Chapter 56 #2
When it was over, I collapsed in a heap on the ground, my body trembling and covered in sweat and blood. I didn’t know if it was mine or not. The memories of my time as a beast flooded my mind, making me weep.
How many had I killed? How many of my own soldiers had I attacked in this state?
An anguished wail poured from my lips. I slammed my fist into the ground as broken sobs overcame me.
I was a monster. A demon. I had killed my own people.
“Varius,” Tislora whispered, her hand pressing into my bloodied shoulder.
I flinched away from her touch. I did not deserve to be comforted in this moment.
“She took the stones to the shadow storm,” Tislora said.
I stiffened, my memories returning with frustrating sluggishness. It took several moments before comprehension dawned on me.
Sybelle. The bloodstone and shadowstone.
She was going to sacrifice herself for me. For the kingdom.
I stood, my arms and legs throbbing from fresh wounds. Dizziness clouded my vision, but I couldn’t stop. I had to find her.
If there was one last thing I could do with my pitiful existence, it would be to save her. My kingdom deserved to be ruled by someone who loved them. Who gave their life for them.
That was Sybelle. Not me.
I would save her. And then I would leave this court, never to show my face here again. I was a murderer. I could not come back from the crimes I’d committed against them.
The ground rumbled, and energy rippled through the air. In the distance, an echoing boom sounded .
Heat tingled up and down my body. I hunched over, shuddering from the intensity of it as magic coursed through me in violent waves. Across from me, Tislora cried out in pain.
The earth continued to tremble. The castle walls quivered. Shouts and screams rang out, but I didn’t know if it was from my people or Orla’s.
In an instant, the earthquake stopped, and the magic receded from my body. I glanced over myself, expecting to find fur and paws again.
But nothing had changed.
Gasping for breath, I looked at Tislora, who seemed as stunned as I was.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
She shook her head, her mouth opening and closing. She stared at her hands as if expecting them to transform. “I—I don’t know. I’ve never felt magic like that before.”
Heavy wingbeats approached. I glanced skyward, thinking it might be Zorben, my alpora.
Instead, a figure much larger than any alpora floated above us, its shimmering dark scales blending in with the midnight sky. It slammed into the earth before us, making the ground tremble.
I stumbled back in shock and fear.
It was a dragon . Sybelle’s dragon.
I stared at the beast, my terror ebbing as I recalled how fondly Sybelle had spoken of it. Azure was her name.
I held perfectly still, allowing my gaze to rove over her huge form. Her body was long and serpentine, coiling in the grass. Before my eyes, her scales shifted from a navy blue to a brilliant cerulean. Her gleaming eyes fixed me with an intelligent stare that seemed to pierce through my very soul.
A voice resonated in my mind. “Can you understand me, Fae King?”
I yelped, turning to Tislora, my eyes wide with shock. But she only frowned in response.
“Did—Did you hear that?” I gasped.
“Hear what?”
I turned to look at the dragon again.
“Use the amber stone,” said the voice.
My brow furrowed before I remembered the orange gem I had used to communicate with Sybelle. I fumbled over my tattered trousers until I found the stone lodged in my pocket, trapped inside several frayed threads. Miraculously, it was still here, even after my time as a beast.
I clutched the amber tightly in my fist. Can you hear me?
“Speak aloud,” the dragon commanded. “That is how it works.”
I cleared my throat, feeling ridiculous. “Can you hear me?”
A rumbling sound of contentment quivered through the dragon. “Yes. Sybelle has broken your curse, but she is dying. You must come with me.”
I froze. She broke the curse?
Was that the cause of the earthquake? The spark of magic that rippled over my body?
Before I could process this, my mind snagged on Azure’s last statement: She is dying.
Panic and terror blotted out all other thoughts. “Where is she?” I demanded.
“Just past the Noxen Forest. I didn’t want to bring her body here amidst the bloody battle.”
My blood ran cold. Her body.
She couldn’t be… She wasn’t…
“Climb on my back,” Azure commanded.
“Lor.” I turned to the sorceress, who was staring at the dragon with starstruck eyes. “Climb on with me.” I would have asked her to fly behind us, but Gerard had managed to shred one of her wings.
I wished I could rip out his throat all over again .
“I can fly in my crow form,” Tislora said.
I nodded as Azure sank to her knees and allowed me to climb on. Her scales were sharp and bumpy, and I shifted, trying to find a comfortable position. “Are there no reins?” I asked.
An indignant snort rippled through her. “I am no common mule.”
“How am I to hold on?”
“You trust that I will not unseat you.”
Before I could object to this illogical arrangement, Azure leapt into the sky.