Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Ishook his shoulder again, harder this time, my voice breaking. “Zander—come on, you stubborn bastard. Wake up.”
Nothing. Not even the smallest twitch. His skin was cool beneath my fingers, that ashen hue deepening as if he were fading right in front of me.
Boots pounded on the dirt behind me, and then Ferrula dropped to a knee at my side, her shadow falling over us. Riven was right behind her, her braid swinging forward as she crouched low, scanning Zander’s face.
The rest of Thrall Squad fanned out, weapons drawn, their gazes darting to the skies. Kaelith and Hein both kept their heads tilted back, nostrils flaring. We didn’t know if Severeth was truly gone or just circling, gathering her strength. My gut told me it was the latter.
Ferrula’s voice was firm, but there was an urgency in it. “You have to heal him.”
“I can only do that if I give him blood.” My voice came out hoarse, my heart hammering so hard it hurt.
“Then do it,” she said without hesitation. “We are too exposed out here.”
I swallowed, the weight of it pressing into my ribs. “It may take time for him to recover.”
Ferrula’s jaw tightened. “Then it’s time we don’t have.” She glanced toward Kaelith. “Will Kaelith carry him?”
The great purple dragon’s eyes found mine, her mind brushing against my own. I would carry Hein’s rider, but he will fall if he remains unconscious. It is safer to tie him to Hein’s saddle after you give him blood.
Riven cursed under her breath, eyes still flicking upward.
Kaelith’s voice deepened in my head. Narvea’s rider is correct. We need to move. The black dragons will return as soon as Severeth learns how to counter your last strike. And the human army is closing.
My pulse roared in my ears as I bent over Zander again, brushing the hair from his forehead. “Then we do this now.”
I yanked my dagger from its sheath; the steel catching a flash of dull light before I dragged it across my palm. Pain flared hot, but I didn’t flinch. Crimson welled instantly, warm and slick, and I pressed my hand to Zander’s lips.
“Come on,” I whispered, tilting my wrist so the blood dripped into his mouth. The wind carried the copper scent between us, mixing with the smoke and dirt of the battlefield.
Riven made a face. “That’s… kind of gross.”
I didn’t look up. “If it works, you’ll be thanking me later.”
Ferrula smirked, though her eyes stayed locked on the sky. “If it works, we’ll bottle that stuff.”
My gaze flicked to her. “There are side effects.”
Her brows lifted. “Like?”
“He’s tied to me. For all time.” The truth felt heavy in my mouth. We had barely talked about the bond, but it had become part of us.
Ferrula grunted, glancing at Zander’s still face. “He wants to be tied to you, so I don’t see that being a problem.”
Riven arched an eyebrow. “That might be the understatement of the year.”
I let another drop fall past his lips, my voice quieter now. “This isn’t something he can change later. But that bond allowed me to siphon his magic. I didn’t realize I took it all.”
Ferrula shrugged, her mouth twisting. “Everybody runs the risk of burnout. He will recover.”
I didn’t answer, just kept my palm steady against his mouth, willing him to take it in—willing it to work—because if it didn’t, nothing else would matter.
Riven’s voice cut through the tense silence. “It won’t matter when you’re the queen.”
Ferrula grunted, and I pulled my hand back from Zander’s lips, glaring at her. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
“We’re all thinking it,” Jax said from where he stood beside Ferrula, his broad shoulders tense but his expression infuriatingly casual.
I swept my gaze across them, catching the flicker of guilt in Riven’s eyes, the half-smirk on Tae’s lips, the knowing look Naia tried to hide.
“Obviously you’ve been discussing this behind my back,” I said, returning my focus to Zander, searching his face for any twitch, any hint of returning color.
“Well, yeah,” Riven admitted without shame. “It’ll be cool to have a queen who’s a rider. That’s never happened before.”
“There have been many female riders who were—” I started.
“—part of the court, sure,” Tae cut in smoothly, “but not a queen.”
“Zander doesn’t want to be king,” I reminded them firmly.
Ferrula leaned toward me, her green eyes steady, voice low.
“He doesn’t, which is exactly why he’s the right choice.
If we win this war, he’s the one we need.
Even Dorian knows it. I think he would have stepped down even if he weren’t infertile.
” She gave a small shrug, her scar catching the light.
“I have more respect for the older Rayne than ever… but Zander is meant to be king. Dorian doesn’t have his power, and only Zander has you. ”
Her words settled in my chest like a stone, heavy and unyielding, but there was something in the way she said you that made my heart pound. Not just a lover. Not just a rider. Something more. Something binding.
Zander’s low groan had my head snapping toward him. His lashes fluttered, and then his storm-gray eyes blinked open, still hazy but unmistakably alive.
“What… happened?” His voice was rough, frayed at the edges.
Relief slammed into me so hard I almost laughed. “You let me drain you,” I said, pressing my palm to his cheek. “And I had to give you blood to make you heal faster. It worked—barely.”
His brows drew together. “You drained me?”
“I needed enough magic to break Severeth’s spell,” I said quickly, knowing the argument that could follow. “You should have stopped me. I wouldn’t have—”
“—done it unless you had to,” he finished for me, voice sure.
He exhaled slowly, still pale but steadying.
“From my side, it felt… like you reached into the core of me. Not my magic, not my body—me. And then it was gone, pulled so fast I thought I’d fall apart.
” His gaze softened, though it was tinged with a warning.
“If you’d taken any more, Ashe, I think you would’ve taken me with it. ”
I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. “I know. We have to be more careful.”
His eyes swept over me, checking for signs of strain. “You look like you’ve been through hell.”
“I feel like it.” I straightened, glancing toward the horizon where the army still loomed. “We have to get back. You can ride with me or with Hein.”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “I’d love to ride on Kaelith’s back sometime—”
I arched a brow. “Oh, would you now?”
“—but not during a war,” he finished dryly. “Get me to my dragon.”
I reached for his arm, bracing him as Hein lowered his massive head beside us. The air smelled of smoke and lightning, and every muscle in my body screamed that we were far from done here.
Jax slid in beside me as I hooked my arm under Zander’s, the weight of him telling me exactly how much strength he was lacking. We got him upright, and even with Jax taking most of his weight, Zander’s steps were sluggish, his jaw tight.
He didn’t protest when Jax boosted him onto Hein’s back—proof enough of how bad it was.
He adjusted the ropes himself, looping one around his waist and tying it to the saddle.
The movement was mechanical, practiced, and not at all like him.
Zander Rayne didn’t secure himself to a saddle unless he thought there was a real chance he might not stay conscious.
I vaulted onto Kaelith, the familiar slide of her scales under my hands a small comfort. One by one, Thrall Squad lifted into the air, wings beating hard against the wind. Thankfully, it appeared Severeth had decided on a temporary retreat, her black dragons fleeing before our approach.
Zander’s mind brushed against mine the moment Hein’s wings caught the currents. What did that spell do?
It disrupted the bond between the Blood Fae and their dragons, I answered, my gaze flicking toward the empty patch of sky where Severeth had vanished. I turned the spell back onto her. I doubt it’ll last long, but neither did ours.
I wonder why Severeth has never tried that spell before, he mused.
I thought about it, watching him lean forward in his saddle until he was nearly pressed along Hein’s neck. His hands stayed light on the reins, but there was a slump in his shoulders I didn’t like. Maybe she was missing something she needed to complete the spell.
What did you use as the base? he asked, voice low even in my head.
My power. Your power.
There was a pause. Light magic, then. But Severeth doesn’t possess that… at least not anymore.
The realization slid in cold and abrupt. The warder, I whispered, almost afraid to say it aloud.
Kaelith’s wings cut through the air in a steady, even rhythm, the wind cold against my face. Zander’s voice slid back into my mind, fiercer now despite the strain in it. What did you mean?
She drained a warder, I told him, the image of Dareth’s lifeless body flashing through my thoughts. I thought she did it just to kill him… but maybe she was using his magic in some way.
It’s possible. His tone was grim, calculating. You can’t siphon from anybody but me, so I wonder what the difference is between your magics. You’re both Storm Reapers.
Maybe it’s because I don’t kill, I said after a beat. You allowed me to take your magic, and it’s easy because of our bond… but she takes it by force. Maybe that’s what kills them.
That’s likely true, he admitted, his mental voice darkening. But it’s scary as hell. I hope she doesn’t latch onto me or one of the other riders.
Kaelith’s mind swept into ours then, her voice a deep, resonant purr. Severeth cannot siphon a rider. The dragons protect their own.
Unless she pulls out that spell that disconnects us, Zander countered.
Then you and Ashlyn do the same to her, Kaelith replied, her tone edged with steel. But next time… you finish her.
Zander’s voice was low in my mind, threaded with warning. Be careful. Severeth assumed she had a way to take the dragon riders out of this war… and you just counteracted her newest weapon. She will try to remove you.
Don’t worry about me, I told him, heat sparking in my chest. She’s the one who should be afraid.
But the bond went silent—too silent.
I turned in my saddle just in time to see him slumped over Hein, his arms hanging limp against the silver scales, fingers brushing the wind with each sway of the dragon’s glide.
Hein’s powerful wings kept a steady beat, but I could feel the tension in his frame from here.
The massive Striker’s head was low, eyes locked on the horizon, carrying his rider like something precious and breakable.
Kaelith shifted beneath me, her muscles bunching as she flew closer, her deep rumble vibrating through my legs. He’s alive, she assured me, but even her voice carried an uneasy edge.
The wind bit hard at my cheeks as the towers of Warriath came into view, and all I could think about was the pale stillness of Zander’s face and the way his body seemed to sway more with each mile. He had given me everything he had… and now I had to pray it wasn’t too much.