The Phoenix Born (A Dance of Dragons #3)

by Kaitlyn Davis

"Do you feel him?" Leena asked with awe.

  Bran looked up, smiling wide. "That must be where Lady Jinji went."

  Already, Rhen sensed the dragon soaring closer. He was fast—faster than all of them. He would be here in no time.

  Good. No time is all we have, he thought.

  "Come on," Rhen said, mounting Firestorm. All three of them took off into the air, leaving Janu behind. Speaking through the bond, he added, "If we can just hold them until Jin and the air dragon arrive, we may be able to defeat them."

  The others agreed.

  But just as before, very little they did had any effect.

  Rhen blasted flames into the fog, dispersing the black for a moment, but it always came back. Leena flooded the ground, but the cloud was undisturbed. Bran shook the earth, cracking the field apart and creating fissures beneath the misty shape, but it just floated over the destruction.

  The darkness crept over the edge of the city. All those left outside of the closed gate disappeared into the ebony. Raven wisps drifted up, brushing against the guards at the top of the wall. A single touch was enough. One by one, sky-blue vests dropped out of sight as the guards became paralyzed by the ghostly caress. Anyone not touched ran, risking death as they jumped from the wall, retreating into the depths of the city in terror.

  And through it all, the phantoms just kept coming. Slowly. Taking their time, feeding off the terror rising over Roninhythe.

  Just as Rhen was losing hope, the air dragon arrived.

  Rhen didn't see him.

  But he felt his magic.

  The air above the city shifted, swirling into a vortex of wind, stirring the phantoms into a spiral over the city, pulling the mist away from the people. The whirlwind tightened, narrowing into an ebony tornado. Flashes of translucent wings circled the cyclone, signs of a dragon made to blend into the sky. And then all as one, the tension of the storm broke, throwing the phantoms out and away, back toward the open field.

  Rhen watched from the side, unsure what to do.

  And then he saw Jinji, standing alone in the center of the field, waiting calmly as the mist blew toward her. The air to either side of her shimmered, rippling as her magic changed the very makeup of the world, weaving and bending the spirit to her will. Slowly, bodies filled the space around her. Hundreds of them, still, like dolls, lifeless.

  The phantoms descended.

  Then disappeared, sucked away, sucked inside.

  The bodies around her stirred with life.

  "Fight," she whispered to her riders. "Fight to kill."

  And they did.

  Rhen scorched the open field in a bed of flames, but unlike with Rayfort, he couldn't feel these souls die beneath his fire. He didn't drown in their agony. They were already dead. He was just sending them back to where they belonged. Firestorm was confident beneath him, showing no hesitation as he burned the walking corpses, shooting fire out in a massive inferno, so hot that even Rhen began to sweat in the blaze.

  Leena worked as his perfect opposite—the frost to his flames. Shards of sharp ice pierced the phantoms. Floods of water gushed across the field, knocking the bodies over and then freezing them below the depths of the water.

  The ground swallowed the dead and undead alike as Bran ripped the earth to shreds. Dirt tore apart as the field cracked into deep crevices, holes with no obvious end.

  The wind dragon continued to send the mist toward them. Any ebony in the sky was blown away from Roninhythe and straight into the massacre the dragons were executing.

  And at the center of them all was Jinji. The key to their strength. The knot that held them all together. Without pause, she wove new empty human shells for the phantoms to get sucked into.

  Rhen almost couldn't believe his eyes. Everything clicked. The five of them were united at last, a thousand years in the making. They were born to work together, to be a team. Hope surged in his chest, filling his veins, bringing a warmth to his soul stronger than any fire.

  The people of Roninhythe were protected. They were safe.

  The phantoms were falling back, fading.

  The mist shrank.

  The dragons were winning.

  And as suddenly as the battle started, it ended. The darkness disappeared in the blink of an eye, retreating to the shadow realm, running away in defeat. Rhen cheered. Firestorm roared into the sky. The sound of four victorious dragons and four victorious riders filled the air, triumphant.

  And then Rhen let his heart carry him, swooping Firestorm low to the ground and jumping from his back before the dragon even had time to stop. He landed already running toward her and lifted Jinji off her feet, swinging her around as her laughter filled the air around him, a sweeter sound than any he had ever heard. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight, and Rhen slowed, pulling her close, enveloping her delicate frame in his sturdy arms. Their bodies shifted ever so slightly, searching for each other, until their lips were finally close enough to touch. He dug his fingers into the back of her ebony hair, shifting her chin up, kissing her with the passion exploding from his chest. And Jinji returned his touch wholeheartedly, melting against him.

  A whistle from above broke them apart.

  A very teasing whistle.

  Rhen glanced up, meeting the impressed eyes of their newest rider, the air rider. He was dressed in rags with a smug smile gracing his lips. Raising his brows, he hollered again. Against Rhen's torso, Jinji began to shake with embarrassed giggles, sensing the eyes of the other riders on them.

  But Rhen didn't care.

  He went back for more, drunk on the taste of her lips, better than any ale in the kingdom. With that intoxication, it was easy to ignore the catcalls raining down from above. But Jinji pulled away, cheeks ruby.

  "We did it," he whispered fiercely, finding her golden eyes, always marveling at how they sparkled with the light of the sun, a beacon calling him home.

  She reached up, moving her palms over his broad chest, caressing his neck. Even the blush on her cheeks couldn't hide the joy radiating from her honey skin. "We did it."

  They started to laugh together.

  Jinji dropped her face into her hands, overwhelmed by her own reaction, and he hugged her close, chin resting on the top of her head. With a contented sigh, he met the eyes of the comrades around him. Leena, who watched them with an edge of longing. Bran, who looked a touch self-conscious, yet grinned widely beneath his bowed head. And the unnamed air rider, who barely glanced at them, and instead eyed his dragon with exalted wonder. Already, Rhen recognized some of himself in the rascal, no more than a year or two younger. The self-assured smirk. The bravado. The need for adventure. He would balance out the team nicely.

  And then Rhen's eyes slipped to the last member of the group.

  He froze.

  Janu.

  In a heartbeat, Rhen's entire demeanor shifted. Because when he looked at Janu he didn't see the lonely man standing before him now, eyes somewhat shaded with bewilderment. No. He saw that fiendish leer that graced his lips moments before the phantoms had descended. He saw the hate that had clouded his eyes, backed with a lifetime of meaning. He saw someone else. He saw…

  But Rhen shook his head.

  It wasn't possible.

  No.

  "Rhen?" Jinji asked, glancing up at him, sensing the way his muscles stiffened, no longer gentle beneath her touch.

  But he stepped away from her. Backed away. Retreating as thoughts crashed over him, one by one, too many coincidences to ignore, too many questions all with the same answer.

  How had a small boy of seven or eight faked his own death? How had he convinced his family and his friends that he had perished? Why? What possible motive could there be?

  And how had he made his way to the Gates? How had he made it through the crashing waves and the crushing cliffs, to a space only Jinji's magic or the dragons could reach?

  Why had he returned at the exact moment the first dragon had been awakened? What better time to distract Jinj
i from the fight? To pull her mind in two?

  How had the shadow known they traveled to Brython? How had it beaten them there? And now again with Roninhythe?

  Why had Jinji left them in secret to find the last rider? What had she been afraid of? Who?

  "No," Rhen whispered.

  Terror clenched his gut. Shock pulsed through him. Disbelief.

  She wouldn't have lied about that. She wouldn't have let so many perish. A whole city of innocents. Almost two of them. Not when all along she'd had the answer. Not when she could have ended this days ago. Or at least let them work on a solution together.

  "No," he said again, louder this time, as anger rippled across his limbs, clenching his fists tight. His head shook, pulsing back and forth. His body refused to believe what his mind knew to be true, his heart refused to believe it.

  Janu was the shadow.

  The shadow was Janu.

  The enemy had been with them all along. The shadow's true body had been within reach all along.

  "No!" he shouted, gripping his hair.

  Jinji winced, stepping back as though slapped.

  Her eyes widened with understanding.

  The color drained from her face.

  The life.

  "Rhen," she murmured, barely more than air. "Please."

  He met her stare dead on, unflinchingly demanding. "You knew?"

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  "Knew what?" Leena asked, stepping closer, watching them guardedly.

  But Rhen was beyond answering. He closed in on Jinji as she cowered away from him, watching him with so much sorrow in her eyes that it pained his soul, but he couldn't stop. Not when the fate of the world was on the line. "You know what we must do."

  Jinji shook her head. "He's my brother."

  "He's the end of the world."

  Jinji stood tall, strength mounting as she stepped between Rhen and Janu, blocking his path. "I won't let you, Rhen. I love you, but I won't let you. He's my family. You know what that means. You burned an entire army to the ground to save yours. An army of innocent people I had to heal."

  "It's not the same!" he yelled. How could she be so blind? His family had been at war, victims of a rebellion. Her family was the war, was the literal embodiment of evil.

  But Jinji stepped closer, just as challenging, just as demanding. "How is it different? You would have killed anyone who stood against them, no matter how many, no matter who. You would have died defending them."

  Frustration mounted beneath his skin, frustration and fury. And it exploded in words he couldn't control, words he knew he would come to regret. But he couldn't stop himself from shouting them anyway, pointing at Janu in judgment. "He's not your family. He killed your family! I found you a hair from death, surrounded by the ashes of those you loved, of everyone you loved. He ripped your entire life away, your entire culture, your entire world. Everything you ever knew, he stole it!"

  Jinji wobbled, falling to her knees as her strength gave out.

  A broken woman.

  "Not him," she whispered, eyes on the dirt, trying to convince herself of the truth. "They are not the same. Just as the voice in my head is not me. He is not Janu."

  "He is," Rhen said softly, hating that he had to press the point. But he did. "You must see that."

  Jinji hesitated.

  Just for a moment. She closed her eyes. Rhen saw her pause, saw everything about her lock up, utterly lost, utterly confused. And though he knew she might never forgive him, he also knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't try.

  So he jumped into action, racing past her, hands outstretched for Janu, reaching for his throat. Rhen was bigger, stronger. He could end this now. He could save so many people. This was the decision that had slowly been breaking Jinji, tearing her down the middle. He realized that now. And he could end her suffering. He could hope that eventually she might understand that he only did what he had to do.

  Janu didn't even try to step away, didn't even try to defend himself.

  He waited for the end.

  He welcomed it.

  "No!" Jinji shrieked.

  A moment later, Rhen fell, jerked back by the ankles as he landed face first in the dirt, spitting blood. He tried to stand, to rush forward. Janu was only a few inches out of reach. But the pressure holding him back wouldn't break. He felt chains against his skin. And then shackles appeared around his wrists too, holding him down like a caged animal, matching the ones that already circled his feet. The restraints were anchored to the ground, unbreakable iron.

  "I'm sorry," Jinji cried, moving next to her brother, looking down at Rhen utterly shattered, pulled into pieces. She knelt before him, afraid to touch the man she loved. A wall had come up between them. Invisible, but stronger than anything either of them had ever known. "I'm so sorry."

  Rhen remained silent, lip curled, breathing heavily into the space separating their bodies. There wasn't a single word he could think to say. All that remained was the maelstrom of emotions coursing through him, changing from one instant to the next, uncertain and uncontrollable. The woman he loved with all of his heart was turning into a stranger before him.

  Jinji closed the gap, unable to bear it any longer. She gripped his cheeks, forcing Rhen to meet her eyes. "We'll find another way. I promise. You have to believe me. You have to know there is no other choice, not for me. You have to understand."

  Against his will, Rhen sank into her touch, letting the warmth of her fingers seep into his skin, knowing full well this could be the last time that ever happened. "What other way?"

  Jinji bit her lip, brows crunching together. She couldn't admit what she knew in her heart. Rhen could feel the words waiting in the back of her throat, could hear them just as clearly as if she had said them herself.

  She didn't know any other way.

  She didn't have an answer.

  "The world deserves better," he whispered.

  Jinji dropped her hands to her side. Rhen's head hung low without the weight of her strength to support him. "What would you have me do?" Her voice cracked. "He's my brother. He's the only family I have left. Would you have me put the knife in his back myself?"

  But this time, it was Rhen who didn't have the answer.

  What if it were Whyllem? Could he murder his own brother to save the fate of the world? Could he stand by and let someone else do it?

  No. Of course not.

  But that wasn't the decision fate had placed in his hands.

  The real question was could he lose her to save the world? Were the thousands of other souls in need of his help worth more than the love he had for one woman? Could he sacrifice his heart and his soul to help them?

  Rhen didn't have an answer.

  Not yet.

  In the silence, an arm came around Rhen's shoulders, guarding him protectively, holding him close. He had no will to move away. No strength left.

  "There is no other option," the princess said softly, umber eyes dark with understanding and focused only on Jinji.

  Bran stepped to Rhen's other side, placing a hand on his back, knowing enough of the truth to choose a side. And the air rider closed the circle, unaware of what was going on, but sensing his place was with the riders. That bond was the only thing keeping Rhen together, the only shred of light he had to hold on to.

  Jinji ran her eyes over them, pleading. She removed the shackles holding Rhen down, freeing his limbs and waiting for him to go to her. Hoping he would.

  But Rhen didn't have the strength to move.

  He barely had the strength to meet her eyes. And just as he found the courage to open his mouth, to tell her to stay, to tell her what he knew deep down she needed to hear, Jinji disappeared, taking Janu with her.

  They vanished.

  Gone.

  And Rhen didn't know if she would ever return.

  13

  JINJI

  ~ RONINHYTHE ~

  Jinji stood behind her illusion, watching all four of her riders as
they sided against her, as they banished her. Hand outstretched, as still as a statue, her fingers were close enough to caress Rhen's cheek. The heat of his skin brushed against her, palpable. She recoiled from the warmth. It was too hot compared to her frozen heart.

  And with the moment broken, she ran.

  "Jin!"

  The faint call barely made it to her ears. But it was too late. Jinji was already running. Already sprinting far away. Not even Rhen's voice could call her back.

  "Jinji!" Janu shouted next. Unlike the riders, he was on her side of the illusion. Janu could see her. He could follow. And he did, feet pounding in the dirt chasing after her.

  But still, Jinji pressed forward, trying to escape them all, to escape a destiny she knew deep down she could never outrun. Despite her shorter legs, Janu couldn't keep up. Desperation fueled her. Potent and powerful, making her legs move swifter than they ever had before. She kept racing, urgent, unable to remove the feel of Rhen's eyes on her back, unable to fight the sense that he was watching her run away even though she knew it was impossible. The world blurred as her eyes filled with water.

  And then she tripped.

  Jinji lunged forward, falling swiftly, tumbling head over foot, scraping her arms and her legs. The pain overpowered her. She couldn't fight it any longer. Cheek resting on the grass, limbs bent at uncomfortable angles, she came to a stop and didn't move. She couldn't even if she wanted to.

  "Jinji," Janu said, dropping to her side.

  But he too had little strength. So rather than pick her up, he met her on the ground, body matching hers as he curled into a fetal position, twins just like they had always been. Two halves of one whole, not complete without the other. But unlike the other times they used to lay like this, Janu didn't reach out his hand. He didn't touch her. He didn't comfort her. He watched her with hard, grief-stricken eyes.

  She had to look away.

  Jinji focused on the blades of grass in front of her eyes, watching as the tips bent over in the wind. No matter how far they leaned, as soon as the breeze died, they straightened back up, unaffected, recovering. The grass never fell so far that it couldn't stand up again. Splayed out, unable to shift a muscle, Jinji was envious of that resistance.