Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
T he Ascension Grounds buzzed with energy as the squad called their dragons. The air rippled with power as the bonds between rider and beast connected, an unspoken command sending them soaring from the Dragon Isles. I exhaled through my nose, focusing on the familiar thread in my mind.
Kaelith?
Silence.
Then a roar echoed from the horizon. I looked up just in time to see her burst from the green oasis of the isles, her massive form shadowing the sun.
She wasn’t alone. Hein led the flight, his enormous silver wings slicing through the air, Zola right behind him.
Riven grinned as her dragon kept perfect formation.
Koddos, dark-blue and nearly black, barreled through the sky like a storm rolling in, while Temil, Narvea, and the others filled in the spaces between.
Then, at the tail end of the formation, a flash of ruby red caught my eye. Siergen.
It was a sight to behold—dragons of every color forming a massive arc in the sky, the morning light reflecting off their shimmering scales. Like a dragon rainbow, fierce and untamed.
They descended in a flurry of wind and power, kicking up dust as they landed. Kaelith touched down last, her dark-violet scales darkening in the shade as her golden eyes locked onto mine with pure irritation.
I approached her cautiously. How do you want to do this?
Her nostrils flared. Preferably, with you staying on the ground where you belong.
Not an option. I crossed my arms. We have a long flight. You’ll be carrying me one way or another, so we can either make this easier or more painful for both of us.
Her tail flicked, sending a sharp gust of wind my way. You assume I care.
I resisted the urge to rub my temple. Fine. I won’t use a saddle. Just the rope. And I’ll carry my supplies in a rucksack instead of attaching them to you.
She huffed, eyeing me like I was something stuck to her claw. At least you’re learning your place. Though, I doubt even a rope will keep you from falling on your ass. Put on the contraption, but don’t assume I will do this every time you need to fly.
I smirked. I just love your warm and fuzzy side.
She didn’t respond, but she didn’t fly away, either. That was the closest to cooperation I was going to get.
I turned to Zander, who was already approaching the rails. “She’s agreed.”
For now, Kaelith muttered in my mind.
Zander arched a brow, but instead of questioning me, he grabbed his saddle from the Crownwatch section and moved toward Hein. “Watch carefully. This will save your life one day.”
He lifted the bulky leather onto Hein’s back, tightening the straps beneath the dragon’s belly and looping additional harnesses around his chest. The design was intricate but practical, meant to secure the rider while allowing enough mobility to adjust mid-flight.
“Grab the saddles designated by size,” Zander instructed.
I already knew what size I needed. Large.
Jax, Ferrula, and I moved to grab ours, but the moment I lifted mine toward her back, Kaelith took a step back, letting it slip from my fingers and crash to the ground with a heavy thud .
I closed my eyes for a second. Really?
Zander sighed and strode over, lifting the saddle with ease. His body was close, his heat noticeable even through the morning chill. He smelled like leather and something distinctly masculine—woodsmoke, maybe, or whatever storm and steel were made of.
“You need to fasten the chest harness first,” he murmured, his voice low as he leaned past me, looping the strap beneath Kaelith’s broad neck. His breath brushed my cheek, and I swallowed hard, focusing on anything but the way his arm pressed against mine.
His fingers moved deftly over the leather, tightening the straps with practiced ease, but his eyes flicked to mine—lazily, knowingly. “Unless you enjoy struggling, Rebec, I’d suggest you pay attention.”
I scoffed, masking the heat creeping up my spine. “I was getting there.”
His smirk was slow, deliberate. “Sure you were.”
Damn him.
I focused on the saddle, following his movements as he secured each piece with calculated precision. But when I reached for the next strap, our fingers grazed. A jolt of warmth shot up my arm, and I felt him stiffen—just a flicker of hesitation, his jaw tightening as if fighting the reaction.
The air between us changed.
A slow inhale.
A beat too long.
My pulse betrayed me, hammering against my ribs as I kept my eyes down, pretending that the charge in the air was all in my head.
But it wasn’t .
“Something wrong?” I asked, tilting my head slightly, my voice softer than I meant it to be.
Zander exhaled, fingers tightening on the strap before he tugged it hard—too hard. The leather snapped into place, jerking him forward just enough for my chest to brush against his.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Not at all.”
Liar.
Kaelith snorted, her irritation threading through my mind. Are you two finished eye-fucking each other? I’d like to take off before the next century.
Heat rushed to my face as I flung the rope around her neck.
Zander chuckled, the sound dark and amused. “Let’s hope she decides to keep you in the air this time.”
I huffed as I swung onto Kaelith’s back, gripping the rope. “Oh, I’m sure she’s dying to keep me safe.”
Kaelith purred in my mind, dripping with sarcasm. Now you’re finally catching on.
The moment we launched into the sky, my body swayed with Kaelith’s wing beats.
The saddle made all the difference—no more clinging to the rope for dear life, no more praying that Kaelith wouldn’t drop me just to make a point.
The leather was smooth, sturdy beneath my grip, and the security of it settled something deep in my chest.
This is actually nice, I admitted reluctantly through our bond.
Kaelith gave a grunt, her massive wings slicing through the sky as she kept pace with Hein. You are easily amused, she muttered, though I swore there was something almost smug in her tone.
We climbed higher, soaring past the Dragon Isles. From this height, only the largest island was visible, its jagged cliffs stretching far into the horizon. The smaller islands drifted farther west, vanishing into the mist, but we turned south, our path leading straight for Thubia.
Zander had said it was a six-hour flight. Six hours, and Thubia wasn’t even at the bottom of the continent. The scale of it hit me, just how vast our world was—how much of it I’d never seen.
We’d been flying for about five hours when something flickered in the distance.
A strange pulse of light rippled across the sky, like a silent explosion.
“What in a wilderbeast’s ass was that?” Jax roared over the wind.
The moment it passed through me, my stomach twisted, my connection to Kaelith flickering, like a lantern struggling to stay lit.
“Do not call on your powers!” Zander’s voice was sharp, cutting through the chaos. He pulled Hein into a sharp climb, scanning the skies. “It’s a severance spell! It destabilizes the connection between rider and dragon!”
I stiffened, gripping the pommel of my saddle as Kaelith faltered slightly before righting herself.
“Who cast it?” Riven called.
“I don’t know,” Zander growled. “There’s no one between us and Thubia!”
The air shifted again.
Raindrops pelted against my face, cold and sudden.
Then hail.
What is going on?
“Someone is manipulating the weather!” I yelled, shielding my eyes as ice rattled against my armor.
Zander turned, his eyes locking onto mine with a hard, assessing look.
“It isn’t me!” I snapped before he could say it.
But my squad wasn’t convinced.
I saw the wary glances exchanged between them. The slight hesitation.
I clenched my jaw and reached for Kaelith. If you would let me anchor my power, I could stop this.
Her response was immediate. Dragons don’t melt in water.
Fine, I growled.
The storm raged on, the winds turning brutal as we raced for Thubia.
The moment Kaelith’s massive talons hit the wet sand, I exhaled, shaking off the lingering unease from the flight. The rain had lessened to a thin drizzle, but the air was thick with moisture, the scent of salt and charred wood clinging to every breath.
Zander slipped from Hein’s saddle with practiced ease, landing lightly before turning to us. The rest of us followed suit, boots sinking into the damp shore as our dragons took off again, their powerful wings sending gusts of wind in every direction.
“Where are they going?” Naia asked, watching as Temil disappeared into the tree line beyond the ruined port.
“They’ll hunt in the forests on the outskirts of Thubia while we conduct our inspection,” Zander replied, adjusting the straps on his gloves. “We may have to spend the night here if the weather doesn’t let up.”
“Where will we stay?” I asked.
“In the castle, of course. We are requested riders. Our presence here is a privilege.”
Jax grunted. “Wow. I wonder if you could sound more pompous or stuck up.”
I smirked. “Trust me, he could.”
Riven snorted, and the others chuckled. But Zander, ever the royal, just motioned for us to follow him without reacting.
We made our way off the beach, trudging past the scattered remains of ships that had once been docked here.
Some hulls had been split in half, the skeletal remains of their masts jutting out at unnatural angles.
The scent of burned wood mixed with the briny sea breeze, and the deeper we moved into the port, the clearer the devastation became.
The entire port was a wreck. Blackened beams jutted from collapsed buildings, their once-sturdy foundations reduced to piles of soot-streaked rubble.
Rainwater dripped from broken rooftops, collecting in ashen puddles between shattered cobblestones.
The marketplace, which should have been bustling with merchants and fishermen, was eerily silent—nothing left but the charred remains of stalls and the occasional scorched skeleton of a wagon.