by J. L. Weil
He lifted me in his arms, pressing a kiss to my temple. “No, you don’t,” I heard him say before unconsciousness took me under.
My foot had been cleaned and bandaged when I woke late the following morning. I rolled my ankle, testing its mobility and winced, the cut itself stretched with the motion. Edging off the bed, I eased to my feet, keeping the bulk of my weight off the arch of my foot and hobbled to the bathroom.
Jase had a shoulder propped against the wall when I emerged a few minutes later. “Next time you feel the need to go for a midnight stroll, wake me up. Better yet, do it on someone else’s watch.”
“How did you know?” I inquired.
“I sensed your fear. It woke me up,” he said simply.
This was one of those moments I was thankful for the emotional bond between us, even if it was only one-sided, and split between the four dragons. “Does that happen frequently?” I hated to think my emotions interfered with their lives. I would not be a happy camper if I were constantly awoken by someone else’s feelings.
He shrugged. “It happens.”
Not the answer I was looking for right now. “What did I miss while I was rendered unconscious?”
His lips twitched, knowing I was jabbing at him for using tranquility on me. He was lucky I didn’t poison his ass. “Let’s go find out. I’m sure the others are wondering where we are, or if I’m holding you captive.”
I was surprised they hadn’t rammed down the door. “It would serve you right for letting me sleep so long.”
“You needed it, Cupcake.”
I scowled, awkwardly following him to the library where Zade and Kieran were sprawled about, each with a book in their hands. Gold shelves of books lined all four of the walls all the way to the ceiling. A trace of something old and magical scented the air, something more than just dusty books.
“What are we researching? A way to kill a devourer? How to bind a witch’s magic? Or how to get the stone out of a volcano?” I asked upon entering the opulent room.
Kieran’s twinkling gaze peeked over a large dark green leather-bound book. “All of the above.”
“Great,” I mumbled, taking an empty recliner. “Toss me a book.”
Someone put a plate of food in my hands instead, ordering me to eat. “Do you really think we’ll find something here that will help us?” I asked, forking a piece of buttered bread with cinnamon and sugar that looked like French toast.
Zade crossed an ankle over his knee, a book propped on his leg. “You think we should be out there doing something, instead of cooped up in the library flipping through books older than all of us?”
I lifted my brows. “Is that so wrong?”
Jase shook his head. “No. You’re not alone in this feeling. But,” he added. “Not all battles are won in the field. Some are won by being educated, prepared. It is as important to be educated as it is to be able to wield a sword.”
“Have there been any other sightings of the devourer? Perhaps it went back to whatever hell it came from.”
“Only one. In the Nameless Lands.” Jase’s voice was a bit tight when he answered.
I sunk back against the cushion, the half-eaten plate of food now neglected alongside a stack of parchments. “How many other forgotten, or creatures of legend will she resurrect?”
Beside me, the light winked out of Kieran’s eyes. “Until she gets what she wants. Us. The Veil. The stars.”
Issik strolled into the room with purposeful strides at that moment, and stretched out on the other side of me. “Where have you been?” I asked, seeing the exhaustion lining his eyes. And I thought I’d had a rough night.
His head hit the back of the chair. “Searching the Nameless Lands.”
“Did you find the wanderer? Or the devourer?”
He shook his head. “Not a trace. He is exceptional at hiding his tracks.”
This was hopeless. My fingers rubbed over the sides of my temples.
Zade was watching me with intensity, no doubt sensing my frustration. “Why does it look like you’re working on an early headache?”
“I had a restless night,” was all I said, assuming Jase had already filled in the others about my late night escapade.
Jase coughed to cover up the grin on his lips, and the other three dragons pinned him with equal glares of ill humor.
My ears flared with heat. “That’s not what I meant. Not everything is about sex.” I was in a mood. And not that kind of mood.
“We got to do something to stay sane around here,” Kieran drawled.
I ignored him and grabbed a book. “What the hell am I looking for?” I asked, staring down at the jumble of words on the page. Was this even English?
Jase came to peer over my shoulder. “Pretty sure you’re reading it upside down.”
I stared at the book frowning. Why did I bother?
He flipped the book around in my lap. “This is a journal about the lore of beasts. You might find some information on how to kill the devourer in there. The language is old, but the drawings will be useful. If you see anything that resembles the devourer, we’ll have Issik translate.”
“He can read this?” The words lining the page were symbols that reminded me of runes.
Jase nodded. “His family was one of the last to still speak the language of the gods.”
I glanced over at the Ice Prince. He was sipping from a glass, thumbing through a large book with a dragon shield embossed on the cover. “Are all these books filled with magic?”
The dim light beside Jase picked up highlights of his dark hair. “Most of them. The important ones were divided between the royal families for safekeeping, away from humans. In the wrong hands, these books could be catastrophic.”
Like Tianna’s.
My attention shifted to my book, curious about what kind of magic it beheld.
A half hour later, I no longer was curious but enthralled and a bit frightened. Once or twice I gasped at the pictures that stared back at me. Beasts with horns or multiple heads. Creatures with scorpion tails or no spines. Animals that could take the shape of anything it touched. So many different types of horrors.
It didn’t matter that I couldn’t read the text. The drawings spoke a thousand words.
We had spent most of the day in the library, when I raised my head from the book of beasts to roll my neck. Wariness shone on my dragons’ faces, but they dutifully continued searching for answers, anything to give us the edge in this battle against Tianna. The descendants had come and gone from the room, attempting to wear off their restlessness, or satiate their hunger, but it had all been uneventful. So, I was altogether startled when the door to the library blew open and in stormed Issik, a frosty chill sweeping through the room at his wake. I hadn’t even noticed he had left the library until that moment.
Jase’s gaze went stony as he faced the Ice Prince. “What is it?” he asked disconcerted.
Issik’s icy expression remained intact, but his eyes were swirling with cold blistering rage. “We just received word that Tianna has attacked Wakeland. Your kingdom is under siege, Jase.”
Chapter Twelve
Issik’s announcement caused a roar to rip throughout the castle, and Kieran and Zade jumped to their feet.
“How long?” it was Jase who spoke, demanding an answer from the Ice Prince.
A shiver danced down my spine. I’d never seen such lethal calm in Jase’s eyes.
“Not more than ten minutes ago. She has sealed the keep with a spell, moving her army in from the borders of the Nameless Lands, and into the villages,” Issik supplied.
Amethyst scales instantly papered over Jase’s arms, spreading along his body. Without another word, he tore through the room, the others on his heels, and I was quick to scamper after.
“Jase,” Zade called, daring to lay a hand on his shoulder.
Jase whirled, a growl curling his lips, but Zade’s fingers tightened their hold, in understanding. If it had been his home, Zade would have erupted into
a blaze of fire. I marveled at Jase’s control.
“We need to think this through. It could be a trap,” Zade urged.
“I have to go.”
Kieran shot Jase a calculating look. “No one is saying don’t go, but let us help.”
Jase’s eyes glittered like burning starlight as he gave a short nod. “We don’t have much time. She is making a point, letting us know she can take what is ours. We need to show her we’re not so easy to conquer.”
“We can’t leave Olivia,” Issik said. No one argued that point.
“Damn right you can’t. I’m coming with you,” I declared.
Issik’s face was as cold as ever. “It’s too dangerous. If she is there…”
Zade didn’t so much as blink in my direction. “And if it is a trap? As much as none of us want to admit, we can’t go up against Tianna alone. She would pluck Olivia right from under our nose.”
Silence followed.
Cool anger simmered under the surface of Jase’s expression. “We’re safer in numbers. She comes with us,” he ordered, and didn’t wait for anyone to argue as he immediately shifted, becoming a deadly dragon, a warrior with murder gleaming in his eyes. He hadn’t even bothered to shed his clothes, the material ribboned to pieces on the floor.
Kieran and Issik were quick to follow, joining Jase in the sky. The heavy beating of their wings sounded like the hovering of helicopter blades slicing through the air, taking them higher away from me.
Nausea unfurled in my stomach as Zade turned to me. The magnitude of what I was about to fly into hit the defensive wall I’d constructed. Tianna. I was going to see the witch for the first time since she abducted me—tortured me.
“You okay, Little Gem?”
My heart stumbled a bit, but I lifted my chin, pushing through it. “Let’s go,” I said tightly.
Understanding painted in his features. Zade barked orders to his staff and returned to my side, holding out his hand. “You forgot this.” He offered me what he so zealously held, and I glanced down.
My dagger. The one Jase had given me over a month ago. The white of my knuckles showed as I took the blade.
“Just in case,” he added, when I lifted my eyes to meet his in question.
Every inch of him was thrumming with the urge to shift and he didn’t give in until I nodded, signaling that I was ready. Securing the blade to the outside of my thigh, I caught the tail end of Zade’s transformation to a fire-breathing dragon. He shook out his head, the sun glinting off his red-gold scales, before sinking to the ground for me to climb on him.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared shitless. The prospect of seeing Tianna again sent a spiral of terror rushing through my veins. I’d never been in a battle, let alone one with a witch. My expectations were horrifying, but my concern for the descendants and the people who called Wakeland their home, trumped all my fears and reservations. To save my dragons, to protect my home, I’d sacrifice myself—I’d fight Tianna to my death.
Zade shoved off the ground to join the others, and the wind tore at me. I clung onto his neck fiercely as we climbed into the sky. “No matter what happens, don’t let go of me,” he instructed.
My legs and hands tightened against him in response.
“We’ll be keeping higher in the sky, helping Kieran clear out the villages. Jase and Issik are at the castle,” he informed with smooth precision.
Wakeland approached in the distance, and it was the blinding lights and thunderous roars echoing throughout the Veil that held me enraptured. When we grew closer, I gasped. The lake I had retrieved the first star from was stained red. I didn’t want to think about what had caused the waters to turn the color of blood.
“Olivia?”
Forcing myself to breathe, I realized that no air was flowing into my lungs. “I’m okay.” My mouth had gone dry at the sights around me. “Do it,” I rasped. We couldn’t afford to waste another second. Those people in the villages were counting on us.
Zade opened his jaw, letting a stream of fire rain upon Tianna’s army during our first pass over the farming village. Suffocating heat filled the air, followed by the stench of charred flesh and cries of agony. Nothing about fighting, about killing, was glorified like the movies showed. It was heartbreaking. Defeating. Gut-wrenching. And bloody.
I had not anticipated the sheer force of Tianna’s army—of her powers—of what she was capable of. To make such a violent move made me think she was threatened, perhaps by me. She wanted the stars and the power they wielded, but to do so, she would have to go through me.
My gaze found Kieran on the ground, standing across the bridge as he spewed a vile mist of poison on Tianna’s soldiers. They were made up of goblins, griffins, spirits from the otherworld, and other creatures I couldn’t identify—and probably didn’t want to know.
By some small miracle, I spotted no wraiths. Yet.
Would the descendants be taking on both her army and the witch herself, assuming she showed her face? Her curse had weakened their powers, but even then, they were magnificent. I quivered thinking about what the four of them could do at full strength. This wouldn’t have been much of a battle.
Below us, the screams of those who had made a home in Wakeland pierced the air, rising over the battle. So many. They didn’t stand a chance against Tianna’s ranks, not with mythical abilities the creatures possessed. I didn’t know how the witch was able to band together such numbers. What did she promise them? Were they ensnared in her web of spells like the dragons?
I squared my shoulders. “Bitch,” I hissed. How could she do such a thing?
In that moment, two griffins flocked at either side of Zade, blocking him in between them. Their beaks clamped with sharp snaps toward me, and I don’t know what happened. Something inside me took over. Perhaps it was Jase’s lessons, or newly awoken instincts, but I didn’t hesitate. Opening my mouth, I let a stream of poison burst from my lungs, blowing the green mist into their feathery faces. The toxic vapor found its way into their nostrils, vengefully sizzling and burning through every inch of them. Shrieking in agony, they fell, hitting the ground with a thud that could be heard from the clouds.
Damn, that felt good.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
Zade circled back around over the village, drowning a cluster of troops in a ring of fire. She had turned Jase’s kingdom into her own twisted hunting ground. Why? For no other reason than she could—for sick pleasure.
Below us woman and children ran, seeking coverage and protection. Kieran slammed his jaws over a pair of goblins before they had a chance to willowphase out of danger—like they had been doing, popping in and out of the village. Their bodies tumbled to the ground, followed by their severed heads, dropping out of Kieran’s mouth. Blood dripped from his lips.
The sun, tinged in pink, rose higher as if it knew blood had been spilled this day. We glided through the village’s streets, surveying the destruction and searching for any lingering soldiers. Then over the howling winds, my ears picked up a scream.
Crispness settled into my vision, the roiling of my power swirling in my chest. Left. Right. Left again. My eyes darted over the cobblestone street, but no sight of who was calling out for help. Zade’s muscles were strained underneath me. “There.” I pointed to the bridge.
A trio of awakened dead was taunting an elderly woman. Her frail fingers gripped the wooden banister as she backed away, and it was clear then that Tianna would use any willing body, dead or alive, to fight her battles.
“Hang on tight!” Zade dropped in a near vertical dive, heading straight for the dead. He soared with speed and accuracy, and my heart thundered against my ribs.
If he didn’t—Oh, my god we were going to—
At the last second before impact, Zade pulled up, the talons on his feet sinking into two of the walking dead, and tearing them open. He used his tail to whip the third, sending it flying to the lake as its body split in two from the force. After he raised
us to the flawless clouds again, his grip loosened, dropping the remaining pieces of the other two he’d had in his clutches.
“You good?” he asked into my mind, his deep voice filled with concern.
“As good as expected.” I wasn’t sure I would ever forget the sounds, the smell, or the terrifying feeling it gave me.
“Let’s find Jase and Issik, see if they need any help with the witch.”
Zade changed our direction, slicing through the blue skies with Kieran to our left. Together we headed for Wakeland Keep. The castle had an eerie shimmer that swathed it. Zade perched us on top of one of the towers, giving us a view with an advantage. Kieran sat on the twin tower, poised for the next attack.
The tower trembled beneath us as Jase landed on the ground, letting a roar of pure rage echo throughout his kingdom. Issik kept to the skies above the lake, picking off any remaining soldiers guarding the castle. Two died instantly, frozen and then splintered by the spikes of his tail. Their remains shattered like glass.
I glanced at my four dragons, relieved they were alive and unharmed, but that respite didn’t last. At closer inspection, I saw the weariness in their eyes, in their bodies, in their powers. She had done that.
What more was she capable of?
I thought of my own scars and the ones now left on Wakeland. How many more innocents would suffer for her greed for power?
Jase released another rumble from deep within his chest, letting it shudder over the land. Tianna had encased his home in one of her wicked spells. Why? What did she hope to achieve? Was it me she wanted? Was it to shove her dominance over the descendants, make them grovel at her feet?
As the thought crossed my mind, the front doors to the keep parted, and she appeared. Tianna strolled from inside Jase’s home like she was its queen, her black-laced gown flowing like fluid night behind her. Her scarlet lips curled.
I loathed the fear that sprang inside me at my first sight of her, the way my breath came out jagged.
“Easy,” Zade crooned in warning.
