Chapter 18 Beyond the Veil #3
“A tempting offer,” the wildweaver murmured, tilting his head. “But not mine to accept. Only the master’s. And I already suspect the master will decline.”
“Go fuck yourself, parasite,” Rory snapped. “Let her go.”
Before I could stop her, she unleashed a razor burst of wind. It hit, but the wildweaver didn’t even blink. He lifted both hands.
Rory gagged.
Her own shadows whipped around her throat like living ropes, tightening until her knees hit the bridge. She clawed at nothing, gasping. She was strangling herself right behind me.
He was mind-bending her. From a distance. No touch. No stone. No strain.
Only the oldest and most trained could do that, and even then, only for seconds. “Stop!” I shouted, fire swelling hotter. “What do you want? Don’t kill anyone else today.”
“I’d prefer to kill you both,” he said calmly. “But my master would not approve. You are… of interest. And now that I’ve seen you with my own eyes, I begin to understand why. You are strong-minded. That makes you dangerous.”
“You’ve seen me,” I shot back, extinguishing the flames in my palms. “She has nothing to do with this. Let her go.”
The wildweaver lowered his hand.
“I won’t kill your friend,” he said, smiling. “I’d rather let her suffer, watching me ride my dragon.” His laughter followed, slow, deliberate, and evil.
Rory collapsed onto her palms, dragging in jagged breaths. Heavy footsteps thundered behind us—Lorik and Ugo. Ugo scooped Rory into his arms. I kept my eyes locked on the green ones in front of me.
The dragon’s eyes.
They held on to me, steady, unreadable, with something that almost looked like sorrow. I only met them for a heartbeat before shifting my focus back to the creature perched atop him.
“Honey-jasmine,” the wildweaver breathed, almost delighted.
Behind me, I heard the sound of a portal opening and closing, exactly like the ones in the Glass Castle. I didn’t turn, but I knew Lorik had portaled elsewhere.
I heard the sound of strong, fast steps behind me and a voice screaming.
“Parasite!” Lorik roared, stepping beside me, shadow rippling in one hand, lightning dancing in the other. He hadn't left. He had gotten Rory and Ugo to safety.
“This is not the moment to be a rebel princess,” he murmured so only I could hear. The wildweaver chuckled.
“It's actually funny you think you have a chance against me,” The wildweaver said.
Around us, I kept hearing screams and roars; the fight continued, while this wildweaver only wanted to examine me.
“What is the point of all this death? Call this off.” I demanded. “Take my deal. We can live without fighting.”
“You’re just a child with a foolish imagination,” the wildweaver snarled, shadows coiling from his hands like living smoke. “I’ve fought this war longer than you can even comprehend. We will never stop. This ends only with justice.”
His eyes burned as he leaned forward in the saddle.
“You know nothing of what we’ve endured. Nothing of blood spilled in your family’s name. You are as blind as every queen and king of Rionis before you.”
The shadows crept closer, licking at the edges of the bridge.
Lorik was speaking, short and urgent instructions but the words blurred together. My heart slammed against my ribs, panic choking the air from my lungs. Terror took over.
Fire exploded from my hands.
The blast surged toward the dragon, wild and uncontrolled. My breathing was too fast, my thoughts fractured, my magic fractured with them. The flames twisted and split, obeying fear instead of command.
Then the bridge ignited.
“Enough!” Lorik shouted.
A wall of shadow snapped into place in front of us, dense and absolute, shielding us from the worst of the fire.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he roared at me, fury breaking through his control. “You’re going to get us all killed!”
Above us, the red dragon beat its massive wings, lifting into the air and hurling the flames back toward us in a violent surge. I froze, unable to pull the fire away, unable to stop it.
“You may be Dragontail,” the wildweaver called down from the sky, his voice cutting through the chaos. “You may be special to my master.”
His gaze locked onto mine.
“But all I see is a reckless child.”
Shadows flared around him as he turned the dragon away.
“We will meet again, Thea Solenhart.”
The dragons were already a streak of crimson and smoke on the horizon, vanishing toward the Wastelands as they’d only come to remind us they could.
Lorik stood in front of me, shoulders squared, jaw locked so tight I could see the muscle ticking. His magic clung to him in faint shadows, thin now, strained.
I swallowed. “I know I—”
“No.” His voice cut like steel. “Don’t dress it up. You lost control.”
Heat rose in my throat, equal parts shame, and fury. “I froze.”
“And because you froze,” he snapped, stepping closer, “you set the bridge on fire. You could’ve died there from your own flames or from the fall when that bridge collapsed. If I hadn’t been there, you would be dead. And that dragon would’ve simply flown off and left you.”
My palms burned even though the fire was gone. “I didn’t ask to be dragged into this.”