Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Perinth
MAGNOLIA
Iprayed and prayed to the Suns that Hael and Aura wouldn’t show up, that I was wrong about Elion using him, but my heart plummeted the moment I saw a flash of white.
I held my breath as I watched the two dragons battling in the sky. Hael’s dragon was so much smaller than Dahes’ Ater.
He sat between Aura’s spikes along her spine, moving so fast over the ruined islands I could barely keep up.
The projection was a flash of black and white with fire encompassing the view every few seconds.
Hael was dodging, attacking the Ater, but his aim was off.
Something was wrong.
Hael was the best rider in the Drakin Army, there was no way he was missing his aim by this much.
Dahes’ voice crept inside my head. “It’s an illusion,” he crooned.
I swallowed, forgetting that the drakin’s power ultimately belonged to the dragons, that they could use their magic without a rider.
“My dragon is creating an illusion that only Hael and his dragon can see, making it look like he has nine heads, while keeping the aim off of his real one.”
Shit. How was Hael supposed to win if he couldn’t even see what he was attacking properly?
But Aura and Hael could use shields, if they just kept one up the whole time they should be fine. At least it meant Dahes’ dragon couldn’t hurt them—
“Burnout.” Dahes’ voice rattled inside my mind as I recalled it myself. Hael told me that every dragon’s power stemmed from a well, that the stronger the dragon, the greater the well, but eventually they all ran out.
“Shields pull a lot more from the well than illusions do,” Dahes’ voice was a low chuckle. I could hear the confidence in his thoughts without looking over to know he was most likely smirking.
The Ater was just toying with them, having Hael attack nothing while burning through his own well. It was just biding time…
Fire blocked the projection for six seconds, six long seconds where I couldn’t see anything, where I couldn’t breathe.
Then a dragon roared, but I wasn’t sure which one it was coming from.
It wasn’t until the flames went out and the smoke dissipated that I glimpsed red smearing iridescent white scales.
No. No. No.
The Ater’s barbs dragged across Aura’s body, splitting her scales in half as blood poured over them. Her speed was rapidly dropping before she vanished, leaving only the Ater in view.
We watched the Ater try and fail to fly somewhere, but Hael must have trapped it inside a shield. It could only fly a couple of feet before it hit an invisible wall.
The Ater roared, the sound so much more jarring than Aura’s, so much louder, deeper, throatier. It rattled my lungs, vibrated my chest, and sank into my bones.
Another ten seconds passed, then Hael came into view, only he was alone. He dropped from the sky, jumping off Aura as she flew above.
My breath hitched as he landed between the Ater’s barbs. If he missed, if the Ater used its projection, they would have impaled him.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Don’t be stupid, Hael.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—
Hael drew his long sword from his back, running up the Ater’s spine, weaving in between the barbs.
Please don’t die. Please don’t die.
Please, Nessium—I pleaded to the Necessity Goddess, even though I knew it was futile—if you’ve ever cared about me, please don’t let him die right now…
Hael pierced the sword through the Ater’s temple, running up its neck to find the real one. Fire exploded from its mouth as it roared, then spiraled around the circular shield still trapping it inside.
Hael swung, dropping his weight, before letting himself fall, using the sword as an anchor. The fire was too close. The heat was trapped within the shield, the temperatures rising…
I watched in complete horror as Hael slid down its face, cutting down its thick scales as he went.
Fire erupted again at the same time Hael dropped into its mouth and the entire projection was clouded in flames.
No. No. No.
I ran to the railing, half of my body hanging over it so I could get a better view even though all I was staring at was a projection from miles away.
A crushing thud echoed across the islands as another roar sounded, but I still couldn’t see anything.
Please. Please. Please.
The fire slowly started to recede, but it took too long. The flames dissipated as the projection showed glimpses of black barbs through the smoke.
Hael was still inside the Ater’s open mouth, but there wasn’t a burn on him.
I sagged, relief fluttering through me as I realized he kept a shield around himself.
I finally tore my eyes away from him to take in the dragon when I realized it was lying on the ground, water covering the under half of its body as it was submerged in a lower part of the sinking islands, the waves lapping over the barbs.
Its head was split in half. Large chunks of black scales and barbs were scattered around him.
I was still leaning over the railing to get a better look, like it’d transport me closer to him, even though he wasn’t inside the castle ruins.
Hael was alive. He survived. He actually did it. He killed Dahes’ dragon. I hadn’t realized I was crying. That I’d been clutching the eroded banister so hard my knuckles were white.
I never felt so relieved about anything before…
I was ripped back from the railing. Dahes had gripped my forearm before I had the time to use my transparency, and I realized my mistake a second too late.
I hadn’t realized I’d been smiling until my face pulled. The relief immediately vanishing as trepidation set in.
I let my emotions slip.
It was written all over my face, never mind that Dahes could read my thoughts.
Wait…
Could he still read my mind? If his dragon died, did that mean his powers died with it? It was the one thing I forgot to ask Hael about.
Dahes was staring at me like he wanted to kill me. I’d never seen him so enraged. So livid. His breathing was uneven as his grip tightened around my arm to the point of pain. I swore bones were breaking…
“New plan,” he growled into my head, answering my question about the bond, and I knew it wasn’t just his dragon dying that had him seeing red.
Fuck.