Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
How do we stop him? I pushed the thought toward Kaelith, my breath ragged as his magic continued to strip mine away. Every heartbeat felt slower, heavier, like my body was sinking into some invisible mire.
There is a way, Kaelith’s voice growled through the haze—focused, and utterly unafraid. He is feeding on you directly, drawing your power into himself. If we turn the stream, force it back through him, it may corrupt the connection.
Force it back? My mind stuttered. Wouldn’t that just give him more—
Not if we taint it with yours, she cut in. Dark magic cannot feed on the light without consequence. It will burn him from the inside.
The idea was reckless. Dangerous. Perfect.
Do it, I told her, forcing my stiff, cold fingers to curl into the saddle’s grip.
Kaelith roared, her magic slamming into me like molten steel. My veins lit with heat, every nerve sparking to life as her fire fused with the remnants of my own power. Together, we seized the tether of magic the Blood Fae had hooked into me—and yanked.
The world shuddered. I felt the drain reverse, surging back toward him like a tide turned wild. His triumphant expression faltered, confusion flashing across his face as our magic poured into him, laced with Kaelith’s fire.
He screamed. Not from pain—at least, not at first—but from the sudden loss of control. His dragon’s eyes went wide, and then its body convulsed mid-flight.
Its black scales rippled, shifting, as if something beneath was trying to break through. For the briefest moment, the darkness split—faint streaks of crimson shimmered along its hide, like veins of living flame.
Then, both rider and dragon plummeted.
The dragon’s wings folded, its body twisting in a helpless spiral. The Blood Fae flailed, his magic unraveling in a haze of black smoke as they hit the ground with a bone-shattering impact. The earth cracked under the force, dust and debris billowing outward in a choking cloud.
When it cleared, there was nothing left moving—just the broken sprawl of the dragon’s massive form, its scales still glimmering red before dulling to lifeless black.
Kaelith and I banked low over the battlefield, her wings cutting through the smoke that still curled from the crater. The black dragon lay twisted, its neck bent at an unnatural angle, the Blood Fae rider crushed beneath its massive chest.
I guided her in a slow circle, my eyes locked on the traces of crimson that still shimmered across its dead scales. What happened? I asked, the unease in my chest growing heavier.
Kaelith’s voice came low, thoughtful. For a moment… I could almost feel my brethren in it. Not just the body—but the soul. It was as if a true dragon was buried beneath the shadow before it died.
A shiver slid down my spine. How is that possible?
I do not know, she admitted, her tone edged with frustration. The Blood Fae have found a way to twist our kin into these creatures. Perhaps their souls seek freedom just before death…
Her thought trailed off. We do not have time to debate this now.
The warning came a heartbeat before I noticed two more black dragons diving from the left, their riders already loosing jagged spears of dark magic.
Kaelith roared, twisting us hard into a climb, but one of the bolts scraped across my warded armor.
The impact rattled my bones; the ward flaring white-hot before it dimmed.
The air turned into a blur of claws and teeth as we met them mid-dive. I caught a flash of serrated blades, a glimpse of a rider’s sneer before I swung my own weapon, sparks flying as steel clashed against his curved sword.
Kaelith lashed her tail, catching the second dragon across the jaw and sending it tumbling. But the first rider pressed me hard, his magic striking at the edges of my wards again and again, trying to pry them open.
Hold steady, Kaelith growled in my mind, her power surging through me as we fought in brutal, dizzying spirals above the army below.
The sound cut through the chaos—high and unnatural. Every black dragon in the air stiffened, its wingbeats faltering for a breath before they broke away in unison. The retreat was too coordinated to be a coincidence.
Severeth, I thought, my stomach tightening. Only she could call them back like that.
Katama’s light-green form angled toward me, Remy leaning forward in his saddle. His fingers flashed in rapid, practiced motions, and I had to focus hard to keep up with his signing through the wind and distance.
I opened the bond to Zander. Remy says we need to land near the outpost.
Zander’s reply was immediate. What outpost?
The memory rose unbidden—a crumbling tower on the edge of the eastern woods, the low wooden walls around it scorched and broken.
We’d flown over it earlier, the gates swinging loosely in the wind.
It had been abandoned for days, maybe longer, the few villagers who once lived nearby having already sought shelter behind Warriath’s wards.
Get the information from him, Zander told me. Find out why.
I turned to Remy and messaged with chilly fingers, Why there?
His eyes narrowed, his lips pressing into a thin line. He shook his head.
My irritation flared. Remy—
Enough, Zander cut in, his mental voice edged with command. You and Thrall Squad land at the outpost. The rest of the aerial units will stay in the sky until I know what we’re walking into.
I felt Kaelith’s muscles shift beneath me as she adjusted course, Hein and the others falling into formation on either side. Above us, the rest of the dragons circled high, shadows against the pale sky, watching.
We made our way back to the abandoned outpost.
It looked even more desolate up close. Its wooden gates sagged inward, one hinge hanging by a rusted nail.
The low walls were weathered gray, with sections missing entirely, and the guard tower leaned at an angle that made it look ready to collapse.
The place smelled of old ash and damp earth, as if rain had carried soot into every crack.
Kaelith’s talons dug into the overgrown grass as we landed, dust puffing up around us. The silence was heavy—no movement, no sound except the creak of the gate in the wind.
Zander was off Hein in one fluid motion, his boots hitting the ground with purpose. He strode toward Remy, who was sliding down from Katama’s saddle.
“What is this about?” Zander’s tone was fierce enough to cut steel.
Thrall Squad gathered in close as Remy’s eyes flicked to me first, then back to Zander. He exhaled slowly, as if weighing his words. “I have spies in the Crimson Sigil.”
I wasn’t surprised, not by that or the matter-of-fact way he said it, and neither was Zander.
Remy continued, “They’ve got something… some kind of poison that can disrupt our bond with our dragons. Temporarily. Weakens it enough to make us useless in a fight.”
Zander’s jaw tightened. “And you’re just telling us this now?”
“I wasn’t sure,” Remy countered, his voice low but steady, “not until my contact messaged me.”
Zander’s eyes narrowed. “Messaged you? In the air? While we were in formation?”
Remy shrugged one shoulder. “I have ways.”
“That’s not an answer,” Zander snapped, stepping closer.
They stood nearly chest-to-chest now, the tension between them prickling the air. Remy’s smirk was minimal, almost taunting, while Zander’s disbelief sharpened into something colder.
“You’re asking me to believe a contact got you critical intel mid-flight without anyone else noticing,” Zander said.
“I’m not asking you to believe anything,” Remy shot back. “I’m telling you so we can act before they use it on us.”
Zander’s tone was still razor-sharp as he pressed, “How long does this disruption last? Is it a spell or a brewed poison? Does it hit the rider, the dragon, or both?”
Remy’s mouth tightened. “It’s more of an alchemical curse—crafted, not purely magical. It latches onto the bond, fraying it. I don’t know the exact duration yet.”
I cut in before Zander could fire another question. “Then what made you think they were using it on us now?”
Remy’s gaze flicked to me. “Because… I thought you were the target.”
That pulled me up short. “You thought—? Remy, I was drained. A Blood Fae rider used magic on me that nearly gutted my own power. I couldn’t even hold my connection to Kaelith for a moment.”
Zander’s eyes snapped to me. “You didn’t say it was that bad.”
“I didn’t realize what it was until now,” I admitted. “And Severeth… she mentioned doing the same thing to the warders before she killed them. Are they feeding off us?”
Ferrula’s brow furrowed. “If that’s the case… how did we stop it?”
I explained quickly—Kaelith’s plan to reverse the flow, fusing her fire into the tether until the Blood Fae’s bond with his dragon shattered. “But there is no alchemy involved. That is a dark spell. One I’m guessing any fae can master.”
But as I finished, I caught Remy’s expression—tight, unreadable. My stomach knotted. “You knew. Before we left. You had this information and didn’t share it. Why?”
“I wasn’t sure,” Remy said, but there was something too practiced in the way he said it.
Ferrula’s lip curled. “More like you were hoping Zander would fall prey to it. He’s their prime target. You are so jealous of our king you’d risk the entire continent falling to the fae just to keep Ashe from him.”
That was the spark.
Remy’s face hardened, his hand dropping instinctively to the hilt of his blade. “Say that again.”
Ferrula stepped forward, her green eyes glittering like a predator’s. “Gladly.”
The next moment they were on each other—Ferrula shoving him back, Remy twisting to drive her off-balance. Steel hissed free, and their blades clashed with a sound that rattled through the empty outpost.
Zander swore and moved in, but neither of them seemed willing to back down, the tension between them exploding into raw, ugly fury.
I shoved myself between them, Kaelith’s presence pressing hot and heavy in my mind like she was ready to physically drag us all apart if she had to.
“Enough!” My voice cracked like a whip. “Katama would never let Remy put Zander in jeopardy. The bond to our dragons is stronger than we think.”
Remy’s jaw clenched, but he was the first to step back. He slid his blade into its sheath with a controlled motion. “My disrespect for Zander has nothing to do with Ashe or the crown. We had different beliefs growing up. But I would never put him in danger, or risk the continent.”
Ferrula huffed, muttering something under her breath, but she backed off a pace.
I took the pause to glance at the sky; the clouds stretched like torn silk above us. “If it is a spell they learned, then we can learn how to counteract it. Severeth called them back earlier, maybe it’s because the fae who attacked me failed. Maybe she has to tweak her spell before trying again.”
Jax’s voice cut across the stillness. “Uh… yeah, about that—” He pointed upward. “They’re coming back.”
The black specks on the horizon swelled with terrifying speed, the shapes of dragons unfolding against the pale light.
Zander’s voice snapped across the outpost, all command and no hesitation. “Mount up! Take to the skies now!”
Kaelith’s roar split the air before my boots even left the ground, the rush of wind from her wings scattering dust and dead leaves as I swung into the saddle. Around us, Thrall Squad leaped to their dragons, the still air of the outpost shattering under the thunder of wings.