"Some," Derynnis said with a shrug. "Others are given to the gods, or even occasionally a mortal, though it is very rare to find one who has the mental and physical strength needed to wield one of my blades. Don't fret, child," he added a little crossly at the look on my face. "I wouldn't give this to a mortal from your world. It has been ages since one has been born who was worthy."
"Glad to hear it," I said, "but using the dragon heart pieces isn't the same as destroying them to make sure he can never be resurrected. What if Zakyiar just sends minions to steal the swords back? Either from here or from whoever you decide to gift them to in another realm?"
Derynnis snorted. "He barely has the strength to manipulate a handful of humans in your own realm." But he propped his chin on his massive fist and considered for a moment. "You have two pieces of the dragon god's heart, do you not?"
"I do." I pulled out the other one.
"Very well." He plucked that one out of my hand as well. "Then I will destroy this one and keep the other one for myself."
"But—"
He crushed the piece of heart between his thumb and forefinger before I could finish speaking, reducing the diamond into a cloud of glittering black dust. A deafening boom shook the temple as a blast of power rippled outward, and my amulet flared to life, protecting me from the blast even as it knocked me off my feet. A blinding pain tore through my ears as the blast deafened me, and I squeezed my eyes shut as the pressure on my temples threatened to crush my skull.
"My apologies," Derynnis said. I heard a loud creak, and then his giant hand covered me like a warm blanket. A gentle heat seeped through my body, and I sighed in relief as the pain vanished. "I forgot to take your fragility into account before I destroyed the relic."
"That's quite all right," I said shakily as he helped me to my feet. I glanced around, expecting to see bits of black diamond dust floating through the air, but there was nothing left, not a single trace. A great weight lifted off my chest, and I sucked in the first deep breath in what felt like ages. "I'm just glad you destroyed it."
"Of course. I am not like the other gods—I always keep my word." His ancient eyes fixated on the remaining relic in his other hand. "Now begone from my realm, mortal. You have overstayed your welcome."
He flicked his hand in an impatient wave, and an invisible force hit me dead center, sending me speeding toward the furnace. I braced myself, expecting to be incinerated on the spot, but I passed through the flames harmlessly and instead hit solid ground, sprawled just inside the cavern entrance, where I'd started.
I was back in the realm of the living once more.
"Zara!" Lessie cried, and I sobbed in relief as the bond between us surged back to life. "Zara, what happened? I haven't been able to reach you in days!"
"I'm all right!" I reached through the bond and wrapped myself around her in a mental hug. "Derynnis destroyed the piece of heart. Are the others still there?" I tried to get to my feet, but a loud rumble shook the cavern, knocking me to the ground again.
"They left with Drakis, like you asked," Lessie said. "They didn't want to, but I forced them. But we've got bigger problems now, Zara. The volcano's been making strange noises for days, and now—"
"It's going to explode," I finished, hauling myself to my feet again. I scrambled down the side of the ledge, wincing as the sharp rocks cut me but refusing to stop. I needed to get out of there and back to Lessie. "How much time do we have?"
"I don't know, but I imagine it's not much longer—" Lessie started, and then her voice was drowned out by another deafening rumble. Several boulders rolled down the side of the mountain, and I flattened myself against the sharp rocks to keep from getting hit. I breathed a sigh of relief as the tremor subsided, thinking I'd escaped the worst.
Then the foothold gave out beneath me.
23
A scream tore from my throat as I fell, clawing frantically for something, anything to cling to. But the part of the mountainside I'd been clinging to was too steep, and the mountain itself was completely barren, so there was nothing to break my fall, no branch for me to grasp, no bushes for me to tumble into, nothing but air and a long, long, long—
"Oof!" I landed on something hard and lumpy far sooner than I should have, then immediately slid sideways. Instinct kicked in and I flipped over, grasping the pommel of the leather saddle. "Lessie?" I cried as I hauled myself onto her back. I could barely see anything through the green miasma that surrounded us.
"It's me." I could feel her lungs burning through the bond as she struggled to hold her breath, to ingest as little of the toxin as possible. A deafening boom shook the air, and I cried out as a flaming boulder shot past us, narrowly missing Lessie's wing. "I knew you weren't going to be able to make it back down, so I started flying the moment I sensed you."
"Dammit, Lessie!" Tears of despair stung my eyes as she pushed us higher into the sky, clearing the noxious smoke. Her entire body trembled with the effort, and I knew she'd already ingested too much of the deadly air. "Why? You should have stayed—"
"At the bay, so I could wait for you to die?" she snapped. "We're in this together, Zara. If you die, I die."
Right. For a split second, I'd forgotten. I glanced back as the volcano erupted, spewing geyser after geyser of lava from the top. The hot rock spilled down the sides of the mountain and raced across the land, covering everything in a glowing red layer. If there was anything living there, it would be consumed, and if it had a soul, it would travel to Derynnis's domain to be judged and possibly punished.
"Thank you for saving me," I said quietly as we flew south, putting as much distance between us and that accursed island as possible. "I would have died if you hadn't caught me."
"I know," Lessie said. "What happened in the Underworld, Zara? Did you do something to piss Derynnis off?"
"On the contrary, I'm pretty sure I made his day." I thought of the way he'd gazed almost lovingly at the second dragon heart piece. "I think he just decided he'd had enough of living things camping out on the island. Even though the Hellmouth is technically part of the living, Derynnis considers it his domain."
"And he doesn't like living things in his domain," Lessie finished. She was silent for a minute, then added, "You know, I think I can respect that."
I laughed. "Trust you to be sympathetic to the surliest god in the pantheon," I said, patting her neck.
We flew south for a little while, hoping to find a patch of land for Lessie to rest. As the minutes passed, I could feel her growing weaker as the toxin spread through her blood, and panic took root in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. What if we didn't find a place for Lessie to rest? What if we did, and she never got up again?
"Hang on, Lessie," I said, rubbing her scales and trying to sound encouraging. "Just a few more minutes, and we'll find something."
As my hope faded, a huge dragon dropped from the clouds ahead of us.
"Muza?" I cried, recognizing the enormous silver dragon immediately. So Tavarian was alive after all! Lessie bugled a cry of joy as he drew alongside her, using his giant shoulder to support her.
"He says to jump onto his back to lighten the load," Lessie said, sounding tired but grateful.
I immediately did as he said, settling between Muza's shoulder blades and gripping one of his giant spikes. "How did he find us?" I asked Lessie as Muza slid his left wing under Lessie's, partially supporting her weight.
"Tavarian sent him," she said as Muza steered us southeast. "He says there is a safe place we can go where there is food, water, and a healer."
We flew another thirty minutes before we finally found a place to rest. This island was little more than a strip of land, with hardly any vegetation and no game, but Muza caught some fish for Lessie. I quenched my thirst and filled my canteen from puddles of rainwater left from a recent storm.
"Come on, Lessie," I said, gently coaxing her to lift her head. Muza had brought back a giant blue-finned fish nearly twice my size. "You need to eat."
/> "I'm so cold," she whispered, curling in on herself. Her body trembled, and I hugged her, wishing there was something I could do, some herb or drink I could give her to alleviate the pain.
Muza gently nudged me aside, then blew a thin stream of flame over Lessie. The heat seemed to revive her some, and she lifted her head long enough to eat the fish, then fell back into an exhausted sleep.
I wanted to stay up and watch over Lessie, but the toll from the past couple of days finally hit me, and with a gentle nudge from Muza, I curled up with her and fell asleep. For the first time in weeks, the two of us both slept deeply, no longer plagued by either Salcombe or the dragon god in our dreams. We should have both been rested and energized the next morning, but I woke up with a headache, and Lessie still had the chills.
"Muza says the toxin needs to be flushed from my body," Lessie said as Muza gave her another flame bath. The heat seemed to give her a boost of energy as well as warmth, staving off the effects of the toxin. "Apparently there is a dragon healer on the island where he lives who can heal me, but there is no way for her to get to us. We have to go to her."
"Okay. Do you think you can make it?"
She nodded grimly. "I have to."
I mounted up on Muza again, and we continued east. For nine days we flew over the ocean, resting as often as we could on various islands, many of which were quite nice. If not for Lessie's flagging strength and the gradually worsening headaches that plagued me, it might have been a nice trip. We'd left the Underworld behind, but it seemed it hadn't quite left us. Death was a constant companion lurking over our shoulders, just waiting for one of us to let down our guard so it could strike.
"How much longer do we have?" I asked Lessie as we made camp on the fourteenth day. The headaches hadn't gotten worse, but a lethargy had spread through my body, making my limbs and eyelids heavy. "Do you think we'll be there tomorrow?"
"If we're lucky," Lessie said as we snuggled together by the roaring bonfire. Despite the sweltering heat of the tropical climate and the huge fire Muza had made, Lessie still shivered. "I'm so tired, Zara," she whispered, sounding close to tears.
"Shhh." I stroked Lessie's hide and hummed a childhood nursery melody to soothe her. Muza came to sit by us, and he nuzzled Lessie as he wrapped one of his great wings around her, offering his own warmth. He matched my hum with a rumbling purr that soothed us both, and soon enough, we were both asleep.
When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly overhead, and Lessie's trembling had stopped. I glanced around for Muza to find he'd already risen. Probably fishing, I thought.
"Lessie, did Muza tell you where he was going?"
No answer.
"Lessie?" I raised the volume on my mental voice, but she didn't stir. Panic rose in my chest as I scrambled to my feet, feeling along her neck for her pulse. It was there, but very faint, and the burst of motion took everything out of me. I collapsed to my knees in front of her, tears blinding my vision, but somehow, I found the strength to grasp her shoulder, to hold onto her with everything I had.
"Lessie," I sobbed, shaking her as hard as I could. "Lessie, please wake up. Please!"
A shadow passed over us, blanketing everything in a dark fog. And then I knew no more.
To be continued...
Zara and Lessie’s adventures will continue in Secret of the Dragon, Book 5 of the Dragon Riders of Elantia series! Click HERE to be notified when it’s released!
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About the Author
JESSICA DRAKE is obsessed with books, chocolate, and traveling. When she’s not binge-watching Lord of the Rings or jet-setting around the world, she can be found chained to her computer, feverishly working on her next project. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to drop her a line at [email protected].
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