Chapter Ninety-One Daje #2
“Not too much. We don’t know if having your magic in it will inhibit Nox from being able to get the Mirror working again.”
Cass nods at Elora before he lets his magic fade away, the air thick with the feel of his magical signature.
My own churns within me, and a quick glance at Elora—her skin covered with goosebumps—tells me hers is likely doing the same.
We watch as the magic stabilizes within the glass, and once a few minutes pass, we are confident that it’s been imbued, much to Elora’s delight.
“Let’s take it over to those rocks.” We stand at Cass’s suggestion, lifting the glass and carrying it to a collection of jagged rocks at the entrance of a cave. “We’ll drop it here and see if it holds the magic within it. That should at least confirm if it is worth bringing home.”
I guide my magic out like a shield around my body, Elora and Cass following suit to protect themselves from any shards that might break away.
Centering the piece over the rocks, we count to three and release it, watching through the yellow haze of my magic as the glass hits the rocks and immediately breaks, thankfully creating bigger chunks and only a few smaller shards.
Blue still glows within the broken pieces, prompting Cass to smile wide as he pumps his arms in the air. “We did it! We—”
A shadow drifts over the beach ahead of us, wide enough to leave no doubt as to what is casting it.
Cass is the first to move, ushering us into the cave as the sound of beating wings cuts through the air, the deep rumble accompanying making my blood chill.
Our boots are slick against the black stone as we climb, the scent of rot thick in the air.
“It’s going to land,” Elora whispers, her shoulder pressing tightly into mine from where we’ve lined up against the cave wall, Cass on my other side. The sound of my heartbeat races in my ears, and I don’t allow myself to overthink the movement when I reach out to hold her fingers with my own.
Cass slides his largest blades from their sheaths at his thighs, angling his body so that he is shielding both of ours.
“What are you—”
“Shh!” His command echoes in the cave just as another growl dances above the sound of the ocean waves, making my stomach clench tight with dread.
The leathery snap of the dragon’s wings slowing its descent is louder than I could have imagined, but the creature still sends clumps of damp sand flying into the air when it lands.
Dark green scales shimmer beneath the sunlight as it looks around, tucking its wings in tightly to its side.
“It’s alone,” Elora says, her voice shaking as she squeezes my hand.
I nod as I watch over Cass’s shoulder, the dragon sniffing the air before its head snaps in our direction, the three of us stiffening.
Its tail, tipped in two spikes longer than I am tall, thumps against the ground, and my magic pushes at my chest at the threat in front of us.
But none of us possess enough magic to protect us from a dragon.
I search it’s back for a rider, but find none, and as the dragon prowls slowly closer, I begin to wonder if my father would mourn my death. Or if he would be as callous about it as he was about my mother’s.
The dragon passes over the glass multiple times with mild interest, sniffing at the spot we broke the large piece before moving on.
Then, finally, it lowers onto its haunches before leaping into the air, its massive wings flaring out wide as they pump to bring the beast higher.
We wait until its shadow disappears, then wait some more to ensure it won’t come back.
I’m the first to break the silence. “We spend a few minutes searching for more glass, and then we get the fuck back into the forest.” I’m grateful when neither Elora nor Cass push back.
We bolt from the cave—Cass stopping to carefully load the broken dragon glass into a satchel, while Elora and I return to the spot where she found the piece.
Our movements are frantic, our hands swishing sand out of the way in every direction as we look.
Elora finds the next piece, this one about half the size of the first. She rushes off to hand it to Cass, while I move a few more feet to my left, my breath seizing in my chest when my hand brushes against something smooth beneath a layer of sand.
It’s even smaller than Elora’s newest piece, only about a foot in length, but I bring it to Cass, Elora already back to searching again.
“I’m going to let Nox know we found some,” Cass says, bringing two fingers to his mouth as he lets out a pattern of high-pitched whistles in short succession.
Seconds pass, but eventually, a small black raven that followed us from Galdr flies from the treeline near the beach, landing on a small rock near Cass.
“Here, take the bag.” He hands me the satchel filled with dragon glass, the pieces clinking together as I haul it over my shoulder.
Cass pulls a piece of parchment out of his personal pack as well as a spelled pen and begins to draft his letter before I turn and rejoin Elora.
Together, she and I find enough glass to fill up the satchel, and all I can do is hope that it will be enough to repair the Mirror, as I’m ready to leave the beach now.
Cass whistles three times, and the raven takes off, now with the parchment tied around its leg. I watch it fly high in the sky, passing over the trees before disappearing altogether.
“Let’s go,” I command, Elora stepping up to my side as Cass tucks his pen back into his pack.
A deep, harrowing growl cuts our steps short, Elora stumbling at my side as her eyes grow wide.
My gaze immediately turns skyward, heart leaping into my throat as I expect to see the outstretched wings of a dragon.
But then the ground beneath my boots rumbles, and when that low, throaty snarl sounds again, there is no mistaking the direction it comes from.
We all turn to face the cave, Cass in front of Elora and I, his chest heaving as he retrieves his blades.
Past him, two yellow eyes wink to life against the darkness of the space we had been hiding in, and a dragon—larger than the one that had landed earlier—prowls from the cave’s mouth.
Fear unlike any I’ve ever felt before paralyzes my limbs, my magic pressing against my skin as the black dragon lowers its head, revealing the fae sitting on its back, a silver sword grasped in his hand.
“Well, what have we here?” His onyx hair rests at his shoulders, pointed ears poking through the strands as he glares down at us, his dragon pulling its lips back to reveal a collection of sharp teeth. “It seems we have trespassers amongst us.”