Brighty, but not on her own two feet. The raven agro’kine, Amara, had created a harness made of vines. As her obsidian wings carved a path through the sky, Brighty hung below her like a fish in a net, one hand gripping the leafy stalks for dear life while the other blasted magic at the monster. Unlike in the mist, it couldn’t simply meld into the shadows and disappear. Up here, surrounded by glistening translucent stone, compact ivory snow, and radiant noon sunshine, its onyx scales stood starkly out. The creature dove for the nearest ash cloud to take refuge in the soot.
“About bloody time you got here!” Brighty shouted.
“Where’s the queen?”
“Hell if I know—ahh!”
A high-pitched scream tore through her lips as Amara swooped in a sharp arc to the right. The blood rushed from Brighty’s face and her fingers tightened around the vines. With gritted teeth, she sent another flash of magic into the dark. The creature howled.
“We have to find a way to kill it,” he yelled.
Despite the urgency of the situation, she found the time to offer him a pointed glare. “Well, magic alive, Rafe! What do you think I’m doing?”
“I just have to get close enough to sever its head. We need a plan.”
“By all means, take your time!”
She was right. He needed to act fast. An onyx wing sifted through the ash and Rafe dove, hastily shouting over his shoulder, “Wait for my signal!”
Soot stung his eyes as he flew into the smoke. Darkness stole his sight. He didn’t need it. Using the bond at the back of his mind as a guide, Rafe slammed into the shadow demon. They grappled, scales and skin clashing. He went for its wings and bent them backward as he hugged the creature to his chest, clenching his fingers in an iron grip. Carrying both their weights, he soared back into the daylight.
“Now!”
“Now what?”
“Your magic!”
“But Rafe—”
“Now!”
Energy pierced from all sides, stinging his skin. The creature in his arms thrashed as a wail spilled from its lips. Rafe clutched it tightly, ignoring the pain as his magic rushed to heal the burns. Hugging his wings to his back, he dropped from the sky with the creature. They landed hard against the ice. A bone in his forearm snapped. The creature’s wings crunched. Rafe dug a knee into its chest as he dragged his uninjured arm free from where it was stuck between snow and scales, and reached for his dagger. The demon got a hand free. Talons dug into his wrist as fingers wrapped around his arm. They wrestled while Brighty’s magic raged. On top, Rafe took the brunt of the beam and the tough hide of his wings smoldered. Already depleted from the fight within the mist, his magic struggled to keep up with the demand. As though sensing the weakness, the shadow beast roared, flashing teeth. In a burst of strength, it flung Rafe across the snow and retreated.
“No!”
The creature disappeared behind a wall of blinding ivory, one of its onyx wings dragging in the snow. On his hands and knees, Rafe geared up for another attack, preparing to launch himself across the ice. Something wrapped around his ankles and tugged him backward.
“You idiot! That was your plan?”
Rafe came to a stop at Brighty’s feet, the vine around his leg retreating under Amara’s command. “I almost had it!” he said, jumping to his feet. “It’s injured. Just let me—”
“I almost bloody killed you!” Brighty snapped and grabbed his shoulder, surprisingly efficient at holding him back despite their size difference. “Only you could come up with such a ridiculous, self-sacrificing, self-mutilating—ugh! Did it ever occur to you that just because you have healing magic doesn’t mean you need to use it?”
No.
It hadn’t.
“Well, what do you want me to do?”
“Go find Captain and Archer.”
“Why?”
“Because your plan sucked, and I obviously came up with something better.”
“But the creature! It—”
“I’ve got it,” she said, her exasperation at an all-time high as she nudged her chin toward where her magic still beamed over the wide city street. Through the shimmering ivory, he could only just make out the dark outline of a body. “I’m using the reflection off the crystals to form a light cage. As long as it's grounded, this should hold it, but I’d rather not test that theory.” Even as she said it, a cloud of darkness rose from the center of the light, pushing against her barrier. A sneer flitted across her lips. “Bring me Captain and Archer. Now!”
Rafe took to the sky, casting a single glance below as Brighty sent another wave of power to combat the shadow, light and dark warring for dominance. She would hold it. She was too damn stubborn not to.
Shifting his focus to the battle raging in the city, Rafe searched for the telltale haze of aero’kine magic. Streaks of it raced across the breeze, plowing into the dragons, but only two of those yellow flows started from the ground. One would be Patch, the other Captain. He took a gamble, arching left toward the closer target.
An arrow whizzed by his ear.
What the…?
Another whistled through the air and he dove to escape it. A spear came next, narrowly missing his shoulder.
My wings, he realized, catching sight of the flaming scales in his peripheral vision. My gods-damned wings.
“I’m not—” he tried to shout, stopping abruptly to escape the volley of three arrows sailing in his direction. A magic-laced gust of wind whooshed by, blowing the weapons off course.
“He’s one of us, you blasted fools!” Captain stood below with her arms raised as the colorful fabrics of her hair danced wildly around her face. He’d been an idiot for not realizing she was Cassi’s mother. Th
e look in her icy blue eyes was just as lethal as the one he’d seen on her daughter’s face, but luckily, this time it wasn’t turned on him. “He’s the King Born in Fire!”
“Vesevios is the only king of fire they understand,” Rafe said as he landed by her side.
Captain spared him a glance, a frown on her lips. “What are you doing here? You’re going to get yourself killed. Find the queen.”
“We need to deal with the shadow creature first. Brighty has it trapped. She told me to find you and Archer.”
“Archer?”
He nodded.
Grooves dug into her weathered skin. “He’s helping with the dragons. I don’t know where.”
“I’ll find him. Can you get to Brighty?”
Captain raised a brow in his direction and a wind tunnel funneled down from the sky, wrapping them both in whipping gales. Shaking his head, Rafe stepped out of the tornado just as her feet began to lift from the snow. Sticking low to the ground this time, he launched into the air and searched the city for the pine-green sparks of ferro’kine magic.
There.
There.
There.
None of those trails led back to the ground. Lyana’s army had grown in the weeks they’d been beneath the mist. At least a dozen, maybe two, mages with wings raced across the sky, openly using their power in a display he never thought he would live to see. They were a long way from those hours in the cave when he and Lyana had first met, magic creating a deep trust between two strangers who’d only known fear.
“Rafe! Watch out!”
He spun just in time to see a flash of green redirect the spear two feet from lodging into his spine. Magic his people could deal with, or at least tolerate, but a man with dragon wings was apparently beyond their comprehension.
Just my luck.
“Archer!” Rafe dove toward the sound of the man’s voice, searching for him in the nearby streets and finding him crouched behind a crumbling crystal wall. “Brighty needs you—”
The Dragon and the Queen (The Raven and the Dove Book 3) Page 39