Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
The wave of magic hit Marcus hard, its cloying effects akin to being doused with tar. He flapped his wings while struggling to stay in the air. And he wasn’t the only one. There was pandemonium everywhere.
Marcus attempted to make a controlled landing but ended up crashing onto his wing, snapping it.
He returned to human form in the next breath.
His body healed the break, but the pain lingered.
He looked up to see other Kings landing, but the sight of the dragons in the distance dropping from the sky made him panic.
He pushed to his feet and shifted. But each time he tried to fly, he dropped back to the ground. He and the other Kings could only watch helplessly as the dragons fell. He eventually returned to human form and called clothes to cover his nakedness.
“What just happened?” Evander asked.
Marcus shook his head in shock. “I doona know.”
“Eurwen!” Vaughn bellowed as he ran toward his mate, who had fallen down the mountainside with her twin and the deceased dragon.
Marcus looked toward the dragons and then glanced behind him. Someone grabbed his arm, and he jerked his head.
“Get to the city. We’ll handle things here,” Con ordered.
He hesitated a moment before spinning around and running back the way they had come.
They had covered a vast distance already.
It would be easier if he could fly there, but he didn’t want to waste any more time trying to shift.
Even with his added strength, it was taking far too long to get to the canyon.
“Cullen!” he shouted. “Cullen!!”
When Cullen didn’t respond, Marcus tried Kendrick, and then Alasdair. He tried everyone who had stayed behind, but no one responded.
He clenched his teeth as fear propelled him faster.
Then he jumped, calling to the dragon within.
He shifted. This time, when he took to the sky, he was able to remain.
The beat of his wings matched the beat of his racing heart.
He used his enhanced eyesight to look ahead, scouring the edge of the canyon for any dangers.
His stomach dropped to his feet when he saw that a herd of brinelings had descended upon his friends.
There was still so much hatred for dragons among the humans that the Kings weren’t supposed to be in their true forms outside of dragon land.
They had broken the rules several times, and it had nearly instigated a war.
Marcus understood why his brethren hadn’t shifted, but he didn’t care.
The brinelings were horned, elephant-sized creatures that moved with lightning speed and killed everything in sight.
He burst through the barrier and flew over the canyon with his claws extended.
He seized a brineling as it was about to spear Jeyra in the back.
Varek grabbed Jeyra’s arm at the same time and swung her around.
Marcus threw the beast aside and took a deep breath before releasing dragon fire.
The brineling was dead before it hit the ground.
Just as he was about to swing around to rejoin the others, he spotted more brinelings bursting from the forest, heading straight for them.
Marcus needed to stop them before they could join the rest of the herd.
He tucked his wings against him and dove from the sky.
The animals didn’t show any signs of slowing. He wasn’t even sure they saw him.
If this herd reached the others, the devastation would be tremendous.
He plowed through the middle of them, using his wings and tail to knock them away as he landed.
The herd halted and turned toward him just as he hoped they would.
They didn’t fear his size at all. They attacked without a second’s thought.
Marcus lashed out with his tail again, batting several of the animals aside at once.
He spun on his back feet and slashed with his claws, making sure that all of the brinelings he struck didn’t get up.
Yet they kept attacking. He released a bellow when three of them speared him with their horns at once.
One went into his back leg, one into his side, and another into his belly. He grabbed the one in front of him and ripped it in two. He swiped back with his arm and used his claws to slice the one at his side open. The one on his back leg dug in harder.
He saw a flurry of garnet scales out of the corner of his eye before Cullen pulled the last brineling from Marcus’s body. They shared a look before facing off against eight more of the beasts. The brinelings were no match for the Kings, and Marcus and Cullen killed the rest surrounding them.
When Marcus looked up, he saw Cullen in human form, racing to the canyon. Marcus spread his wings and flew over the area to ensure there weren’t any more raging animals headed toward them. When he was sure things were clear, he returned to the canyon, shifting into his human form as he landed.
He looked around at the dead brinelings and then took in his friends’ injuries.
That’s when he saw Cullen and Tamlyn next to a black form on the ground.
Marcus walked closer and saw that it was the wildcat, Nari.
The animal had helped Cullen in the past and somehow decided to aid the Dragon Kings.
It seemed she had also joined this battle.
“How is she?” Marcus asked, looking at the blood coating the black spots on her fur. Nari’s eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily.
Cullen softly stroked her head. “She got between Tamlyn and a brineling. The horn pierced her side.”
“We need Con,” Tamlyn said through her tears.
Marcus looked through the barrier. “We were falling out of the sky. They’re helping the dragons.”
“I’m here!” Sian shouted as she rushed toward them, carrying a bag.
Tamlyn got out of the way so Sian could drop down beside Nari and tend to the wound until Con arrived.
Marcus took stock of everyone’s injuries.
Jenefer had a dislocated shoulder and a broken arm.
She was propped up by Esha, who was bleeding from a head wound.
Thankfully, it didn’t look as if anyone was in critical condition.
He walked to the edge of the canyon and gazed into its depths toward the back, where the entrance to Iron Hall was hidden. Everyone was either out here or on the dragons’ land. Everyone, that was, except for the children—and Fedra.
Marcus leapt to the bottom and ran to the doorway. Once inside, he sped toward Fedra. He burst into her room, only to find it empty. He stared at the vacant space in disbelief. Had the attack been planned so she could get away? Nay, that couldn’t be right. She said she was on her own.
Unless she’d lied.
He sighed as he walked from the room, looking one way and then the other.
There hadn’t been any sign of her on his way here, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t used another hallway.
It didn’t bode well that she was out of her room, but what bothered him more was whether she headed toward the part of the city that was under the dragons’ land.
He didn’t know if her presence would affect the magical barrier or not.
Marcus alerted the Kings via their link that Fedra was missing, so everyone could keep an eye out for her. Still, he wanted to find her first. Just in case—in case of what, though…he wasn’t sure he wanted to think about that.
He jogged through the corridors, searching for her. If she were still blind, then she wouldn’t be moving quickly. Had she deceived them about her eyesight, too? Marcus had protected her and look what it had gotten him. The city was big, but not so big that he couldn’t find her.