59. Tempest
59
TEMPEST
I venrail flitted from the room.
Madrood roared with frustration. He shot flames where Ivenrail had been and scorched up the wall, reaching the ceiling and blazing across it, catching everything he touched on fire.
“Stop.” I placed my hand on his side, and his fire cut out. He curled his head around again to bump me with his snout, shooting sparks down the front of my dress. I quickly patted them out before he accidentally lit me aflame.
What do you need, little one? he asked in my mind.
We need to get out of here.
My back is yours. My will is yours. Command me.
This was going to take getting used to.
“Tempest.” Reyla raced across the room and hurtled herself at me. “Get away from that beast before it kills you.”
“He won’t. He’s . . . mine.”
“What does that mean?” Her face cleared. “You read that book I found before the Claiming.”
“I didn’t cast the spells.”
You sang them, Madrood said. An unusual way of bonding, but it worked.
Maybe I had. I couldn’t remember exactly what I’d sung while I was with him.
Reyla peered up at Madrood. “I can’t believe you stole the king’s dragon.”
I never belonged completely to that fiend, Madrood said. But I now belong to you.
I couldn’t quite fathom that.
“We need to leave,” Reyla said.
“You’re right.”
We only had a brief reprieve. Ivenrail would regroup and come after me soon. The next time, he’d make sure I didn’t get away.
“I’ll grab Brodine,” Reyla said, waving to where our friend stood near the wall.
“Take Glim. Meet me and Vexxion near the aerie.”
“We’re leaving, right? Flying away from this horrible place.”
I nodded. “Only for now.” I glared at the smoldering castle around me. “I’ll be back.” I tipped my head back. “You hear that Ivenrail? I’ll be back, and when I come for you, you’re going to die.”
“Brodine,” Reyla said, hurrying over to our friend. “We’re leaving.”
I dropped down beside Vexxion, placing my head against his chest. He lived. He breathed. And I was going to save him .
He’d gotten those collars somewhere, and there had to be more.
I couldn’t lose him. The thought of going on without him ripped through me like a white-hot blade, slicing through everything in its path.
Lifting Vexxion onto my lap, I wrapped my arms around him. I flitted, settling us on Madrood’s back.
We flee, the dragon said.
Can you take us wherever I ask?
Of course.
While Reyla led Brodine from the room, I urged Madrood toward the enormous door in the wall.
Grab that bag, I said.
He lifted it in his fangs and tossed it up to me. I snatched it from the air and secured it to my spine.
One blast of Madrood’s fire, and the door disappeared. Fresh, clean air swept inside, but it would take more than a gust of wind to cleanse this place.
It felt like forever since I’d ridden a dragon yet, at the same time, it felt like only a moment ago.
I secured my hold on Vexxion with magic and whispered by his ear. I love you. I know you can hear me. I’m not giving up, damn you. You’re mine, and I’m going to find you no matter where you roam.
I gathered power and sent it into him with the spell. I’d do it over and over again until I was exhausted, but the moment my well had refilled, I’d start all over again.
There was no end to what I’d do for this wicked fae man. My love. My bonded mate .
A nudge in his side sent Madrood scrambling out through the big opening. Once he was free of the building, I gave him the signal to fly. He burst from the ground, his wings snapping out.
As we soared over the aerie, I didn’t look back at the castle.
I’d chosen my path, and nothing would make me veer off it.
Glim flew from his stall with Brodine and Reyla. What surprised me the most was seeing Airia riding a pale blue dragon behind them.
“I’m coming with you,” she shouted to me.
“Won’t your lord be angry?”
“Fuck him.”
Ha. Yeah. Fuck him.
“You’re welcome to join us,” I said.
We guided our dragons across the valley, putting the castle behind us.
“Where can we go?” Reyla cried out, her arms around Brodine. He appeared to be helping maintain his seat.
“South,” I bellowed above the gusts of wind driving their way across the valley and up the steep cliff to slice across the castle.
“What’s south?” she asked.
“Lydel Court. My court.” Chills raked up my spine. “We’re going to break the curse and free Lydel.”
“Wow,” she said, her eyes shining with the same hope blazing in my heart.
I stroked Vexxion’s neck and tightened my arm around him. “I’m going to free the man I love.”
He’d always believed in me, and now, I believed in myself .
“And then what?” Reyla asked.
Finally, I looked back over my shoulder at the castle. It stood starkly, like stone fangs jutting up between two jagged mountain peaks. One day, I would turn it into a smoldering ruin.
I lifted my chin and bellowed. “I will be back. And I’m going to kill you, Ivenrail!”