Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
“See that mountain range up ahead?” Alistair calls over the rushing winds.
Leaning to the left, I look past him where he is sitting in front of me on Lyra’s back so that I can see better.
When Lyra shifted back into a dragon and flew us away from Stonehollow, Alistair was still unconscious, so I had to hold him in place in front of me to make sure that he didn’t fall off.
But the hours in the air thankfully gave Alistair enough time to recover the magical energy he gave to Lyra, and he woke up about half an hour ago.
It also gave the rest of us enough time to rest and allowed our bodies to heal our wounds somewhat.
We technically promised Lavendera that we would give her the Soul of Trees first. But a detour to the Seelie Court would add several hours to our journey, and I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Draven to fight alone for one minute more than absolutely necessary, so I convinced the others that it was best to head straight to the battlefield instead.
Thankfully, they didn’t need much convincing.
“Yeah?” I reply, gazing out at the tall mountain range before us.
“Lyra says that the battle is just on the other side,” Alistair explains.
Once Alistair woke up, he and Lyra opened their union bond so that they can communicate in their minds while she’s in her dragon form.
“So get ready,” he finishes, glancing at the three of us over his shoulder.
A sudden burst of dread explodes inside my chest, and I swallow as I stare at those imposing gray mountains before us. Draven is leading the charge somewhere there on the other side.
Please, let him be okay. Goddess please, let him be okay.
Lyra’s powerful wings beat the air on either side of us as we draw closer to the stone barrier that separates us from the battlefield.
I can’t feel any of Draven’s emotions through our mate bond, which means that he is either keeping them on his side of it, or blocking out his emotions altogether so that he feels nothing at all in order to concentrate fully on the fight and not get distracted.
It’s an incredibly difficult skill to master, but one he has truly perfected.
As I learned first-hand during that initial power demonstration in the Atonement Trials.
A small smile ghosts across my lips at the memory. It feels like several lifetimes have passed since then.
“She says that she’s going to head straight to Draven and Galen so that you can join them,” Alistair calls. Then he glances back at Isera, who is sitting behind me. “Did you ever end up bonding any of the other dragon shifters?”
“No,” she replies with a tone of finality in her voice. “I don’t want to bond anyone. I don’t like feeling tied up in that way.”
Orion clicks his tongue. “Well, there goes the bondage session I had planned for tonight.”
I can feel her turning around behind me to stare at him.
“When this is all over, you and I are going to have a talk,” she says, though it sounds more like a threat.
“I thought you preferred me gagged?”
She lets out a frustrated sigh while I suppress a chuckle. Casting a quick glance over my shoulder, I find Isera pinching the bridge of her nose and Orion watching her with a sly smile on his lips.
“I am the only one who gets to kill you,” she growls. “Remember that, pretty boy. So make sure you stay alive. Or Malachi is going to have one hell of a fight on his hands when I come to drag you back from the afterlife just so that I can kill you myself.”
“Ah, death threats,” Orion says, that smirk still in his tone. “You really are a true romantic, aren’t you, little viper?”
A low snarl rips from Isera’s throat.
However, before anyone can say anything else, we reach the mountain range.
My stomach lurches as Lyra suddenly beats her wings hard and soars upwards towards the top of the mountains. Tightening my grip on Alistair’s waist, I hold on firmly so that I won’t slide backwards because of the steep angle. Isera does the same behind me.
Then we crest the mountain range, and my stomach drops like a stone again.
Dragons fill the sky.
Black, blue, and purple dragons with fae seated on their backs are fighting together in formation, desperately trying to push forward through the ranks of enemies before them.
Orange dragons are scattered among the fray as well, but most of them are guarding a stretch of ground at the back where a woman in orange dragon scale armor is standing on the grass.
Rin Tanaka. Her black hair flutters behind her as she uses her healing magic on the rows of people lying on the ground.
On the other side, a huge army of silver, red, and white dragons is spread out in the air above the grasslands and forests.
A massive silver dragon is hovering at the back of that army.
Empress Jessina Iceheart. I thought she would be leading the charge, hellbent on getting revenge.
But maybe seeing Bane die has made her fear the same fate.
I also thought that she would fly straight to the battlefield with just her own clan.
But she has managed to round up the Red Clan and the White Clan as well.
Alarm streaks through my veins like lightning while Lyra swoops down from the mountain range and heads straight for the front lines. This fight is going to be even worse than I was expecting.
Lyra lets out a roar.
A massive black dragon at the front swings his head around towards her.
My heart clenches at the sight of him.
Draven.
But before he can do anything else, a red dragon breaks through the chaos and shoots straight for Lyra. Draven roars.
Fire streams through the air as Alistair shoots a torrent straight at the red dragon. It screeches and is forced to swerve, which buys Lyra enough time to speed past. But it quickly takes up the chase.
“Get ready!” Alistair yells over the rushing winds and booming of dragon wings.
My stomach lurches again as Lyra suddenly surges up so that she is flying above most of the dragons instead. The red dragon behind her closes in quickly.
Releasing Alistair’s waist, I stand up on Lyra’s spine as she shoots through the air.
My legs shake with apprehension, but I keep one hand on Alistair’s shoulder for support while Isera is throwing shards of ice at the red dragon chasing us.
My pulse thrums as we draw closer to Draven with each second.
“Good luck!” I call to my friends.
Then I jump off Lyra’s back.
Air rushes in my ears as I free-fall through the sky for a few heart-pounding seconds.
Then I land on Draven’s spine with a thud that sends a jolt through my very bones, but I ignore it and instead immediately open our union bond.
“That was reckless, little rebel,” Draven says into my mind as he swerves to avoid a white dragon while also lunging at the red dragon that is following Lyra.
I quickly sit down and grip the spikes on his neck hard while he twists his body to rake his claws along the belly of the red dragon.
It screams in pain and wobbles in the air, buying Lyra enough time to speed towards Galen.
While Orion jumps off Lyra’s back and lands on Galen’s instead, I summon my magic and shove it straight at the violet flame of pain in the red dragon’s chest. With a push, I blow it into an all-consuming wildfire.
“But very efficient,” I reply to Draven in my mind.
His rumbling laughter rolls through my head.
The red dragon screeches and throws its head from side to side while dropping towards the ground as my magic courses through its body.
“Did it work?” Draven asks as he whirls around and shoots towards the enemies at the front line instead.
“Yes, Orion has the Soul of Trees,” I reply.
“You haven’t given it back to Lavendera?”
“We came straight here instead. I didn’t want to leave you fighting without me.”
“Thank you.” His voice is serious and full of emotion. “Because I really can’t do this without you.”
The words fill my soul with sparkling warmth. And at long last, I feel something settle deep inside me. Something I have been battling all my life.
I am not untrustworthy and unlikable.
I am not the weak link.
I am not a burden.
I am an asset.
I am powerful.
I am someone who my friends depend on.
I am enough.
With my soul now thrumming, I project a smile into Draven’s mind. “Then let’s go finish this.”
He lets out a roar in confirmation. With his own magic now boosted by mine through the union bond, he summons a massive lightning storm and shoots straight towards the rows of enemies ahead.
They jerk back slightly when they spot him.
I immediately shove my own magic at the small sparks of fear that flare up in their chests.
Animalistic screams tear from their throats as I increase those bone white flames with one massive push.
The dragons flee in pure terror, crashing into the ranks behind them.
Draven roars and throws the flashing lightning storm right into the row of confused dragons.
They screech as the black clouds and crackling lightning bolts slam into them. I release the grip on the fleeing dragons and instead focus on the ones now caught in the storm. Shoving my magic at them, I increase their fear to mind-shattering levels while Draven crashes into their ranks.
He slashes his claws across a white dragon’s chest while sinking his jaws into the side of a red dragon.
Cries of pain echo through the air, almost drowned out by the booming thunder.
I shove my magic towards those violet flames, increasing them even more.
The two dragons thrash in the air, trying to escape.
Draven yanks his claws out of the first dragon’s chest and then rips his jaw away from the red dragon, tearing out a chunk of flesh in the process.
Blood gushes down the dragon’s side as it tumbles down through the air.
But the other dragons have recovered.