CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
THERE'S NOTHING BUT SNOW-LADEN MOUNTAINS for as far as the eye can see. The air is crisp, but with Vasari’s body heat underneath me, I’m more than comfortable in the frigid air.
Nero soars above me, enjoying the fast-flying freedom granted by Aemon’s gift, and I can’t stop myself from glancing up and smiling at him from time to time.
“We just passed the clearing where the first traces of the dragons were found,” Aemon states. “I think we should continue flying north; keep your eyes open.”
I peer over Vasari’s large purple form, squinting below. “Will do, sir,” I say, not realizing my choice of words until a primal possessiveness shoots down the bond, making me squirm in my saddle.
“Please try to control yourself; I’m not your species. You can wait to rub yourself on your male,” Vasari states dryly.
Saliva gets caught in my throat and I choke. “Sorry,” I mutter as heat blooms across my face.
Vasari tenses beneath me and shock zips down the bond before she veers right, taking off towards a large mountain peak in the distance.
“What’s happening?” I ask, tightening my grip on the saddle.
“I feel them.” The awe in her voice is tangible, her mind full of cautious hope. “It’s like they’re calling me home…”
I reach out toward my mates. “Did you—”
“Tisur feels them through Vasari! We found them!” Jesper bellows with excitement.
“Just keep your wits about you; we have no idea what we’re walking into,” Aemon reminds us as Evisdor catches up to Vasari, leaving the others following behind us.
Killian’s thoughts push through urgently, “Do not enter any caves until all of us are there. Ravina, you and Vasari will stay in the middle of us.”
Vasari rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue.
“I will stay by your side,” I tell him, knowing he is anxious about my safety.
His relief is almost instantaneous. “Thank you, Little Warrior.”
Vasari begins to slow before coming to a landing outside a massive cave entrance. The snow crunches beneath her feet and the ground shakes as the others land around us.
The realm is silent, nothing but the snow-chilled wind rattling the branches of the few nearby trees. Vasari takes a step forward and lets out a bone-shaking roar that has me crunched over and covering my ears.
Her call echoes over the mountaintops, then everything quiets.
Then a dragon answers back, the sound coming from the cave entrance.
“Vasari…” I start.
“All is well, Lost One. We found my home.”
I peer up at her massive frame as she stares steadily into the cave. “Your home? I thought your home was at Phixmery?”
“Home is wherever the Queen is. I sense her; my mother is here.” Awe laces her tone.
A massive white dragon, even larger than Evisdor, prowls regally out of the cave entrance, his scales nearly glistening against the snow and sunlight.
Vasari lets out a low, bone-rattling growl. The white beast’s eyes narrow slightly before he dips his long neck toward the ground and prowls back into the cave.
“What was that about?” I ask her.
She snorts with amusement. “He was testing me. Trying to see if our minds were warped. I would climb back on and keep your deformed chicken close; we wouldn’t want him to become a snack.”
Nero puffs up in annoyance. “Watch it, Lizard. Maybe I should add a dragon’s eyeball to my collection. It would be the jewel of my prized possessions."
My lips purse as I hold back my laughter and climb back into my saddle, my mates, Roz and Ember doing the same. Nero lands in my lap, still bickering with Vasari as we slowly enter the cave where the air is thick with the musky scent of earth and cool, damp stone.
It takes a moment, but soon my eyes adjust to the darkness. Talons click and scrape across the stone floor, and with every breath Vasari and I become one, leaning into each other for emotional strength for what’s to come.
I have so many questions, and she must, too. All we can hope is that we can get some answers, especially about why the dragons have fled north, and why Vasari’s mother never showed herself or tried to save my mother—her rider.
The tunnel opens up into an impossibly large space, filled with dragons much like the Keep at Phixmery—but here, there are more white dragons than I’ve ever seen before.
Vasari’s gaze is locked on the large stone dais in the center of the space. An enormous purple dragon lies curled up with its head snaked toward us, slowly blinking.
“Queen mother…” Vasari whispers, treading her way through the many dragons that stand between us.
“Do not get off Vasari,” Killian grumbles into my mind. “Voissor says the dragons are tense, but as long as we stay with our beasts, we should be fine.”
My heart warms at his protectiveness, and even though I have no plans to get off her back, I let him know I agree.
When we reach the dais, Vasari bows her neck so low it’s nearly scraping the ground. The purple dragon who must be my mother’s bonded beast raises her head, but it seems to sap her of energy.
Vasari rumbles beneath me, and then suddenly I can hear them both. “I’m letting my rider in on the conversation; she deserves her answers, too.”
My mouth drops open in a very unqueenly manner. “How is this possible? I thought I could only communicate with the ones I’ve bonded?”
“I’ve opened my mind so you can hear what she’s saying. Think of me as a bridge,” she states.
“My hatchlings,” my mother’s dragon sighs.
“I see my rider’s plan didn’t go exactly as she envisioned it.
You both were always so wild, never doing things as they are meant to be done, which I suppose is why the Fates have chosen you both for this…
” She eyes me with such an intensity that I struggle not to shrink in her presence.
Before we can ask her to elaborate, she continues, “You both were meant to stay hidden until the war was finished. I told Calantha that it wouldn’t be possible, but she was determined.
She made me swear not to come to her aid if she was captured, and I agreed.
If the realm knew we were alive, it would have put a target on all of our heads.
It was best if everyone thought the royal family—fae and dragon—all dead. ”
I straighten my shoulders. “But why hide here? Would it have been such a bad thing to know the Queen was alive? She could have been saved. All of this could have ended years ago!”
The dragon’s gaze shifts to mine. “Because of the prophecy.
When death’s kissed stone once shattered becomes whole, the pale ones shall fall.
Only shadows of darkness can hold off death’s mist until fate deals death’s kiss.
A sacrifice of each power will be made or minds melding will enslave.
“The stone must stay separated; it can never be made whole. Keeping you hidden with a piece they would never find…” Her large eyes narrow as she searches for my necklace. “Where is it?”
“Safe,” I reply, feeling nauseous from hearing this so-called prophecy.
“You’d best hope it is, hatchling. Now ask your questions. I am tired, and have been waiting a long time for you to find me.”
I swallow and feel my bonds, letting them stabilize me. “Why are all the white dragons here? Why did you leave Phixmery? Why not come to Vathia where riders are needed?”
She lets out a sigh so heavy it’s almost as if she has spread the weight of the horrifying truth over us before she tells us.
The emotions stagger from her through Vasari’s bond to me.
“The Lords began to silently purge the white dragons. Dragonkind with warped minds began to be used for this purpose, and we realized that only those who could wield shadowflames were being killed. Mothers fled, some even unwillingly abandoning their eggs, and some never made it here. After the fall of your royals, it became worse. Your mother and I separated to keep our young safe. Vasari was left with the dragons of Phixmery so when the time was right, she could find you—but alas, it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way. ”
Dragons around us shuffle and growl. “We are safe here, hidden. At least until now. Once the Lords find us, the purging will begin again, and you know why.”
My gaze turns over my shoulder to Aemon and Evisdor. “Because shadowflames are the only thing that can prevent the wraiths from causing destruction. But why not go after Evisdor? Surely the lords knew Aemon had bonded a white dragon? And why not Vasari, who can wield all dragon magick?”
Her massive tail thumps along the stone floor.
“I do not know why this young one has been spared, other than Vathia’s protection.
But as for Vasari, she is a royal dragon.
I suspect they planned on using the Soul Stone on her to get your people to believe the Fates have chosen a new royal bloodline.
Though I cannot be certain of this I do know that their plan relied on knowing Vasari’s whereabouts.
I’m sorry for abandoning you, my fireling. ”
Vasari shifts beneath me and I sense the turmoil in her before she calms. “I understand. A Queen has her duties, and you and the fae Queen did what you thought was right.” Her breath expels into the room, cutting the tension like a snapping cord.
I clear my throat. "So what now? Will you still hide here or will you fight with us? They have dragons on their side, and we need forces in the air to even stand a chance.”
The Queen dragon levels her heavy gaze on me but I don’t back down. We are the same, after all—maybe not in species, but we both have beings in our charge to protect.
I feel the nerves of my mates as they hold their breath.
“You may send warriors. Whether they bond or get feasted upon is up to the Fates. On one condition: that you do whatever it takes to destroy the Soul Stone. I will not risk dragonkind again in the future, if that Fates-forsaken stone is left forgotten in this realm only for some power hungry fae to start the wars all over again.”
I grin, letting a savage smile fall across my face. “Good thing that was already the plan.”
She snorts. “You’re so much like your mother,” she murmurs wistfully.