Chapter 25 Desperate Measures #2
"But Flamebough is thousands of miles from here," Eldrin said gently. "Even if we had the fastest horses—"
"He won't survive the journey," Desmond confirmed, his massive hands still working to slow the corruption's spread. "The blight will consume his essence long before we could reach dragon territory."
I looked down at Ryu's face, watching as the vibrant gold of his scales continued to fade to ashen gray.
His eyes fluttered open and found mine. He must have been aware enough to understand our conversation.
Though clouded with pain, something shifted in his expression.
A flicker of surprise, then unmistakable gratitude that made my heart clench.
Even through his agony, I could read the bewilderment in his eyes.
Why would I go to such lengths for him? We didn't share the intimate connection I'd formed with Aeolus and Desmond at the spring, or the primal bond with Lucas.
Yet here I was, refusing to let him go, fighting for his life with the same ferocity he'd shown in protecting mine.
Something undeniable passed between us in that moment, an electric current of understanding that transcended words. For all his arrogance and my resistance, there had always been something magnetic between us, something that had remained unacknowledged until this moment when death hovered so near.
His clawed hand twitched, fingers weakly curling around mine. The scales rasped against my skin as he brought my hand to his chest, directly over his heart. His golden eyes held mine—fierce, bewildered, vulnerable in a way I'd never seen from him.
Dragons were used to being feared, not saved.
"No," I whispered, my flame-script pulsing beneath my skin in defiance. "I refuse to accept that. I've died enough times to know when it's worth fighting fate, and this is one of those times."
Aeolus, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, stepped forward. His silver eyes held an internal struggle, as if he was weighing a difficult decision.
"There might be another way," he said finally, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it, his fingers brushing mine briefly in a gesture that sent a ripple of electricity up my arm despite my exhaustion. "Though I'm breaking several ancient oaths by even mentioning it."
We all turned to him, desperate hope hanging in the air between us.
"The Whisperways," Aeolus said, the words falling from his lips like stones dropping into still water.
Taranis inhaled sharply. "Those are just legends, but then again, legends often have a root of the truth."
"They're real," Aeolus countered, his silver eyes flashing. "And they could get us to Flamebough in hours, or maybe days, rather than months."
"What are the Whisperways?" I asked, my hand still pressed against Ryu's chest, feeling his heartbeat growing weaker by the moment.
"Hidden fae passages," Aeolus explained, his voice tight with reluctance. "Pathways that exist in the spaces between realms—neither fully in the mortal world nor entirely in faery. They connect distant parts of the world through magical... shortcuts."
"And you're only mentioning this now?" Lucas growled, his lupine nature showing in the flash of his eyes.
Aeolus's expression hardened. "These secrets aren't mine to share lightly, wolf.
The Whisperways are one of the fae's most closely guarded advantages.
Revealing their existence to outsiders is punishable by—" He stopped abruptly, shaking his head, his silver hair stirring in a breeze that seemed to emanate from him.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that they might get us to Flamebough quickly enough to save him. "
Hope surged through me. "Then we use them. Now."
"It's not that simple," Aeolus cautioned, silver hair stirring in a breeze that seemed to emanate from him. "The Whisperways are dangerous at the best of times, even for fae. For non-fae travelers, they're potentially fatal."
"Explain," Taranis demanded, his scholarly curiosity momentarily overshadowing his concern.
"The pathways drain life energy from those who aren't fae," Aeolus said.
"They disorient, confuse, create hallucinations.
And that's under the most favorable of circumstances.
" His expression darkened. "With the blight affecting the realms, the Whisperways have been corrupted as well.
Sections have collapsed entirely. Others have become. .. twisted."
"So you're saying it's a choice between certain death for Ryu here or possible death in these pathways for all of us," I summarized, my gaze never leaving Ryu's face.
The weight of his sacrifice pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe.
How many had died for me across my countless lives?
How many more would I have to watch fall?
"Essentially, yes," Aeolus admitted.
"Then it's no choice at all," I said firmly, squaring my shoulders despite the exhaustion threatening to topple me. "If there's even a chance of saving him, I'll take it. Period."
Desmond looked up from his healing efforts, his expression grave. "Adara, you need to understand. The corruption is consuming him. Even if we reach Flamebough, there's no guarantee the healers there can save him."
"But they might," I insisted. "I can't have him dying for me."
As the words left my lips, memories crashed through me—flashes of past deaths, past sacrifices. A blade through my heart. Saltwater in my lungs. Always dying for others' causes. But sharper still: watching those I loved die for me. An assassin's blade meant for my heart. Poison meant for my lips.
My hands trembled against Ryu's cooling scales as understanding crystallized within me.
I could bear my own death—I always returned from the ashes.
But I could not bear watching another die permanently in my place, especially someone who had sworn to protect me, who had looked at me with such fierce devotion.
I always returned from the ashes. They never did.
"No," I whispered again, more firmly this time, flame-script blazing beneath my skin with renewed purpose. "I've died enough times for others' causes. But I will not, cannot, let him die for me. Not when there's a chance to save him."
Ryu's breathing grew more shallow, each inhalation a visible struggle that made my heart constrict. The corruption had spread further, purple veins now reaching toward his throat like grasping fingers.
"We need to stabilize him as much as we can and then move quickly," I said, rising to my feet with newfound determination. "Aeolus, how do we access these Whisperways?"
The fae lord's silver eyes darkened with concern.
"There's an entrance not far from here—an ancient hollow oak that stands at the edge of a small clearing.
" He glanced at the slowly recovering villagers and the still-burning remnants of the corrupted tree.
"But, Adara, you need to understand what you're asking.
The Whisperways aren't meant for non-fae travelers.
They'll drain your energy, confuse your senses, possibly worse. "
"I don't care," I said firmly, my chin lifting with the stubborn determination that had defined me across lifetimes.
"Ryu sacrificed himself for me. I won't let him die if there's any chance to save him.
But I can't speak for the rest of you, and I won't make any of you die for Ryu or myself by journeying through the Whisperways. "
Lucas stepped forward first, his eyes still glowing with wolf-light.
"I go where you go, Adara. I swore to protect you, and that includes protecting what matters to you.
" His gaze dropped to Ryu's convulsing form, and despite his complicated feelings toward the dragon shifter, there was no reluctance in his stance.
Desmond didn't look up from his healing efforts, but his deep voice carried clearly through the clearing.
"I've spent centuries healing the wounded and sick.
I won't abandon a patient now, especially not one who sacrificed himself so nobly.
" His massive hands continued their gentle work, the soft green glow of his earth magic pulsing steadily against the virulent purple of the corruption.
His eyes, warm and determined, briefly met mine.
"Besides, you and I are connected now, Adara.
I felt it then, and I feel it now. Where you go, I go.
That's just how it is." He returned his focus to Ryu's trembling form, brow furrowed in concentration as he fought to contain the spreading darkness beneath the dragon's once-brilliant scales.
"The academic opportunities alone make this journey worth the risk," Taranis said, adjusting his spectacles with a scholarly air that couldn't quite mask his genuine concern. "Besides, I've dedicated my life to studying the phoenix cycle. I can hardly abandon you at this crucial juncture."
He offered me a small smile that softened his angular features, and I caught something deeper in his eyes—not just the intellectual curiosity that typically animated them, but a protective warmth that had been growing steadily since we'd met.
His gaze briefly dropped to Ryu's suffering form, then returned to mine with quiet resolve.
"I may be only one of your guardians, Adara," he added softly, his voice carrying the weight of an oath rather than academic interest. "But I take my role in this mission very seriously.
" The determination in his eyes belied his bookish appearance, reminding me that beneath the scholarly exterior beat the heart of a man who had sworn to protect me, and perhaps something much more.