by Everly Frost
I don’t understand what’s going on. Nathaniel asked me to answer his question and to speak only the truth. My lips part, my chest glows, and I meet Nathaniel’s merciless eyes.
He once promised to always tell me the truth.
I can only do the same.
“Imatra of the Solstice, the Fae Queen, killed your father,” I say.
A muscle clenches in Nathaniel’s jaw. “Tell me also, Aura of the Lucidia, star of old magic: Who stole my throne?”
I don’t know why Nathaniel is asking me these questions when he already knows the answers. I don’t know why the entire field around me is silent, even though every fae, hunter, and human is shouting and running into position as if they’re about to go to war.
I also don’t know Cyrian’s full name and it suddenly feels very important that I get it right, but then I remember what the Vanem Dragon called him last night.
“Cyrian Deceiver stole your throne,” I say.
Nathaniel draws in a deep breath. The hard line of his lips softens as his gaze passes across my face in a way that could make me forget where we are and why we’re here.
“You are my Witness, Aura Lucidia,” he says. “You have named my Betrayers. The Vanem Dragon must protect you now.”
I reach for Nathaniel as he steps away from me. “Wait… Nathaniel, what is this? What have you done?”
Nathaniel casts me a dangerous smile, as if he’s about to step off a cliff. He raises his voice to a swelling roar that cuts through the silence, breaking it like shattering glass, a storm of magic suddenly gathering around him and carrying his voice across the fields.
“As Aura Lucidia is my Witness, I am the King Betrayed!” He raises his weapon from the ground, catching the moonlight and casting it around us in impossibly bright rays.
The force of old magic sweeps across me like wildfire.
Nathaniel’s voice lowers to a determined rumble that echoes in my ears.
“I choose the dangerous path,” he says.
Chapter 24
Violent sounds break across me.
In the distance, the Vanem Dragon sweeps his wings so abruptly that the stormy wind his wings creates knocks the fae warriors and the hunters on either side of the field to the ground.
He shoots across the air toward me, flying low to the ground.
“Aura Lucidia!” he roars. “Catch my wing!”
Nathaniel drops himself flat to the ground to avoid the dragon’s claws as the enormous beast flies so low, he nearly gouges Nathaniel’s back.
I don’t understand what’s happening, but my instincts fire, giving me speed as I leap and catch hold of the dragon’s wing bone. He is far bigger than Treble, and I nearly miss the mark as I swing myself toward his back, reaching out with all of my strength.
I slip, cling, and finally heave my legs into position. His back is so wide, I have to kneel instead of sliding my legs to the side.
Just as I lean low over his neck, a bolt of firelight explodes into the ground where I was standing a moment ago, kicking up dirt and grass. Nathaniel rolls to the side to avoid the attack, but I’m sure the blast was intended for me. I stare in shock as the Vanem Dragon rises and banks, tilting his wings as another bolt of firelight narrowly misses us.
What in all the dark stars…?
The fae have never risked hurting the Vanem Dragon before.
Trying to see my attackers without upsetting my position, I discover two squadrons of thunderbirds soaring after us. Their riders are all Solstice fae, the women’s blonde hair gleaming in the moonlight.
The dragon’s speed has taken us high into the sky within seconds. Far below me, Nathaniel leaps to his feet, darting along the quickly closing gap between the armies. Sliding his weapon into the harness on his back, he races toward his people, his arms pumping, running as fast as when we escaped through the glitter field together.
I crane my neck to follow his movements, but several attacking thunderbirds block my view.
For the first time in days, my body doesn’t tug toward him.
The anchorless sensation within my chest expands, the empty breadth of a night sky opening up inside me. I was always afraid of my nothing—the vast expanse from which I came and within which I could become lost. It is the place where I am nothing more than another glittering light that glows and fades, a spark of magic without a heart.
Firelight explodes on both sides of us as the Vanem Dragon evades the rapid-fire attacks.
I scream. “Why are the fae trying to kill you?”
“Not me!” the dragon shouts. “You!”
“But if they kill me, Nathaniel wins under the Law of Champions!”
“Nathaniel invoked the Path of the King Betrayed,” the dragon cries, tilting again as I cling to his back. “It is one of the oldest laws, forged from countless betrayals of human kings and queens over millennia. The Law of Champions is suspended until Nathaniel has walked the Path.”
“A king betrayed may choose the dangerous path…” My heart sinks as I remember the room at the Spire that is filled with old laws. Nathaniel had stopped at one side of the room, fixated on one particular law, but his body blocked me from reading it.
I don’t know whether or not Nathaniel knew about that law until he stood in that room. Either way, he’s chosen to invoke it now.
“What is the Path?” I scream, anxiety burning inside me. “What does Nathaniel have to do?”
“He must kill his Betrayers.”
My eyes widen as the wind shrieks around me. “He has to kill both Imatra and Cyrian?”
“You are his Witness under the law. You named his Betrayers,” the dragon roars. “Nathaniel has to kill his Betrayers before his Betrayers kill his Witness. We are now in a race to the death.”
Starlight pumps inside my chest, flooding my arms and legs, filling my head. “Did Imatra and Cyrian know this was a possibility?”
“Neither of them knew about this law! Even Nathaniel didn’t know about it until today—he said he read it at the Spire. It was my duty to explain it to him. Just as it was my duty to explain it to Imatra and Cyrian while Nathaniel questioned you.”
I remember the way the dragon rose up behind me, shouting to Imatra and Cyrian while everything went quiet around me.
“What about the Law of Champions?” I scream. “What does ‘suspended’ mean?”
“Do not concern yourself with that right now. Cyrian and Imatra both want you dead, Aura. If you die, Nathaniel will be denied the Path back to his throne.”
“What should I do?” I’m just about ready to blast every one of the attacking Solstice fae out of the air, but every action has consequences. I could break a rule if I kill someone—with disastrous consequences.
The dragon turns his head, slowing for the first time despite the fact that we are now counting down the seconds to who will die first.
His lips curl into a smile that carries the threat of violence. “You must run, Aura. You are the Witness. It is up to Nathaniel to kill them. But it is up to me to protect you. Because you are the witness to the truth, you are afforded greater protection than they are.”
A cloud of thunderbirds rises up ahead of us and I tense before I recognize Crispin, Serena, and the Springtime and Harvest fae. They must be the reason that the dragon slowed down. From the corner of my eye, Evander soars parallel with us, darting and evading the firelight attacks from the Solstice fae, who target him as well as me. He had leaped onto Cadence’s back and taken to the air seconds after I did.
“Protect Aura with your lives!” the dragon shouts, diving beneath the force of friendly thunderbirds.
We soar beneath Crispin, who flies ahead of the others with Serena and Calida in the air beside him while Mia and Talsa coast well back, their faces filled with concentration. They will use their communication skills to help the thunderbirds that the Springtime and Harvest fae are riding, since many of them will be new to aerial combat. Evander soars toward Talsa, joining her. His Frost power is near
ly exhausted, but he is physically strong and will do his best to protect her and Mia while they work.
The Vanem Dragon soars into position behind my new defenders, safe for now, giving me the chance to take a breath and allowing us to see the entire battle.
The fight in the air is violent. Serena and Calida are vastly outnumbered, but they are agile, darting between their attackers. Serena’s firelight hits the first attacking Solstice fae, her thunderbird darting between them while several thunderbirds ridden by Harvest fae cut to the right and disrupt the attacking fae’s formation. The Harvest men are used to felling trees. They are all muscular, strong from years of physical labor, and they carry makeshift wooden spears. Evading the firebolts aimed at them, they use their spears to full effect to defend my position.
I search the battle on the ground for Nathaniel, the light inside me pulsing with anxiety until I find him in the center of the field. The human army protects his back, facing Imatra’s army, while Nathaniel faces Cyrian and his hunters.
Nathaniel isn’t alone. Hagan fights on one side of him while Christiana battles on the other.
I wasn’t sure if he would seek to fight Imatra or Cyrian first, but it appears that he’s going for Cyrian.
The Fell King isn’t making it easy. Cyrian stands well back at the edge of the Misty Gallows beside the bears while his hunters charge at Nathaniel. The fight is fierce and bloody. The hunters are brutal and it’s clear that Cyrian has given them orders to kill Nathaniel by whatever means necessary. Even so, Nathaniel, Hagan, and Christiana are making ground, bodies piling up around them as they cleave and hew their way through the hunters.
At Nathaniel’s back, Esther leads the humans, trying to hold back the immense tide of fae warriors converging on Nathaniel’s position.
Imatra herself has taken to the sky—a safe place for now—but she made a critical strategic mistake when she mixed the powers of her troops. Fae of the same class can’t hurt each other, but fae of different classes can. Her women on the frontline should have annihilated the humans already, but they’re pulling their power, trying not to hurt each other, only taking clean shots when they can.
The women’s hesitation gives the humans time to move swiftly through the fae, cutting them down with skillful sweeps while making inroads into Imatra’s defenses.
Imatra was never a good strategist. She had me for that. I can see her thunderbird’s agitated wing beats as it reacts to her tension and her screams of rage. The battlefield is too densely populated for her to use her own magic, but she appears to be rallying her riders in the sky, screaming orders at them. I’m not sure what she plans to do next.
I’m suddenly drawn to movement on the field closer to my location. Several hunters push against the iron weapons that Cyrian brought with him, swiveling the machines in my direction. The top portion moves on some sort of axle so that the beam is in line with the thunderbirds protecting me. A group of hunters works around each of the metal slings, filling them with what appear to be jagged iron shards, pouring oil over them before setting the shards alight.
Fear shoots through me as the beam releases from its anchor.
The sling flies upward and the burning projectiles arc through the air toward us.
“Look out!” I scream, twisting to see Talsa and Mia.
Their arms are outstretched, their eyes glazed, but they adjust just in time. Every friendly thunderbird suddenly soars upward, avoiding the arc of the burning shards. Some of the attacking fae aren’t so lucky, their birds’ wings catching fire as the shards fly through their feathers. One of the riders—a Frost fae—screams as she tries to put out the flames, but the fire keeps burning, tearing through her bird’s body.
My stomach turns. “It’s dark magic!”
I thought the hunters were pouring oil over the shards, but it must be a substance powered by dark light so that it continues burning.
The Frost fae’s thunderbird screams in agony as it dies, plummeting to the ground while the Frost fae leaps from its back onto another bird.
Tears fill my eyes. No thunderbird deserves to die that way.
On the ground, the hunters adjust the beams on all three weapons and prepare to fire again.
They want to cut me from the sky.
Every thunderbird and rider around me is now in danger.
As the Vanem Dragon soars higher, not making it easy for the men on the ground, I shout above the wind. “You told me to run, but I want the truth: Can I fight?”
The dragon’s breath leaves his torso in a gusty sigh. “I was afraid you might ask me that.”
He beats his wings carefully, turning his head to consider me with his bright eyes. “Nathaniel’s conversation with me is private. I can only break that confidence where he has given me permission, but I can tell you this: He knows you are willing to die for him. But he will not allow that to happen. He would rather die trying to defeat Imatra and Cyrian, than be forced to fight you to the death. I… however… see the future that you see, Aura. Nathaniel is the only chance for peace.”
My chest squeezes. “That’s why you were angry with him when he spoke with you. By invoking the Path, he’s risking his life because of me.” I choke back the grief rising inside me, forcing myself to focus. “You haven’t answered my question: Can I fight?”
The dragon exhales. “You may fight, but you must not kill Imatra or Cyrian. Nathaniel must do that himself. But know this, Aura: If you die before Nathaniel completes his path, he will die too. His life is connected to yours even more closely than it was before. It is your duty to stay alive so he can reclaim his throne.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Nathaniel knew that I didn’t plan to be alive by dawn. Now he’s forcing me to stay alive because he knows I won’t risk his life.
I tip my head back and scream. “He’s forcing me to live!”
If Nathaniel and I both survive this, I might just kill him for putting me in this position.
“He wants to protect you,” the dragon says. “Just as you are willing to lay down your life for him.”
My voice quiets and so does the light inside my chest. “But he knows I won’t sit and idly watch while others die.”
The dragon sighs. “He gave me a message for you, Aura. He said to tell you, and I quote: ‘Beautiful woman, the choice will always be yours.’”
My chest burns, my light striking sharply through me. Nathaniel said that to me when I asked him if we were still married. He accepted my trust and gave me his faith. He told me he wanted to fight beside me, not against me.
“Then I choose to fight,” I whisper. Giving a final exhale, I lean forward. “Vanem Dragon, fly me to the iron machines!”
A gleam enters the dragon’s eyes. “As you command, Aura Lucidia.”
Chapter 25
The Vanem Dragon banks to the left, steering a course toward the Misty Gallows while maintaining our height. On the ground, the hunters halt in the process of preparing to release the slings, rushing to swivel the weapons toward my expected trajectory.
Behind us, Imatra’s squadrons haven’t given up, but now I’m like a magnet drawing them away from my friends in the air. The Vanem Dragon plows a course to the far left, deliberately turning himself into a target as he aims for the haze above the Gallows, attracting the fae behind us and the iron machines in front of us.
The slings fly high and the burning shards arc toward us.
Just a little closer…
My hands shoot out. My power explodes through my arms.
White, hot light bursts across the burning shrapnel, blasting through the projectiles and spreading across the space in front of the Vanem Dragon as the dragon flies directly toward the machines.
My power keeps pouring from me, widening and rippling, blasting down across the weapons themselves, burning through the hunters and racing outward into the Misty Gallows.
The dragon pulls up before we would crash into the burning remains. He soars up into the night sky as the ripples of my starli
ght flow around the misshapen trees at this end of the Gallows, lighting up their strange silhouettes.
The mist clears where my power spreads, revealing the barren plain that lies beneath the thick haze. The muddy earth suddenly glistens and the dying trees sparkle white. In the distance, a cloud of mold moths rises up from the crooked branches, the creatures’ wings glowing silver.
The breath catches in my throat. I’m aware of the warriors across the battlefield as they flinch and duck because of the explosion of my power, while the fae in the air steer their thunderbirds wildly away from me. I’ve deterred the fae who were following me, but it’s only a few seconds before the fight on the ground resumes.
Up ahead, Nathaniel has nearly made it to Cyrian. A single line of hunters, along with the wolves and bears, remains between them while Cyrian stays well back, his arms raised, dark light seeping from his hands.
One of the hunters facing Nathaniel is Snake, the long scar down his arm visible when he swings his axe. I’ve seen Nathaniel cut hunters down in seconds, but Snake’s silhouette flickers with dark light. I can only guess that Cyrian is giving his men strength, speed, and invincibility.
Imatra has finally taken control of the air above Nathaniel’s position. The fae are now attacking from the sky while Cyrian’s hunters attack from the ground.
I don’t have to tell the Vanem Dragon what we need to do. He rockets across the sky toward the Solstice fae circling Nathaniel’s location. The roar of the battle below us sweeps across me. I’m trained to block it out, to focus. If I hadn’t been, I’d curl up in fear right now. The ground is already covered with the dead and dying, the fallen lying on the crushed flowers.
On the ground, Nathaniel swings his halberd, intercepting the cut of Snake’s axe before he spins to deflect a rapid stream of firelight thrown by the four fae circling above him on their thunderbirds. Each bolt hits Nathaniel’s weapon and bounces back at the fae in the air, forcing them to scatter.
It won’t take them long to regroup and try again.