Chapter 72 Dae
Dae
“No,” I said to the King of Highcrest without consideration for his status. Suppressing the nagging pull inside was difficult, feeling like tiny stabbing needles that whispered instruction of its own.
We stood amongst a group discussing strategies. The seer woman said that during the dragon attack The Order’s shielder was briefly compromised, and his magic slipped, giving her a chance to see.
The dragons never landed, only circled in the sky, blasting streams of flames on those within the camp’s walls.
Several heads turned in my direction, and I realized they were reacting to my abrupt dismissal of the king’s suggestion.
“Forgive my frankness, Your Majesty, but without knowing where The Eleven are could mean we never make it past the front gate. What we need is a scouting team from people who know the area,” I explained, “to scope out their positions. If Ro and I can do that, she can communicate with the dragons and coordinate an attack. Our only chance of succeeding is if they’re eliminated. ”
The king stroked his thumb along his chin, peering at the ground in thought.
“I could go,” the gargoyle said, flexing his wings.
I shook my head. “The dragons are immune to the dark magic. The Eleven wouldn’t hesitate to take you down.”
He inhaled sharply through the side of his mouth. “Well, I’m pretty fast.”
“And what about the dragons? What if they looked at you like a nice little sky snack?” the man they called Dante asked.
“I’d stick below the treetops,” the gargoyle said with no small amount of smugness.
“Then they’d capture you for sure,” I replied.
The man made of stone glared at me. “You’re underestimating my speed.”
“I believe you’re probably extremely fast, but you’re underestimating how bloodthirsty they are.” I could see appeasing him was the only way to nudge him away from the idea.
He shrugged, cinching his wings.
“You don’t have to go back,” the queen whispered to Ro.
Ro fiddled with the scroll in her hands. “Dae’s right. The dragons will be our best shot, and The Eleven wouldn’t be able to stop them. I thi—No, we don’t know, but the dragons originate from the Black Pool and I don’t think you did.” Ro looked at Jasper.
Confused eyes glanced around our group. Jasper’s gaze darted from person to person before landing on Ro. “Did I say that out loud?” He pointed to himself.
Dante, Queen Nora, and Melody all shook their heads.
“Wait, your powers work on me?! How come we’ve never figured that out before?” Jasper asked, hands latching onto his bald head.
“Maybe because you generally say whatever comes to your mind,” Dante replied with a teasing smirk.
Jasper dropped his hands, shooting Dante a scrupulous stare, but conceded. “That’s probably true, actually.”
Dante clapped his friend on the back.
“Alright, so you two will go and coordinate with the dragons. That still leaves the rest of their Order to deal with, and we don’t know how many. How will we know when to attack?” the king asked.
“We’ll return to report,” I said, absentmindedly sliding my hand across Ro’s back.
I needed to touch her, to feel her. Something churned inside me, something dark.
It was worse in my shifted form, like my animal instincts ran deeper, more powerful.
I didn’t even want to think about what they called me to do, like delving deeper for understanding would only strengthen it.
“It’s a couple hours from here. We’ll travel with you until we approach the nearest sentinels position.
That’s where you’ll remain until we return.
” I didn’t miss the look Jai shot me. He couldn’t believe I used such commanding language in front of a king.
For any other circumstance, I’d agree. But king or not, he didn’t have the knowledge I did, and considering what was at risk, I wouldn’t tolerate someone else making the wrong call.
I focused my senses on Ro’s heat, using her as my balm.
I wouldn’t approve of Ro returning if her magic wasn’t our best shot at turning the tides in our favor by way of dragon organization. It didn’t have to do with her capabilities. No, she’d been capable since the moment I met her.
It had to do with what would happen to me if I lost her.
Those hours waiting to hear if she’d been slaughtered by Taja had been more excruciating than anything else I’d endured.
I wasn’t willing to lose her. To lose her would be to lose myself.
I’d already done that once, and though my body was honed with muscle, I wouldn’t have the strength to endure it again. I would protect her with my life.
We would do what needed to be done. We would orchestrate the demise of The Eleven, and demolish The Order once and for all. Then Ro and I would get a chance to have the life I dreamed of for us.
We left the army behind, and I shifted into my dark new form. Generally the shift brought on a spurt of pain that quickly subsided. However, in this state, something uncomfortable lingered. I barely felt Ro on my back as we ran.
Before, the sensation of running toward the Black Pool had been something to avoid. Now, it was like it beckoned me.
“Dae,” Ro said in my mind.
It pulled me from a trance I hadn’t known I’d fallen into.
I’d been running at full speed, not with the intent of getting us there quickly, but out of instinct.
The dark magic urged me to return. I understood now why The Eleven rarely left camp if they felt this tied to its power.
In a sense, they were tethered to it. If they succeeded in their plans that Ro had discovered, using a combination of dragon’s blood and an amplifier to unleash the might of the Black Pool like had been done a century ago, they would be able to wander freely, always within reach of the magic that owned them.
“I’m sorry,” I said, summoning control over myself and slowing my rapid pace.
“Dae, I’m scared. I can’t do this without you.”
I sensed what she meant, but didn’t know what to say. If I told her I could handle this, keep the dark magic at bay, stop it from spreading and corrupting me like it had The Eleven, I would be lying. That was something I wouldn’t do.
Already, the insidious magic dug into me like claws.
Its pull was strong, a guiding force that was becoming increasingly harder to ignore, especially as we drew nearer to the source.
A constant string of thoughts flowed through my mind to ground me, reminding me what I had to do—and who I had to do it for.
“Ro, you have to promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“There may come a time when staying with me isn’t smart. I need to know that when that time comes, you’ll leave.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m not saying now, but if, at some point in the future, things start to erode—”
“I’m not leaving you.”
I sighed internally. “Don’t let me put you in harm’s way. Please, Ro, that will kill me.”
“Then you better get your shit together so you don’t, because I won’t leave you, Dae.”
“Gods, you’re stubborn.”
She smacked my neck, but I barely felt it. The pure amount of strength that surged in this form was hard to adjust to.
“We’re close,” I warned, spending more self-control to slow down. I picked up scents on the wind and had an easier time than ever to detect those corrupted by the Pool. I even honed in on the horde in the sky.
“There are nine dragons, almost all crowding over the camp. The Eleven are still outside the camp walls. They’re at the Pool,” I told her.
“Are there any dragons far enough away that we can get to them without camp members spotting us?”
“I think ther—wait. What is…”
My legs propelled us forward. The energy stirring in my chest couldn’t be dampened. Something was happening, and I had to get closer to the Pool.
Ro’s blurred words were a melody in my soul, though I couldn’t distinctly hear her.
She was with me, and I needed to be near that power source.
It was…living. We neared the Pool, and Ro screamed my name in her mind, which gave me enough sense to stop short before we left the protection of the forest. We could see through the trees that The Eleven remained by the water’s edge.
Marvoe approached the still water, holding something blue in his hands.
“No,” Ro whispered. Her heartbeat picked up. I scented the adrenaline and fear coursing through her.
I moved, eating the distance between us and Marvoe, but I was too late. He finished chanting some sort of incantation, then removed a knife from his belt and held it to Braxius’s throat. The little dragon’s blood coated the knife before Marvoe tossed his little body into the water.
“NO!” Ro’s scream shook the earth. Literal trembles moved under my paws, not from reverberation, but as if the world roared with her.
I hadn’t noticed Kasia laying on the ground, her arm outstretched toward the dead body of her bound husband. Beside him, Delia, and the rest of the prisoners. All dead. If I had to guess, I’d say The Eleven used them as leverage in order to retrieve the horn now strapped to Carmin.
Waves crested in the Black Pool. I could hear it groaning awake. Shape took form, like the water’s surface rounded, reaching toward the sky. Then talon-topped wings emerged from the back of a colossal beast. A large blue beast.
Braxius rose in his mature form, his size rivaling that of Tyberius. His wings stretched and rolled. When he expanded them fully, he shot skyward. Ro shuddered with relief and I could smell her salty tears.
But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the Pool.
It writhed and stretched. What had felt cold and trapping now felt searing and expansive.
Fresh black veins slithered along the ground, moving like a snake.
I’d never seen them act like that before.
The veins stretching toward Argora Vale barely held life, but these had been refreshed, rejuvenated. The green ground died under its reach.
“Dae, we have to go. We have to warn them.” She could barely get the mental words out.
Watching it come alive was like staring at the sun.
Totally eclipsing and blinding to anything else.
The Eleven reveled, shouting praises to the gods.
They were unharmed when the black roots slithered beneath their feet.
In fact, they appeared empowered when it touched them.
I ached to feel it, to surround myself in its power.
“Dae, please. They’ll kill me.”
The Eleven began walking. Smiles so bright on their faces let me know they no longer felt like they had to separate from the source. The world would bow before whoever wielded this dark magic, whether they wanted to or not.
But I’d made a vow.
Though it felt like my soul ripped as I tore from the scene, we raced through the forest, heading south. My body no longer belonged to me. It would bend under the mercy or mirth of dark magic. But my heart…
My heart belonged to her.