These monsters couldn’t fucking die.
The creature, angered by Kaji’s assault, swung its tail, aiming for him. Kaji dodged, and the tail missed his face by a mere inch.
I looked around for Nemreth and the other dragon fae.
They were gone.
We were abandoned.
Gaean’s teats.
“They’ve left us,” I said. “We need to find an opening.”
Kaji’s dragon huffed. He blew out red flames, warding off the dragon teramarth. The distraction didn’t last long, and I had to avoid another attack lest I get caught in another battle.
“Distract them,” Kaji said. “I’ll think of something.”
“What do you mean, distract them? There’s too many.”
“Just do it, Ly!”
It was the first time I’d heard him flustered.
Were we fucked? Nemreth and his crew were nowhere to be seen. Even the smaller fae had left us, leaving us to die. Damn it. Why had I been so foolish? I never should have trusted Nemreth. Never should have come to Thesnan in the first place. Now, Kaji and I were going to be teramarth meat. Torn to shreds just like that fae earlier. I tried to shout another mental encouragement at myself, but it just wouldn’t come.
I was terrified.
I faced my fear, fighting through the new sensation of the need to run. Kaji had instructed me to distract the dragon teramarth, and so that was what I focused on. The alternative was to freeze, do nothing. I couldn’t have that.
That meant death.
I let gravity pull at me, plunging toward the ground. I felt magic mist across the ankle of my hind leg as I fell. Just before my dragon hit the floor, I raised my wings, spinning in a loop before soaring upward. I flapped my wings as hard as I could. “Over here!” I called, summoning the attention of the dragon teramarth. “Here!” I roared, forcing black fire into the air. I made as much noise as I could, beating my wings as fast as my limbs allowed. I replaced the fear with anger as I struggled to do as Kaji said. My attempts worked, and I caught the attention of all five dragon teramarth.
They raced toward me.
They were far too fast, and before it even happened, I imagined their claws sinking through my skin. I couldn’t stop thinking about that fae male who’d died earlier. Was that going to be my fate?
And so, I prayed.
I prayed to Gaean.
To Aereala.
To Nyxius.
I sent pleas to the Blessed Three as the stench of the teramarth grew stronger. There was so much rot that my mind had become numb to the terrible scent. I sensed them nearing, closing in on me. If I died, were my siblings going to miss me? It’d been two years since I’d talked to Kylen. I would’ve made that goodbye count if I’d known it was going to be my last one.
“Ly! Over here!”
I opened my eyes. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them.
“You can turn around!” Kaji shouted.
Should I? I had a feeling that the second I slowed, I’d be eaten.
“Ly! Come on, we’ve gotta go! I can’t hold this for much longer!”
Pulling my resolve together, I glanced over my shoulder. My breath stilled at the sight. With his flames, Kaji had summoned a horde of dragons made from fire. He twirled them around the air, just like he’d done with the horse back in our lodgings. Flames flickered from the edges of their forms, bathing the entire battlefield in orange and red. They held the attention of the dragon teramarth.
How was he doing this?
He yelled out my name again, rousing me from my shock.
“Yes,” I said. “At once.” I looped through the air, turning my wings in Kaji’s direction. Together, we fled the dragon teramarth. The monsters tried biting the flaming dragons. They didn’t burn, but their jaws snapped through nothing at all, which bought us enough time to increase the distance between them and us. The heat of Kaji’s flames brushed my hide.
He held his illusion for as long as he could. We flew onward until we saw Rakarthen in the distance.
Safety.
As we soared through the air, I turned toward my companion. “That was impressive,” I said.
Kaji remained silent even though I’d expected a quip. I glanced at him. His eyes were closed. He flapped through the air, looking as dead as one of the teramarth himself.
“Hey, Kaj, you with me?”
Yellow flashed from his body, and he shifted back into human form, midair.
I lunged into action immediately, lowering myself so I might catch him on my back. Kaji had gotten worn out trying to save us, while Nemreth had flown away without a second thought, leaving us to our deaths.
I seethed.
Nemreth was going to pay.
I had to fly faster, and so I did, my jagged wings casting sharp shadows on the cracked landscape. Kaji’s flames must have died out, since he’d lost consciousness, and we weren’t going to make it if the dragon teramarth caught up. My muscles strained. I sped forward as quickly as my wings could take me. I surged through the air, cutting through it. Faster and faster, only allowing myself to relax when I reached the gates of Rakarthen, where I’d find strength in numbers.
What if they turned me away?
The worry spun around in my head. Relief rushed through me when no one stopped me from descending behind the Rakarthen gates. If dragons had tears, I might have cried. It was the first time I’d feared for my life. Kaji was right: I had been protected in Constanria.
Swirling my tail through the air, I carefully placed Kaji onto the dirt. He rolled over, eyes closed. He’d expended all his energy to save us. Mentally, I uttered a thank you to both him and the gods.
I lifted my head.
There, Nemreth stood, perched between two moss-covered rocks, his hands on his hips and a cocky smile on his face.
I growled at him, and he dared to widen his smile.
Smile!
After what he’d done? How did he have the nerve?
“You made it,” Nemreth said. “I half expected you wouldn’t.”
I flashed my fangs at him.
He chuckled. “And you’re just in time for lunch, too.”
Eleven
Lunch. It seemed quite underwhelming after all the fae had put me through.
I stabbed the slab of meat with my fork as I eyed the triad, who sat at the end of the table. The mess hall of Rakarthen Academy was huge. It housed at least a thousand attendees. Long tables were arranged next to each other. Every student was served an equal amount of food. I looked at the portion in front of me. It was hardly enough to fill my stomach. I was a hidrae, and as one of the largest types of dragon shifters, I could eat a lot.
I kept my attention on the triad as I overheard the other students talking about the dragon teramarth.
“Have you heard about the five they shot down?” the first student said.
“What five?” another student asked.
“The teramarth. Some of the dragon fae who died are teramarth now. They have no weaknesses, which makes them hard to kill. Five undead dragons were at the gate. The only way to take those teramarth down is with well-aimed arrows that go through their magical exterior and through their heads.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
The student scooped a spoonful of food into his mouth. “It does, doesn’t it?”
I peeled my eyes away from the triad, turning to a dwarf-like, pointy-eared fae who walked behind me. “Hey,” I said. “Can I get seconds?”
“No seconds, miss,” the fae replied. He scowled at me, making no effort to hide his distaste. “With more lands being caught behind the thorns, we have a smaller supply of food. There’s a lot of students to feed, too.”
“Can I at least have a second plate for my friend? He couldn’t attend lunch, and he hasn’t had anything to eat for more than a day.” Kaji had been sent to the infirmary. I wanted to follow him, but the fae insisted on their rules. Only the sick were allowed into the infirmary. They’d snatched Kaji awa
y from me and ushered me to the mess hall.
The rhythmic, crashing sound of the waves surrounding the mess hall did little to calm my testy mood.
“Hm.” The servant fae gave me a pinched look. “I’ll have to ask the general about this. We’re usually quite strict about meal timings. Fae can be a tricky bunch, and if we’re lax with rules, this place might descend into chaos. We all know how terrifying chaos can be.”
“But my friend is starving. He’s injured, too. He needs all the food he can get.” It would be too cruel to make Kaji wait till dinnertime.
“I’ll help you ask for permission, miss. No need to get all pissy.”
“I’m not getting pissy,” I said, getting frustrated. “Can you not see the unfairness here?”
“There are many matters to attend to. I have to go now.”
“Wait—”
The dwarf skittered off, down the long table and into a hallway.
I doubted he’d check on my behalf. He gave the impression that he really didn’t want to talk to me. I huffed, brushing a strand of hair from my face, then continued glaring at the triad. The three of them sat on a table of their own. The singular round table of the mess hall, with candlelight in the center. They’d changed into fine gowns just for the occasion of lunch. Everything around them sparkled, bathed in falsehoods and preferential treatment.
My insides tightened, caused by my copious amounts of hate for those three.
Nemreth told a joke, eliciting laughter from Cendri, who tossed his head back and slapped Nemreth on the shoulder. At first, I thought they loved each other like brothers. In an abrupt movement, Cendri pulled Nemreth into a kiss. It wasn’t a light kiss. It was full force, their tongues swirling around each other, their hands groping each other’s backs. They displayed their affection amongst the fae without a care for propriety.
I watched, entranced by the two males. The moment they kissed, it was like they were caught in their own world.
Gods. Increasingly, fewer things made sense to me.
Cendri pulled his tongue from Nemreth’s mouth. With a lazy smile, he dragged his thumb over his bottom lip. Nemreth shared the same expression as Cendri. An air of desire swelled around the two.
One I was certain every fae in the mess hall felt, too.
How were they smiling after what they’d done to me and Kaji?
My anger was boiling when I’d escaped the teramarth, and still it continued to bubble. I got up from my seat, not caring that the fae who sat around me shied away when I did, and stomped over to the triad, my fingers balled into fists.
“Oh, hello,” Nemreth said, grinning up at me with his perfect white teeth.
“Don’t ‘hello’ me,” I whispered. “I’m here for explanations.”
Cendri’s expression soured the moment I neared them, while Aland kept his attention on his food. He sliced his steak and ate neatly. The meat was unlike what I was used to in Constanria, with a slightly sour taste. I’d overheard some students saying that it came from meatbeetles. Insects. My hunger drove me to eat whatever the fae served me, so I tried not to think so much about it.
“You left Kaji and I to die in the fields.”
“Did I?” Nemreth said.
I imagined myself pouncing at Nemreth, demanding that he admit to his crime and apologize. The image played in my head repeatedly. But what if doing so allowed him to punish me? Here, I was no longer under the protection of my parents or held authority as the land’s princess.
Fear was a bitch.
I never thought I’d let it control me, but now, it crept around the edges of my mind.
Nemreth cocked his head, offering a challenge through the twinkle of his eye. “And so what if I did? Nobody ever said that your life would be secure in Rakarthen. Deaths occur during our lessons. This is war, princess, and no war has ever been fought without casualties here and there. If you’re not strong enough to survive, then death is what a skatte like you deserves.” He picked up his fork and sliced up his food in same nonchalant way Aland had.
I saw red.
I couldn’t take Nemreth’s words lying down. They sounded like nails screeching across glass. I wielded no weapon, and so I reached for the sword on Nemreth’s back, drawing it in single motion. I swung the sword to his throat, but without conviction.
A booming sound traveled across the mess hall. I was thrust backward, and before I could figure out what was happening, I felt a crack at my spine.
I clenched my teeth together and I groaned at the ache. “Aereala’s teats.” What was that? I lifted my head. Cendri had rose from his seat. A yellow glow swirled around his palms. He’d shot me with his powers?
I growled and summoned my wings. My claws extended, and my muscles strained to rip Cendri’s entrails out.
“Halt!” Golden flames lit up the wooden floor before me as Charmingface descended. “There’s no need for violence. What are we? Beasts? Beings without magic? Let us settle this in a civilized manner.”
“Get out of my way,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Hmmm. It’s not to your advantage if you force your way into a fight, princess. You’re outnumbered. Three against one. And against the triad, no less. Don’t you think it’s better if we have a proper duel? A Challenge of Fate, as we call it.”
“What’s that?” I asked, willing the dragon inside me to calm. My penchant for blowing up things when my anger got out of hand needed to be controlled. Kaji and Kael often warned me of it.
“When two individuals don’t see eye to eye, they can issue a Challenge of Fate. Both of them will speak their terms, and the winner gets what is offered.”
Winning, huh?
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
Nemreth folded his arms across his chest. “It is pointless. You’ll lose. No one beats the triad.”
I wanted to punch his teeth out for being so arrogant, but I supposed I needed to wait till the challenge. “If I win,” I said, “I want to be accepted as one of the students. Not just someone who gets left in some random outhouse that smells like Gaean’s balls.”
Nemreth narrowed his eyes. “General Erutan, you forgot to mention that both parties have to agree to the challenge.”
“Please do agree to it,” Charmingface replied. “You’re causing a ruckus in the mess hall, and this will help us settle the princess’s anger quite amicably.”
I thought Nemreth might refuse Charmingface’s suggestion. He grunted. “Very well.” He kicked the table, pushing his chair backward. The legs of the chair groaned against the wood of the floor. “Where do you want to have your ass kicked?”
I snarled. “Which is your least favorite place in all of Rakarthen?”
“Hm.” Nemreth sniffed. “There’s no one place I particularly hate, but I do know a location which is pretty shitty to fight in.”
“And where’s that?”
“It’s nearby, close to the pixie lake.”
“Are you going to go easy on her?” Cendri asked, flicking a strand of hair away from his face. “That’d be disappointing.”
Nemreth snorted. “I never disappoint you, do I?”
Cendri smirked. “You shouldn’t have agreed to allow the princess here.”
Nemreth shrugged. “It was an oversight. But I’ll fix things now.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
The look on Nemreth’s face held a promise. He wanted to shame me in front of the students. This might be a bad idea, and rushing into this might be one of my life’s worst mistakes.
“Last chance, princess,” Nemreth said, his voice coming through the water pixies that flew around us. “I’m offering you the opportunity to back out. I’m being magnanimous. I understand where your anger might have come from. But you’ve calmed. Don’t let emotions dictate your decisions. Back out while you can.”
“Forfeiting would be the smart thing to do,” Charmingface said, standing between Nemreth and me.
I swatted a pixie from my face. “No.” I neve
r backed down from a duel. I actively sought them out. Only a coward would hide from one.
A pixie tugged at my hair, as if trying to lift me from my feet. The pixies were a playful bunch. There had to be thousands of them, flying about like flickerflies, blue light emitting from their wings. They constantly laughed, giggled, splashed, and danced around the bright ball of energy that was centered in the middle of the pit. Nemreth had called it Rakarth’s Essence. It was supposed to amplify his powers.
The place was dark, but the essence obviously gave him an advantage. I shouldn’t have let him pick the location.
The ground was rocky, but the swooshing sounds from above announced that a body of water was nearby. It had been a short trek here from the mess hall. The pixie pit was located beneath the lake that surrounded it. We had to climb down a long flight of stairs to get to the lake.
They hadn’t been invited, but the rest of the fae students had followed anyway, watching us from around the pit in their shawls and uniforms. The pressure was on. With so many eyes trained on me, I couldn’t let myself get defeated.
Win.
The single word echoed in my brain. I held on to it as if my life depended on it.
“How do we win?” I asked Charmingface.
He was combing his beard again. He did that excessively. Wouldn’t his beard fall out if he kept stroking it too much? “One of you will have to knock the other person out,” he said. “A hard hit to the head should do it. Concussions aren’t an issue, since neither dragon fae nor dragon-kind can sustain one.”
“Is there no other way?” I asked. “What if the other person is made immobile?”
“Then you knock them out after you make them immobile. Simple enough.” He ran his comb down his beard again. “Oh, and one more rule: there must be no shifting to dragons during this fight, whether you’re dragon-kind or dragon fae.”
“Why not?”
Rakarthen Academy Page 9
