Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
The moment Kaelith’s wings cut through the upper air currents, the sound of battle slammed into me—screams, roars, the crack of magic meeting magic.
Above the outpost, the riders Zander had ordered to remain airborne were already locked in deadly combat with the Blood Fae. Bolts of dark energy tore across the sky like jagged lightning, slamming into shields of fire, stone, and wind conjured by our riders.
A blue Palisade dragon, massive and plated in armor-like scales, smashed into a black dragon mid-dive, the force of the impact sending both spinning.
The fae rider clung like a burr, slashing with a curved blade until the Palisade twisted sharply, dislodging him into open air.
His scream was cut short as his own mount rolled beneath and caught him again.
Another Blood Fae, riding a smaller black Swift, hurled a spear of shadow through the air, the projectile spinning toward one of our Strikers. A flash of molten silver from Lola intercepted it mid-flight, shattering the weapon into harmless ash.
Kaelith’s growl rumbled up through my legs, her muscles bunching in preparation. Hold on, she warned, folding her wings tight before we dropped into a steep dive.
We tore past Hein and Zander on our left, both of them wreathed in the deep, molten glow of Dark Fire as they drove a black dragon back with a barrage of fire bursts.
The sky was chaos, dragons banking, twisting, snapping at each other with jaws strong enough to shatter bone.
Spells flared in blinding arcs, igniting the clouds in unnatural colors.
A Clubtail’s tail smashed into a Blood Fae mount, sending the creature reeling, while another rider summoned a wall of stone in midair, forcing two enemy dragons to break formation.
Every heartbeat was survival and strike, survival and strike, and Kaelith and I angled hard toward the thickest knot of enemy fliers, ready to tear into them before they could overwhelm our own.
The surrounding battle was chaos incarnate, dragons wheeling and snapping, magic tearing the sky into jagged pieces of light and shadow. I barely had time to register the Blood Fae rider in front of me before he hurled a massive fireball straight at my head.
Kaelith banked hard, but there was no way to dodge at this range—heat scorched my skin—
And then, impossibly, it froze.
The ball of flame hung suspended in midair, heat shimmering off it but unmoving, like it had been plucked from the flow of time itself. My breath caught, my eyes snapping to the source—
Severeth.
She hovered astride a black dragon twice Kaelith’s size, her silver-marked eyes fixed on me with that same infuriating, knowing smile.
She lifted a graceful hand, dismissing the Blood Fae rider who’d been attacking me.
He immediately veered away, his mount folding into a sharp dive that carried him out of the fight.
Her fingers moved then—quick, precise, familiar. The Order’s secret hand language. I didn’t have to think to read it.
It’s time for you to take your place at my side.
I scowled. You mean at Veralin’s side.
Her smirk widened, the black dragon beneath her angling closer. For now. But with your power added to mine, we could overthrow your grandfather and rule together.
My grip on Kaelith’s reins tightened as my other hand moved vigorously. Are you lonely now that you’ve lost your apprentice?
Her laugh was low, amused. Hardly. Inderia was a means to an end. Giving her immortality in exchange for the continent was a fair trade. And I am always on the lookout for a talented woman with Inderia’s skills.
I didn’t realize she had that much magic, I messaged, my movements dripping with sarcasm.
She didn’t, Severeth replied easily, her eyes glinting. But she could manipulate men unlike any woman I’ve ever seen. Only Zander seemed immune to her charms. I had hoped to pit her against Veralin.
You’re sick, I snapped.
Her smile vanished, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp glare. And you are dead if you don’t take my offer.
I curled my fingers into the familiar shapes, my answer final.
It will never happen.
Severeth’s expression hardened, the sly smile dying on her lips. We’ll see, she messaged, and then her hands rose high above her head.
The air thickened.
Power rolled off her in invisible waves, not light or flame but something deeper, like the bones of the world themselves were vibrating. The sky rippled, faint distortions spilling outward in concentric rings that shimmered like heat haze. It looked unsubstantial, harmless even… until it hit.
Across the battlefield, riders cried out.
Dragons wavered mid-stroke, their wings faltering as if their bodies suddenly weighed twice as much.
One Palisade dipped dangerously low before snapping back at the last second, its rider clutching at its neck as if the contact was slipping through his fingers.
They weren’t just struggling, they were out of sync. The bonds between dragon and rider thinned, frayed, slipping like sand through open hands.
The magic passed through me a heartbeat later, a sickening echo starting just behind my eyes before lancing down my spine. Kaelith’s roar thundered in my mind, my name shouted like a warning, like a plea—
And then she was gone.
The hollow silence where her presence should have been hit harder than any physical blow. I gasped, reaching for her across the bond, clawing for even the faintest spark of her magic—
Nothing.
It was like trying to grasp smoke. The connection that had been part of my very soul was… absent. My chest clenched, the edges of my vision tunneling, and for the first time since we bonded, I was utterly alone in the sky.
Then it fractured into chaos.
Dragons caught in the wave of Severeth’s magic began to spiral, their wings jerking out of rhythm, bodies tilting wildly as if gravity had decided to play favorites. The sound of wings losing formation was sickening—thumps, groans, and the ragged rush of air as massive bodies fought to stay aloft.
My eyes locked on Koddos just as his bulky frame banked hard left—
And Jax leaned the wrong way.
Time stopped.
His body slid over the saddle, boots catching air instead of leather, and my heart clenched so tight I couldn’t breathe. The void below him was a yawning, endless drop, and for one paralyzing second, I was certain I was about to watch my friend die.
But a green blur cut through the chaos.
Ferrula and Narvea dove like a falling star, her rope snapping behind her as the Clubtail’s massive wings folded tight to cut speed. They hit the air beneath Jax just as he lost his grip entirely.
Narvea’s back slammed into his chest with a bone-jarring thud, knocking the breath from him, but Ferrula didn’t even glance back—she just kept Narvea steady as the dragon gave a rumbling grunt of effort, her tail slicing the air for balance.
Jax scrambled upright, his face pale but determined, and wrapped both arms tight around Ferrula’s waist.
She spared him one quick glance over her shoulder, a grin flickering across her lips despite the danger. “Saving you never gets old.”
Narvea’s chest heaved once, a low growl curling up her throat, but her wings leveled out, keeping them steady in the chaos.
Kaelith’s wings faltered once… twice… and then she began to descend.
Not the controlled glide of a trained warrior, but the slow, inevitable drop of a creature no longer tethered to its other half.
I could see it now—across the battle, the majority of our dragons were being forced down, their movements jerky and unsure.
Without their riders’ voices in their minds, without the guidance of instinct woven into trust, they were vulnerable in the air.
It hit me like a blade to the gut, this was why all those grueling dragon trials had been necessary.
Every sleepless night. Every bone-deep bruise.
The unyielding tests. Without a bond strong enough to fuse us together, without the shared language of magic, our dragons couldn’t guide us when we faltered. And now… they couldn’t trust us.
I reached for Kaelith with everything I had, pouring my magic outward like a river breaking its banks. Come back to me. Please.
Nothing.
The ground surged closer; the wind flattening my hair against my face.
We were a few miles from the main army, its movement a dark ripple across the horizon, but distance wouldn’t save us.
If our dragons couldn’t carry us into battle, they would have no choice but to land us and take to the sky alone, fighting without the one person meant to fight beside them.
No. No, we don’t leave each other. My hands tightened on the rope, even as Kaelith’s muscles bunched for landing. The ache in my chest was worse than fear—it was the hollow emptiness of losing a part of my soul.
And the earth was rushing up to meet us.