Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Remy opened his mouth to retort, but the sound never left his lips.
Because the horn blared.
A single, piercing note that shook the sky and made every rider on the Ascension Grounds freeze.
Roars erupted.
They echoed from the direction of the Dragon Isle, ancient and furious. My heart jumped in my chest as the air shifted, thick with magic and rage.
And the sky—
It was instantly alive.
Dragons burst into view from beyond the cliffs, cutting through clouds like blades. Scales of black—Blood Fae dragons, and their riders—streamed toward us like a tide of vengeance. Their wings beat hard and low, their roars shaking the sea below as they dove toward Warriath.
Our dragons rose to meet them.
Hundreds.
The bound and unbound dragons taking to the air in defense of the realm, the very sky igniting with fire, lightning, and shadow as they collided midair.
Magic flared, wind howled, and screams echoed above us.
“The wards are down,” I whispered, numb and breathless.
And then I moved.
I bolted for Kaelith, who was already snapping her wings wide, her eyes locked on the threat before I even reached her. Behind me, I heard Remy bark a command to Katama, the sharp thrum of wind bursting as they launched into the sky.
Kaelith lowered her shoulder just enough for me to scramble up her scales, my hand gripping the smooth curve of her neck as her muscles bunched beneath me.
We rose.
The moment Kaelith took flight, the ground dropped away as if nothing had ever held me. I gripped the ridge of her neck as we soared upward—straight into chaos.
The sky over the coastline before Warriath was war incarnate.
Dragons clashed like living titans, their wings slicing through clouds, their roars ripping through the air. Flame exploded in gouts of violet, gold, and black. A silver Striker spun through the clouds, locking talons with an obsidian-scaled beast as their riders clashed blades midair.
Lightning cracked across the sky from a green Clubtail as it circled a pair of Blood Fae dragons. A Swordtail dove from above, catching a Blood Fae rider in its jaws before hurling him toward the sea.
Screams. Magic. Steel.
The kingdom was under siege.
And Kaelith’s voice rang clear and terrible in my mind.
No more hiding. No more waiting. The war is here.
Kaelith’s wings beat hard against the air as we soared through the chaos, dragons twisting in midair, riders shouting spells, fire lighting up the clouds like the heavens themselves were at war.
A Blood Fae rider locked eyes with me, his dragon black-scaled and narrow-winged, its eyes gleaming like obsidian knives.
I urged Kaelith toward him, bracing myself as power gathered in my palm, but the moment we closed the distance, he veered off sharply, his dragon pulling into a high roll and disappearing behind a veil of smoke.
He didn’t want to fight me.
The second one didn’t either. I chased him down through a narrow pass between two rising columns of fire, Kaelith’s tail lashing, but he peeled off just before contact, not even raising his blade.
Something was wrong. They were avoiding me.
Around us, the sky blazed.
There were more dragons of color than black, more bound dragons fighting for Warriath, but the Blood Fae had numbers in the air. More riders. They darted between unbound dragons like vipers, spells flashing from their palms.
Iron Fang was nowhere to be seen. Off on some mission Theron had sent them on, and without them, we were outnumbered where it mattered most.
Still, the unbound dragons fought viciously, wing to wing and tooth to scale. They moved like a storm, no rider commands, no formations, just rage and instinct and fury that couldn’t be leashed.
Then I saw Jax.
Koddos tore through the clouds below, massive and armored, shielding his rider from fire blasts on both sides. Jax stood on his saddle, arms out, his power sparking across the air around him like a living mirror. One attacker struck, and their own spell ricocheted back, burning into their chest.
Another dove at him, and the same, his magic retaliated, sending their dragon spiraling.
But it was costing him.
I could see it in the tremble of his arms as he swung his sword, the sluggish return of his counterstrikes.
And then—
A Blood Fae swooped in from above, blade drawn, and stabbed Jax in the shoulder.
I screamed as he tumbled, arms flailing, blood trailing behind him like a comet.
He fell from Koddos.
And I dove after him.
The air split with screams as Jax fell.
Ferrula and Naia dove toward him, wings slicing through wind, magic streaking behind them. But the Blood Fae closed in like vultures, striking fast, forcing them to retreat or be cut from the sky.
The enemy didn’t even glance at me.
One rider passed within arm’s reach, and yet—nothing. No spell, no blade. Just a flick of their eyes before they veered off.
Why were they avoiding me?
“Dive!” I screamed, gripping Kaelith’s scales. “Now!”
She didn’t hesitate.
We dropped like a comet, wind shrieking past my ears, my stomach twisting as the ground surged upward. I saw Jax’s body limp, his blood trailing through the air like a thread unraveling.
“Faster!” I begged.
Kaelith tucked her wings tighter, and the world blurred.
We got under him just in time.
He slammed into Kaelith’s back with a bone-jarring thud as we landed. I gasped as the impact nearly threw me off too, my arms wrapping around him instinctively. He groaned, his face pale, blood soaking through his shirt and onto my arm.
“You’re alright,” I whispered. “You’re alright—just hold on.”
Above us, the sky burned.
A wave of Dark Fire exploded outward, a storm of deep-violet flames that hissed and roared across the clouds. It swallowed the Blood Fae riders mid-swoop—screams tore through the air as their dragons ignited like dry kindling, one by one.
But not a single flame touched our people.
It skipped over Stormforge. Curved around Crownwatch. Glided around Ferrula and Naia like the fire knew who it was meant to destroy.
I looked up, chest heaving, my fingers still pressed to Jax’s neck as his pulse fluttered weakly beneath my hand.
And then—I saw her.
Severeth.
Far in the distance, gliding in the storm clouds like a wraith.
Watching.
Her silver eyes gleamed, and she smiled—not kindly. Not cruelly.
Just... satisfied.
Then she turned away, her dragon’s wings dissolving into the mist.
Like she’d seen exactly what she came to see.
And now, she was done.
The skies began to clear, not with peace, but with the raw aftermath of battle.
The Blood Fae were retreating, their black-winged beasts screeching as they peeled away from Warriath’s coast. The last of their riders vanished into the storm-churned distance, leaving behind nothing but smoke, ruin, and the screams of the wounded.
But I only saw Jax.
He lay crumpled on Kaelith’s back, his blood staining her violet scales, his eyes half-lidded, and lips pale.
“Stay with me,” I whispered, pressing my hands hard against the wound on his shoulder, trying to stem the tide. “Don’t you dare leave us.”
Meri ran toward us moments later, sprinting with her satchel already open, magic already thrumming in her hands as I helped her up onto Kaelith’s back.
“Help him,” I breathed, moving back enough to give her room but never letting go of his hand.
She fell to her knees, light spilling from her fingers, sinking into the shredded flesh and torn muscle. Her face grew tight with focus, with pain. She didn’t speak.
Because it was bad. So bad.
And he’d lost so much blood.
I saw her hands tremble. Her jaw lock.
No. Please, no.
Ferrula landed hard behind us. She froze beside me, her eyes locking on Jax, then on Meri.
And she saw it too.
The tremor in Meri’s hands.
The waver in her glow.
“She’s weakening,” Ferrula said under her breath. “If she can’t repair the tissue fast enough, she’ll be pulled under.”
“She’ll die with him,” I whispered.
Meri didn’t respond. She was too far gone in the healing trance.
Ferrula stared at Jax like she was watching him slip through her fingers. And then, slowly, achingly, she lifted her hand to her chest, pressing her palm to her heart.
“I didn’t think I could care like this again,” she said softly, so only I could hear.
“Then tell him,” I whispered. “Tell him you love him. I know it’s not the Dirian way, but he needs to know. Now. Before the binding ceremony. Before it’s too late.”
Ferrula didn’t hesitate after that.
She dismounted and approached us, reaching for Jax. She leaned toward him and pressed her lips to Jax’s blood-streaked ear, and whispered, “Stay with me, warrior. I will choose you.”
And in that moment—
Jax’s fingers twitched in mine.
The soft glow around Meri’s hands began to fade, the last threads of magic slipping into Jax’s ravaged flesh as the torn tissue knit slowly back together. The bleeding slowed. His skin began to seal, pale and tender but whole.
Meri exhaled deeply and slumped forward.
I caught her before she collapsed, wrapping my arms around her trembling frame. Her breath was shallow, her body limp with exhaustion, and for a second, I thought she might pass out completely.
Behind me, Ferrula crouched and gently eased Jax off Kaelith’s back, holding him carefully as his head lolled. He groaned, but it was a sound of life.
He was still with us.
I held Meri tighter until she stirred. Slowly, her head lifted, strands of hair falling across her damp cheeks.
She blinked groggily. “I’m… on a dragon.”
I smiled gently. “You are.”
Her brows lifted in dazed awe as she looked around. “I didn’t think they let non-riders atop them.”
I brushed her hair from her face. “These were… extenuating circumstances. But Kaelith says your power is soothing.”
Meri looked up, eyes wide, lips trembling. “I felt her,” she whispered. “She’s even more beautiful on the inside.”
That caught me.
I tilted my head, frowning slightly as I reached for Kaelith across our bond. Do you know what she means by that?
Kaelith’s voice answered like silk wrapped in smoke.
Because she connected with my power. The girl is hiding her true strength. She does not need her instructors, not truly. She is the most powerful healer born in generations.
She can not only heal the body… but the soul.
My breath hitched.
A rare gift—so rare even dragons knew it by instinct. Meri didn’t just patch wounds… she brought people back from the edge of despair and death.
And she’d just saved one of ours.
Kaelith shifted beneath us, wings rising slightly as she adjusted her weight, but there was a stillness to her now, an alert, listening quiet that told me she was paying close attention.
Meri leaned against me, still pale but no longer trembling. I could feel her heart racing beneath her tunic, the aftermath of what she’d just done still rippling through her body.
“Why are you hiding it?” I asked quietly.
She looked up at me, startled.
“Your power,” I clarified. “Why pretend to be something smaller than you are?”
Meri hesitated, her fingers curling in her lap. “Because if the crown knew how powerful I really was… they’d take me. They’d assign me to the court, or the royals, or the warfront. I’d be used wherever I was most strategic. I’d never be allowed near Thrall Squad again.”
Kaelith stilled beneath us, her long neck coiling just slightly, her mind brushing against mine with steady approval.
I stared at Meri, heat prickling the backs of my eyes. “You may not be a rider, but you’re one of us.”
Her gaze dropped to her lap. “I don’t fit in with the other healers,” she whispered. “They talk about theory and ancient remedies. But I feel what someone needs. I see their hurt and… I just know how to fix it. And that’s not… normal.”
“It’s not,” I agreed. “It’s extraordinary.”
Meri blinked at me.
“You saved Jax’s life. You stood your ground in a warzone. I don’t care what robes you wear or where your tent is pitched. We are your family now.”
Meri’s eyes shimmered, and for a second, she looked like she might cry.
Then she smiled, just a little, and whispered, “Thank you.”
Kaelith let out a quiet rumble, low and approving.
And I knew deep in my bones that Meri didn’t just belong with us.
She was meant to be here.