by Shae Ford
“She cares nothing for the Dragongirl,” the Firecrowned King hissed.
It stretched its skeletal hand into the dripping water. The corners of its frozen grin seemed to sharpen as the drops struck its bone: the moisture hissed and spat, obscuring its face in a cloud of steam.
Argon felt his shackle begin to burn with the King’s command. He felt another vision pressing against the backs of his eyes, fighting its way towards the surface. “Please, specter … if there’s any human left in you at all, you’ll —”
“There isn’t, and I won’t. Fate doesn’t make mistakes,” the Firecrowned King whispered. “All of her plans are perfect. The realm must be led back into glory, the King must secure the throne, my eternal crown must be given.” Its head swiveled upon its spiney neck to trap Argon within the fires of its grin. “There’s only one force she can’t control, only one shadow she cannot see. He alone has the power to undo everything. You’ve seen for yourself the will he holds against her. The realm can’t be left at the mercy of this mortal whelp. No,” it hissed, coals flaring into spouts of yellow flame. “The Forsaken One must … be … stopped.”
CHAPTER 21
Warmth and Silence
They flew over the Valley and between the mountains’ peaks. The air was so thick with angry, frosted clouds that Kael couldn’t see where they were going. He cringed every time Kyleigh turned her wings and waited for the whoosh of something enormous passing them by: cliffs and the spiny tops of trees, the misty gush of the falls. She tilted sideways at one point, and he clung on for his life.
Kael had begun to suspect that she was doing it on purpose. But it wasn’t until he nearly got his head scraped off beneath a jagged arch of stone that he knew for sure.
“It’s not funny,” he insisted over her rumbling laugh. “I could’ve been very seriously mangled.”
Oh, you had plenty of room, she replied.
“Yes, after I ducked. How much further do we have to go?” he went on before she could retort.
I’m not sure.
Kael would’ve thrown his hands up in exasperation, had he not had such a firm grip on her spines. “How can you not be sure? I thought you knew where the dragon was going.”
I do know where he’s going, she said testily. I’m just not sure how long it’ll take to get there.
They’d been flying long enough that Kael was certain they were about to run out of map. The only thing left was the summit. When he said as much, she laughed again.
The world doesn’t end at your mountains, Kael.
Before he could ask her what she meant, they were falling. He flattened himself against her back as the force of the earth tried to rip him free. His knees clamped against her sides and he clung so tightly to her spines that his fingers began to ache.
After a few weightless moments, her wings burst open — smacking Kael’s head against her back. He peeled his face from her scales, fully intending to scold her. But the sight beneath him froze the words to his lips.
The mountains loomed far behind them, their tops lost within an impenetrable army of clouds. Before them stretched something he’d never seen: an ocean the color of the purest blue.
Frosted white crests topped each of its waves. Chunks of ice drifted across them — many larger than a ship. But there were a few so enormous that he thought the whole of Tinnark could’ve settled upon their tops. Some were jagged, with spines that made them look like the spires of the Unforgivable Mountains. One stretched so far that for a moment, he was convinced they’d stumbled across a new land.
He could hardly believe it when they passed its end.
“The northern seas,” he said, his voice a whisper. “But this is where the Kingdom ends … isn’t it?”
No, there’s a land beyond this one, Kyleigh insisted.
“You’ve seen it?”
Yes. Well, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that I’ve dreamt of it.
Kael couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Oh, for mercy’s sake. We’ve got to turn back. If we leave now —”
I’m not going anywhere. I know Devin went this way. Now might be our only chance to catch him without Ulric’s hand around his throat.
“Devin?” Kael was slightly disappointed. “That’s a ridiculous name for a dragon.”
What were you expecting his name to be? Great-One? Fire-Breath?
“Anything would’ve been better than Devin. I’m not even afraid of him anymore.”
Kyleigh’s laugh faded after a moment. When she spoke again, her voice came softly: He’s not only a dragon. If I show you something, will you promise to not to be angry?
“What makes me angry is not knowing there’s a dragon after us, in the first place. I’m still furious with you about that. Why didn’t you just tell me?” he said at her pause. “I could’ve warned the wildmen. They could’ve carried their dragonsbane —”
I didn’t want him to be killed.
Kael couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So you’d rather kill the wildmen?”
Even if I’d told them the truth, do you think they would’ve listened? she growled against his ears. Did Gwen listen when you told her Midlan was coming, or when you warned her about the King’s attack? Did she listen when the mages were blasting their way through the Cleft?
No, she hadn’t. Not even when the clouds were boiling and Kael yelled for her to move did she listen. She’d clung to her stubborn will until the moment the fires fell — and had he not shoved her away, she would’ve been turned to ashes.
Kyleigh was probably right about the wildmen: she could’ve drawn the dragon’s picture out for Gwen, and the Thane would’ve ignored her until the last. But even for all that, there was one thing Kael didn’t understand, one thing that troubled him greatly.
One thing that burned him worse than all the rest.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said again.
I didn’t think you’d understand. I was curious. I was desperate to speak with him. You don’t know what it’s like to be alone, to be the last of your kind, she said, her voice imploring. And I thought if I had a chance to save him, I would. But then he went after you, and I hated him for it. I planned to kill him. But then we spoke … and I … now I don’t want to hurt him.
Kale’s head was spinning. “So you were curious, and then you wanted to kill him, and now you know you can’t kill him. What in Kingdom’s name —?”
Let me show you.
He sat very still as her memory rose before his eyes: he saw a young man standing with his back to the spray of the falls. His body was stretched and warped — his flesh a mix of skin and scales.
The young man’s eyes raged yellow, at first. They were the dragon’s eyes, and his voice was every bit as harsh as his roar. Then his lids closed and his eyes turned blue. Kael hardly listened when he spoke again: he was frozen by the young man’s stare, trapped against the shadow of something else.
He swore he’d seen those eyes before …
Now do you understand why I can’t kill him? There’s more to him than dragon. There’s a part of him that’s good — just like Jake, and Eveningwing, Kyleigh said.
Kael blinked as she pulled the memory away and the cold breath of the skies filled his lungs. “Yes,” he said after a moment. “I understand.”
This seemed to please her. There was a bit more lift in her wings as she carried them between the caps of ice. But Kael hardly noticed.
Something had begun to worm its way inside his heart — a feeling with countless spiny limbs. There was venom in its touch: little burning patches flared up wherever it squirmed. They grew together and swelled until the venom began to rise in his throat. Even after Kael forced it down, he could still feel it hissing inside his chest.
Perhaps Kyleigh was right: perhaps there truly was more to the dragon than he’d seen. If he’d known for certain that the black dragon wouldn’t harm her, he’d release him without a second thought. He would’ve given her anything she asked for.
He would’ve given his life for her without a second thought … but he wouldn’t let her risk her own. He would protect her for as long as he drew breath — no matter what it took.
*******
Night fell upon them quickly. At this edge of the world, the sun didn’t set: it plummeted beneath the horizon. The red streak it left behind was their only light for hours. Soon, even that began to fade.
The darkness was unsettling. A thin swath of clouds muted the starlight and gave the waves beneath them a strange glow. Instead of settling upon its top, the light sank beneath it — warping the sea from the inside out, turning the pure blue into a sickly green.
Kael couldn’t help but be reminded of the Tempest: the color of the waves, the eerie silence that hung in the air around them — it all reminded him of that monstrous storm. Though the northern seas lay still, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Can you see anything?” he said to Kyleigh. His voice barely rose above the beating of her wings. He couldn’t bring himself to speak any louder. He felt as if the sky above them watched.
As if it waited.
I can see well enough. We aren’t in any danger, Kyleigh assured him.
“We’ve been going for a while. Aren’t you tired?”
Not particularly. The wind’s doing most of the work.
“Still, I think we ought to land somewhere and wait until dawn. Just to be safe.”
I love your imagination, Kael. It has a way of making things … exciting, she said, with a growl that matched the sudden wave of heat that coursed across her flesh. But if I hear one more comment about how you don’t like the way the moonlight hits the water, I swear I’ll give you a closer look.
“Don’t bother. If we go on for much longer, I wager we’ll both be getting a closer look. You can’t fly forever,” he insisted.
Her sigh filled his head in a heated cloud. There’s nowhere to land but on the ice caps — and I don’t think you’d fancy that.
She drew up an image: one of him curled inside his bedroll, snoring and unaware until he suddenly snapped through the ice. It was completely ridiculous, and he was still cross with her.
But that didn’t stop him from smiling. “I like to think I’d be able to feel it melting before I fell in. And I don’t snore like that.”
You do, sometimes … especially if the moon is bright.
She drew up other things — things linked to the memories of his snoring that had nothing to do with sleep … things that made heat spread across his face and down his neck. “Yes, well, you’d fall through the ice first,” he said testily. “Your skin is hotter than mine.”
Her memories broke against her rumbling laugh. Kael had to come up on his rump as a swell of heat pressed against her scales. But it was better than having to watch the things she showed him.
He didn’t like to look at himself through her eyes.
They sailed on for a few quiet minutes before Kyleigh showed him something else. He saw himself grasping the black dragon’s collar and ripping it free. But the image was blurred at its edges — a question. If Kyleigh distracted the dragon, did Kael think he could free him?
“Maybe. But it’ll be dangerous,” he said, careful to keep the other things he felt pressed far behind his words.
Had this been a wolf or even a bear under the King’s spell, he would’ve freed it without a moment’s thought. If a wolf or a bear turned savage, he could handle it easily. But not even Kyleigh could stop the halfdragon if he came after them again.
Kael’s blood bubbled hotly when she turned to watch a gap in the clouds and he saw the jagged cut across her muzzle. The scaly bridge of her brow was swollen taut. No matter how she rolled her eyes, he knew she must be in pain. No matter how much she swore she could handle herself, he wouldn’t listen. Even if she were willing to put herself in danger, Kael wouldn’t let her.
Not a thing in the Kingdom or to the edge of the map was worth Kyleigh’s life — and that went doubly for the black dragon.
No … Kael had no intention of risking her life to set the dragon free. His hand twitched to where the dragonsbane dagger lay sheathed inside his belt. If he got a clear shot, he would take it.
“How much further do we have to go?” he said after a moment, trying to cover his thoughts before they swelled too close to the surface.
I’m not sure. But I know Devin went this way, and this feels …
Her words faded as her thoughts flicked to something else. “What if he’s turned around?” Kael said after a moment.
He hasn’t.
“He might’ve.”
No, I’m fairly certain he hasn’t.
“We’ve been flying all day and haven’t caught a single glimpse. So maybe —oof!”
His stomach leapt up his throat as Kyleigh plunged downward. He thought she was only doing it to shut him up when a gust of wind ripped across his body, nearly snatching him from her back.
A familiar noise sank into the air above them: a deep, rumbling hum. Kael twisted his head upwards and saw the black dragon’s enormous shadow pass overhead, silent as the darkened belly of a cloud.
Be very still, Kyleigh warned as she turned. I’m going to bring us closer.
She climbed into a tight loop and shot off after the black dragon. The speed made the air howl inside Kael’s ears. He couldn’t even hear his own breaths. They followed the dragon’s trail for nearly a full minute, but he was careful to stay inside the clouds — and the dark of his scales hid him well.
After a moment, Kyleigh had no choice but to drop back down. Kael felt as if they’d fallen into a pit. The clouds hung around them so thickly that after a moment, he forgot about the stars. He was certain there’d never been any light at all.
Even Kyleigh seemed hesitant. Her wingbeats weren’t nearly as confident as they’d been before.
Kael’s skin had begun to crawl when he caught something out of the corner of his eye: a bright red glow, a steady pulse that stained the clouds around it pink.
His collar is glowing again, he thought, and he knew by how her ears pinned back that the words must’ve burst inside her head. We have to get away before he sees — are you mad?
But Kyleigh didn’t stop. Her long neck twisted around and her body followed. She moved slowly towards the red glow, keeping a steady distance. Kael jumped when she suddenly burst into song.
Kyleigh’s hum was low, but much softer than the black dragon’s. It was the noise of a distant wind, of a breeze across a chimney’s top. When the black dragon boomed in reply, she hummed again.
Kael thought furiously: This is a horrible idea. Please don’t —
I know what I’m doing.
He’ll tear you from the skies!
No he won’t — because you’re going to stop him. Get ready.
Before he could think to protest, the black dragon turned. The glow of its collar grew larger and brighter with every second. Kyleigh’s wings tensed, preparing to throw her body into a tight loop.
Kael reached for his dagger.
Clouds parted around the black dragon’s spiny muzzle. Kael caught a glimpse of his burning eyes, his jagged fangs — of the storm of golden flame brewing between them. Kyleigh dropped from the clouds. Wind screeched through his ears and his eyes streamed as she cut beneath the black dragon’s belly.
Get ready! she cried.
The force of her loop flattened Kael against her back. His head screamed as it tried to hold on to consciousness. The veins inside his neck were about to burst from his skin when the pressure finally stopped.
The world was upside-down; the black dragon was beneath them. He paused, confused, watching as they sailed over his back. At the height of Kyleigh’s loop, the earth stood still. They were suspended, weightle
ss for a breath.
And they were directly above the black dragon’s head.
Now, Kael! Break the collar!
He could’ve done it. All he had to do was drop from Kyleigh and onto the black dragon’s neck. His hands could’ve torn through the collar in an instant — and the warrior in him howled for the chance. But in the split second he had to decide, the dragon’s eyes told him everything.
They flared up the moment they found Kael. Every vein within them swelled, trembling as they made way for a rush of seething yellow. The flame between the dragon’s jaws began to spill past his teeth; his shock had given way to fury. A breath of air filled his mighty lungs.
In that moment, Kael knew that if he set the black dragon free, he would tear them both to pieces. There wasn’t an ounce of mercy within those eyes — there was only rage.
He raised the golden dagger and his every muscle tensed to throw, adjusting to its weight. His eyes locked upon one of the blackened slits and he focused, prepared to send the blade hurling through its middle …
Kyleigh’s voice rang inside his head, but he couldn’t hear what she said. Time slowed. His arm was already coming forward when the dragon’s pupil collapsed: its points shrank into its center and as it widened, blue burst into the yellow.
It doused the fire, cooled the rage. The flames fell dark between his jaws. Fear and confusion filled these eyes. They made Kael’s throat twist tight. He doubted slightly, just as his arm came forward.
And it was that single doubt that saved the dragon’s life.
The golden dagger flew wide of its mark. The tip glanced the scales beside the dragon’s eye and skittered off, glinting as it fell into the darkness. A thin spatter of blood trailed its path. It hissed as its fires struck the cold night air and made the dragon roar.
His voice was weaker than it’d been before — more shocked than angry. Those blue eyes widened as they flicked from Kael to the sky ahead. Then his great body twisted around. The black dragon shot back towards the Kingdom, pounding the clouds aside with the panicked strokes of his wings.
