by L J Andrews
“It’s crumbling,” Celeste shrieked. “Donovan, we must leave it. I made it impossible with so few mages. We need help.”
“I can…get it,” the older mage gasped,
A wave of salty water struck my face, slipping me along the smooth underwater stones. “We must go. I will take you out of here. You’re all fading.”
My fingernails dug into Teagan’s arm, but despite his power, there was something strange in this place. Almost as though the stone itself were reluctant to leave its haven. How could even Bron himself compete with the pure element of water if it did not want to be disturbed?
The wide mouth of the funnel where the other three dragons hovered was closing. Thane dipped down into the funnel. They all knew—we were out of time. Water sloshed around my hips. Teagan held his breath and dipped forward again to try and keep the open water tornado wide. Donovan shouted painfully toward the sky and fell backward after another breathless moment. He was lost beneath the water, and Celeste released her energized grip on the ocean floor. More water dumped over us. She clasped the onyx mage beneath the shoulders when she surfaced. Donovan sputtered, but weakly held up his pale hand. Marks lined his dark armor as though his blood had been drained throughout his entire limb.
Clutching Teagan beneath his shoulder, I shifted. The water spilled around my large body, my wings flapping but finding no air, only water. Teagan clambered onto my back as the funnel collapsed around us. Thane bellowed, and Donovan and Celeste swam desperately while there was still air to breathe and gripped Thane’s neck. Thane’s enormous skull nudged me free of the heavy weight from the flooding water, and I found a sliver of a breeze.
The sides of the funnel weakened, the opening growing smaller. I pulsed toward the surface. I was not a water dragon. Panic bled with every pounding beat of my heart as pure oxygen was growing scarce the narrower the hole in the ocean became. I pulsed my wings faster, feeling Thane’s furious dart to the surface behind me. In all my frenzy, the only way I even knew Teagan was still on my back was the bond connecting us together.
Like being free from a crushing prison, I burst from the deadly funnel and shot toward the sky as the waves thrashed about when they concealed the ocean floor once again. Thane was at my left flank as we rejoined Sapphire and Onyx.
Teagan coughed sea water from his lungs and leaned forward on my back. I could feel his smile in his voice. “That was calling it a little close. Good thing I have my own personal dragon hero.”
Onyx roared in pleasure, a stream of black flames bursting into the fading sunlight when Donovan held up the stone from where he’d sprawled out along Thane’s back. I beamed—even if my smile didn’t show in wyvern form—I was elated. We’d done it. We had four elemental stones. All we needed now was the fire stone. And that meant we needed to kill the dark High Priest.
Chapter 20
The Mage
There was a burden lifted from our small group as we sailed away from the shore. Four stones—we had four, Bron and Nag had only one. I was sopping wet from nearly suffering the crushing spill of the ocean, but I would do it all over again to feel the power from Onyx, Jade, and Sapphire using their strengths to control the elements. Though they may not have noticed, I couldn’t help but feel the fury of the elemental royals surging together in one force. It had strengthened me, but then again, Celeste had proven she wasn’t a mage of small means. She’d created such a powerful sanctuary for the onyx stone it was intimidating; though she insisted I was stronger than her—it certainly didn’t feel that way.
The moonlight cast along Jade’s scales gleamed like silver. I brushed my hand over her neck, feeling an even deeper sense of connection. The air from the humid, muggy ocean had changed long ago to the fresh, although biting, chill near the caves. We would return soon, and a smile broke over my face as I envisioned the response to our victory.
Jade shuddered, and her wings billowed with air, slowing us slightly. The hairs on my arms prickled to life, and I shot up. Something was wrong.
The others billowed their wings as well, and Thane’s booming voice filtered through my head.
We can’t go forward. There’s warding, He practically shouted.
Warding for what? Sapphire boomed.
There was a pause. I felt something—it was familiar, but incredibly powerful. I didn’t feel the same barriers as the others. Mage warding—it was preventing dragons from going forward.
“You have to shift,” I screamed into the night. Donovan and Celeste were balancing precariously along Thane’s spine, glancing down beneath the clouds. Realization struck me forcefully. “It’s my power—well, it’s Gaia! She’s placed protections around the caves.”
Thane didn’t hesitate and darted to the ground. I had one breath to grip Jade’s neck before she shot toward the earth. The wind drew tears from the corners of my eyes, but all I sensed was the jade armor taking shape against arms and legs. It was as though a primal instinct were taking hold, and my body was reacting.
Thane’s scales folded back to his skin before he even touched solid ground. Thankfully, Donovan and Celeste had already leapt off. His bare chest practically steamed in the cool air. I pounced from Jade’s spine about ten feet above the soil and darted to Thane’s side. The caves were before us, just a little way beyond the trees. I clutched my throat, feeling the constricting power suffocate my insides. Something was terribly wrong, enough that I felt the terrible burn carve its way along my chest. If my armor was spreading into new areas before I even knew what was wrong, there was a massive threat beyond the trees.
“Why would she ward against dragons?” Onyx gasped at my other side. The ebony robe clung to his damp shoulders. Jade clasped her fingers in mine and handed me the extra blades. Donovan handed a jagged sword he’d brought to Onyx, while Celeste did the same for Sapphire. Thane took the sword I’d brought for him without looking at me. His attention was locked on the upper caves, assessing everything as he tried to figure out why his mate would block out wyvern blood.
Like someone reeled their fist through my gut, I curled over when a blast of fierce energy scorched my blood. I heard the whispers on the trees, my arms burning when Jade clasped my shoulders as I gasped against the force of the blow. I didn’t understand how it was happening, whether it was because we shared the same energy, or that she was my mother, but somehow I knew Gaia had been forced to ward the caves. Her power was the only answer for who was attacking. And I knew the one coming at my mother was the one who wanted her agony more than anyone.
“Thane…” I gasped. The sound of my husky voice must have broken through my father’s fierce concentration, because one look at my hunched form had him crouched at my side in seconds.
“What is it?”
I clasped his shoulder, his heat fueling my own furious anger. “It’s Bron—he’s here.”
Thane’s stormy eyes filled my heart with the same urgency his movements made. Without a question, he darted toward the caves. Donovan and Onyx were the fastest to follow. Celeste took a deep, cleansing breath and raised her arms to the sky before clasping them in front of her chest. It was only a matter of seconds, but when she was done connecting in her own way to the energy of the earth, Celeste, too, disappeared in the trees.
Jade and Sapphire kept pace with me. Running wasn’t an issue, the adrenaline pumping me forward fueled every step.
“Why would she block us out?” Jade breathed.
“Probably to keep out lindworms,” Sapphire roared.
I didn’t answer—I knew Sapphire was on the right track. If holding back Bron was going to be her sole focus, any of Nag’s snakes had to be dealt with quick and blocked out so Gaia didn’t need to concern herself with anyone but her sadistic ex.
The distance to the caves seemed never ending. Shoving my way through a thick grove of trees, I skidded to a stop, practically slamming into Thane’s bare back. His fingers rolled along the hilt, his shoulders heaving angrily as he looked to his home.
The breath
sucked out of my lungs again. A line of dark mages assaulted the mouth of the cave. The wind, the rage, the fiery power erupting from the ledge was enough to tell any of us who was there. But I didn’t just sense him—I saw him. Bron. His sword firm in his hand, one hand outstretched from his chest blasting power at the cave. Bron was sinister. His black clothing revealing his strong body, but he was struggling. Gaia stood before her own line of mages and warriors. My mother was remarkable. The snow, jagged stones, and even a few thick branches swirled about her head, stuck in the energy surge she and Bron blasted against each other.
“Teagan, you will not follow me,” Thane’s fierce voice broke through my wonderment.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I snapped.
Thane’s forehead pressed against mine before I knew he was even moving. His large hand clasped the back of my neck, his blue eyes like lightning. “I will not…I cannot have you taken by him again. I cannot.”
Jade slung her arms around my shoulders when Thane left me stunned in the mud and took a higher place on a stone just beyond the mouth of the cave.
“Bron!” Thane’s bellow shook the mountainside, and the battle between the powerful mages ceased. Gaia’s eyes were filled with deep-rooted fear when she found her mate, but Bron…he’d never looked so pleased.
Thane sent another furious shout into the fading daylight and rushed toward the dark High Priest. Celeste was not far behind, doing what she could to keep him protected. Dozens of dark mages turned and pummeled their energy at my father, but Donovan deflected most with a wave of his hand. Bron snarled and turned his attention back toward Gaia while Thane and the two mages were preoccupied with his minions.
“Teagan…” Jade’s strong whisper came against my ear.
I glanced at her, my jaw set. “I would say the same thing to you that Thane said to me, but we both know that would be pointless.” Jade smiled devilishly. Sapphire and Onyx clasped their blades and stood at our sides.
“Are we going, Dragon Mage?” Onyx snarled.
I didn’t answer, I just ran toward the wall of twisted, evil mages. Perhaps it was because now I knew my family. I could easily say I loved my parents. I had lost Jade, but she was restored to me, and I refused to feel the anguish of her loss again. Perhaps it was because I was stronger, I didn’t know, but when my fingers splayed out wide, the electrifying power sparked off the tips of my fingers. The wave of energy was palpable, and certainly visible. With crushing force, I saw the ripple of my blast crumble through the dirt and stone toward the mages. Their dark, beady eyes widened, and painful screams ripped through the twilight. Countless numbers fell from my shock. But more came—and they seemed to understand who they would face.
Pulling both swords from my back, Jade touched my arm. I gasped when the power from our bond ignited like a fuse through my blood. Meeting her eye, she nodded and bent to the ground with me. Stabbing the two swords into the soil, all my anger burst through the veins of minerals, the smallest grain of sand beneath the surface of the mountainside, until the ground snapped, breaking into bits, and the earth swelled like monstrous jaws surging from beneath.
Mages screamed. Donovan glanced behind me, his eyes wide, but he grinned widely and added his own energy to the open pit swallowing Bron’s defenses. At Donovan’s touch, boiling geysers shot from the ground, keeping the mages away from Thane as he climbed the bulky ledge after Bron.
The dark High Priest slashed his palm over his body. It must have been a powerful strike, because Gaia stumbled, losing her connection for a moment. Bron took the chance to turn to Thane. My heart lodged in the back of my throat. Taking my swords in my hands, I left the dark mages to the power of jade, the onyx stone, and the pulse of my energy I left behind and rushed toward my father.
Bron raised his hands to strike at Thane as he climbed. Gaia threw a blast of power, but Bron held up one palm and blocked her strike. I could feel the sick surge mounting within the dark High Priest like a tsunami.
“No!” I shouted, tossing the blades at my side and urging energy from every element surrounding me. The cloud erupted from my hand like a flash of white fire before glowing iridescent and shimmering between Thane and Bron’s blast. Thane braced for Bron’s strike, but it wouldn’t come. Bron still held against Gaia’s energy, but I could see he was flustered his killing blast against her mate hadn’t worked. I wasn’t certain the High Priest knew I was even there.
Climbing next to Thane, I saw him clutching his bicep where a long, angry gash had carved through his skin where my shield hadn’t protected him.
“I told you to stay back,” he gasped, but his eyes were wild, and I saw a tug of a smile on his lips.
“Aren’t you glad I break the rules sometimes?”
Thane gripped my shoulder like a father would. Behind me, Jade, Sapphire, and Onyx disposed of half the dark mages. Jade could be quite ruthless with her own connection to the energy of the earth. With the jade stone around her neck, her fury was a hurricane of light mixed with a heavy dose of her own attitude. This moment could have been a small victory if not for what I saw next.
Bron unsheathed a second long blade. Gold rivulets dripped like golden wax along the steel, but there was a gleaming red stone near the hilt that caught my eye. Athika now stood by Gaia, pulsing her energy to help the High Priestess, then Rochelle, and even Johan, but when Bron pulled out his sword, I could sense every mage’s fear.
Thane said nothing but returned to his climb, cursing his inability to shift. I held my breath when Bron slammed the tip of the blade into the stone by the cave and an impossible wall of fire shot toward the sky. Screams burst through the air as the dark High Priest fired manipulated blasts of fire toward the defenses of Gaia. I swallowed bile when a flame caught the hem of a mage as she ran away. Within moments her body was engulfed, and I knew her terrified cries would haunt my memories.
Athika stepped forward with Ruby, both desperate to connect to the energy of the fire, but it seemed only to respond to the master of the fire stone. Athika shrieked in fear when Bron directed a blaze against Ruby. She dove in front of the fire, blocking her dragon with a shield of power.
The heat seemed to melt my skin, but the blaze only strengthened. Athika was in a losing battle against the fire. So was Ruby, Gaia, and…no—Mitch was outside the cave. I had him in my sights now. There were lindworms, though they seemed weaker and couldn’t seem to get into the open mouth of the rocks.
Mitch stood by Raffi’s side, slashing his blades against a few of Nag’s serpents. The fire’s heat drenched his body in sweat and weakened every movement the longer his body was exposed.
“Teagan!” Onyx screamed from behind me. He held up his stone when I glanced over my shoulder. “At the same time.”
I didn’t really know how I knew what he was talking about, only that he was asking for my supportive power. I nodded, and while Thane continued climbing to reach Bron, Onyx and I slammed our palms onto the ground. Water—the onyx stone against the ruby—water versus fire. A rumble burst from off the top of the cave, and a torrential flood of murky, angry water splashed in powerful waves over the battle. It was some sort of pleasure to see Bron’s twisted disappointment as he slashed the sword against the waves, desperate to keep his deadly blaze alive. I pummeled all my energy, all my focus on the river of water Onyx had created with the stone.
Bron held out his hands, and it seemed as if a cocoon wrapped around his body. Water mingled with fire engulfed him until the energy surge ceased and both stones’ creations faded. Everyone seemed to pause for just a moment, absorbing what had happened when two stones clashed. Thane was only feet from clamoring over the ledge. He was going to stand with Gaia—I was, too—we would stand together. There was power in families, after all.
Rising to my feet, my blood chilled when Jade screamed, and Thane’s guttural cry filled the air. My gaze shot toward the cave. Bron had recovered swifter than anyone. Gaia raised her hands as he darted toward her, but it wasn’t fast enough
.
My heart shattered when the elemental sword lodged into Gaia’s body.
Thane’s agonizing shout muffled against the haze in my brain. I rushed after Thane. With each touch of my hand on the ledge as I climbed to the top, the stone crumbled as though my weight was too much for it to bear. I felt the wind, I tasted the rain, my blood was the fire, and my feet grounded harsh along the stone. My heart shredded when Bron ripped the sword from my mother’s middle. Gaia looked at his frightening silver eyes with one final glance of betrayal. She stumbled back, her hands clutching the bloody wound, and she crumbled to the ground.
Thane slashed his sword with such fury, I feared the steel would break. Bron blocked his strike. His own face had a subtle trace of disbelief, and I wondered if perhaps the dark High Priest hadn’t actually intended to slash his former wife. The moment was fleeting, for when I blinked again, Bron’s face was twisted as he shot a blast of energy against Thane. My father dodged, his sword slicing against Bron’s forearm.
Bron stumbled backward, inspecting his wound, and Thane dropped to Gaia’s side.
“No, no, no,” he breathed, his hands covering her blood-soaked fingers. Athika was behind Gaia’s head, her eyes locking on mine briefly. My rage must have been clear because Athika nodded when she held my gaze.
“Protect…protect him, Thane,” Gaia gasped.
No. This moment was mine. “Take her inside,” I bellowed. Bron had his back toward me, his arms outstretched as he walked off Thane’s assault.
“No,” Gaia gasped.
“Thane,” I shouted, “take her away. She will die out here, and you know it. She needs to be healed, now go! Without shifting, you cannot stand against Bron. Will you watch him steal her away from us again?”
Thane snarled, and I could see the emotion beneath the fury of his pale eyes as I presented an impossible choice—his son, or his mate. He didn’t have to say anything—I sensed every worry on his boiling heart. Gaia coughed, a stream of blood dripping from her mouth. The connection was fading, and my heart was breaking. Thane clenched his jaw, scooped Gaia in his arms, and rushed into the cave.
