Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
PHOENIX
When I emerge out of the forest, a large wall of stone greets me.
I look up.
Up.
And up.
I have to crane my neck all the way back to see the edge that sticks out. That’s where her nest is. Where I saw her land before she disappeared inside a large cave mouth.
My path is clear.
The only way out is through.
I roll my shoulders and stretch my back. My gloves creak as I stretch my fingers and warm up my wrists. I’m a good tree climber. I’ve got this. How hard can climbing a rock be?
It turns out, much harder.
I’m about seven feet into my climb when I realize that the side of the mountain is overgrown with moss in places. It offers little help. The moment I try to get a grip on it, my hand slides. But what’s worse is that it leaves a moist residue on the rock even after I clear it out.
Every muscle in my body is tense. My breathing grows more and more labored with each step. Thunder rumbles in the distance, startling me.
My head whips to the side at the sound. Behind me I see dark clouds rolling in. Storm clouds.
Fuck me.
Heavy rain is the last thing I need right now.
I better hurry and haul my ass all the way to the top before it starts pouring down on me.
So, I brace myself and climb. My throat is dry, the tips of my fingers aching due to all the weight they must hold.
When I grip the next ledge, I realize it’s wider than others. Groaning, I pull myself up to find a shelf wide enough I can sit and rest for a minute. Carefully, I settle onto it, my legs dangling over the edge.
I’m high enough that the tops of the trees are underneath me. From here I can see the dark sky stretching as far as the horizon.
My eyebrows furrow. That’s so odd. I don’t remember the last time it rained in Ekios. It’s always clear skies and sun, even when it’s cold.
I glance up. I’m about one-third of the way to my destination. Based on how fast the clouds are rolling in, I’ll have to be extremely efficient with my time if I want to make it before the rain hits.
Out of all the days to rain, it just had to be today.
Despite my whole body protesting, I continue my climb. My stomach growls painfully, my throat is dry.
I ignore the uncomfortable sensations in my body. That, I am trained to do. I know well.
I focus on clearing my mind and keeping my breathing steady and deep. Just as I grip a rock above me and try to transfer my weight onto it, the stone crumbles.
A breath hitches in my throat, and my heart leaps out of my chest. My whole body sways sideways, only one hand keeping me in place—
For a split second I’m not climbing anymore.
I’m falling.
Thankfully, I manage to grab on to another ledge with the free hand. Crumbles of stone fall over me and tumble down onto the ground.
I pause there for a moment.
I inhale.
Exhale.
I don’t feel.
I don’t think.
I simply am.
A still lake.
When I open my eyes, thunder rumbles again. Closer this time.
I’m running out of time.
The anxiety threatens to suffocate me. But I keep its sticky fingers at bay as I continue to scale the mountain, this time a little more careful.
I didn’t come this far, this close to my goal, just to die at the base of the mountain.
I lose track of time as I continue scaling the mountain. Once in a while, my fingers slip on the mossy rocks. But I don’t let it deter me.
Maybe it should, a foreign voice at the back of my head says.
I shove it away and push forward.
No more bigger ledges appear in my path. I’ve got no place to rest. My muscles scream for a reprieve, but I can’t afford it.
The heavy clouds blanket the sun until the last rays disappear. This high up the mountain, the wind is ruthless. It whips at me from all sides, threatening to throw me off.
My cheeks ache from the cold and the harshness of the wind. Despite my attempt to breathe, my lungs struggle. This high up the mountain, oxygen is scarce.
When the first drop of rain lands on my forehead, I freeze.
Shit, shit, shit.
I glance up.
I’m so, so close.
Just a few more feet and I’ll reach the ledge.
The storm doesn’t care. Somewhere on my left, lightning strikes a tree. The whole mountain vibrates when thunder rumbles.
The sound of roaring behind me reaches my ears a heartbeat before rain pours over me with such force I can’t keep my eyes open.
Suddenly, this feels very wrong.
Maybe…maybe I made a mistake climbing to the dragon’s den. It sure feels like nature itself doesn’t agree with me.
My fingers cramp from tension as I try to keep myself attached to the mountain at any cost. Keeping my chain lowered, I reach for the next ledge or a rock, something so I can finish climbing.
The rocks are even more slippery than before. I have to pause and readjust with each step a couple of times. I can’t look up to inspect the terrain because the rain is so strong I can’t keep my eyes open. So I must rely on my senses.
My teeth clatter uncontrollably. I’m soaked through, my leathers clinging to my body heavily.
“You’re the most stubborn creature the gods ever made,” Dad said once, half exasperated, half proud. “It’ll save your life one day. Probably get you killed on another.”
My stubbornness is the only thing pushing me forward at this point.
When I reach for the next ledge, I realize it’s wider than others. Quickly, I reach for it with my other hand. I try to pull myself up, but my muscles give out.
I pause, breathing heavily.
I’m not giving up now.
Absolutely not.
So, I take a few more deep breaths and with a roar, pull myself over the edge of a damn cliff. I hook the first leg, then the next, and crawl away from the edge.
The wet rock is hard under my cheek. I remain pressed to the ground for a long moment, just trying to catch my breath.
I don’t even want to think about how I’ll get down.
After a couple of minutes lying flat, I realize that if I don’t pick myself back up now it may never happen. So, I muster what little energy I have left, and rise to all fours. When I look up at the mouth of a cave, I find two pairs of golden eyes watching me.
I’m soaked through, rain pouring down my face. My clothes are ragged, face full of scratches.
She watches me calmly from the comfort of her cave. Her two feet are neatly folded in front of her, the long tail wrapped round her, the very tip of it swishing lazily.
I must look like a damn joke to the dragon.
Slowly, I get on my feet. When she doesn’t react to that, I raise my palms in the air and take a step closer. I pause.
No reaction.
Okay, I got this.
Inch by inch, I make my way towards the dragon. She doesn’t display any signs of aggression or disapproval. She just watches me as if she’s curious to see where this will go.
Once I approach the mouth of the cave, I pause. There’s about four feet between us. I don’t dare step inside the cave.
Maybe my mistake was to approach the dragon at the feeding grounds. Maybe I should have listened to Elder Arcon…I only hope the dragon forgives me for the mistake and gives me a second chance.
With no clue how to approach this, I press my fist above my heart and bow at the waist.
“I’m sorry I approached you earlier,” I say once I rise. “I shouldn’t have disturbed your…feeding time.”
No reaction.
Okay.
No reaction is better than being burned alive, I guess?
I clear my throat, and continue, “When I faced you during the Trial of Wisdom, I felt a connection between us. That’s why I am here. I came to ask you to accept me as yours.”
I’m clumsy with my words. My heart races in my chest. Now that I stand here in front of the dragon I’ve chased for so long, I’m clueless about what to do.
So, I kneel in front of her. “I am Phoenix Wildarrow, the daughter of Airo and Tana Wildarrow, honorable human Decarios from Wetra. I’m the first human Decarios to have won Valtaz’Ezkairin and serve as the Ezkai General of Ekios. Will you do me the honor and accept our bond?”
When the tail stops swishing, I go still as a statue.
Slowly, the dragon stretches its long neck. Her snout gets closer and closer to me until she’s mere inches away. Her warm breath skitters over my face, the scent of sulfur overwhelming my senses.
Oh gods.
It’s the most terrifying and exhilarating thing I’ve ever experienced.
I don’t dare move an inch. Not even to draw a breath.
The dragon blinks, and then presses its snout to my forehead.
Everything goes dark.
A heartbeat later, tall flames erupt around me. They don’t burn me. There’s no stench of smoke.
I stand atop a high hill. At first I don’t recognize it…but I’m at the very top of the Ezkai Castle. Below me, Jaakii is lost to flames. They stretch as far as the sea. From here, the salty water looks as if it’s been set on fire. Even the sky burns.
When I look down, I see corpses littering the entrance. Corpses of people I know.
Jax lies at the base of the hill.
His eyes are open.
Empty.
Kazh’s lifeless body is draped over a bush, her whole front sliced open.
Noire is right at the entrance, his silk robes torn into pieces.
Bjorn and Emil are next to him, their necks angled wrong.
And then there’s—
Vera.
I’m horrified at the sight. Yet, my feet remain rooted in place.
They are already gone. I can’t help them.
I look down at my hands. They—
They’re covered in blood.
My Ezkai leathers are soaked in blood.
Oh gods. This is my worst nightmare.
A deadly roar pierces the sky. I look up just in time to see five regal dragons soar right above my head, and away from the Ezkai Castle.
I whirl on my heel, to follow their path. But something else catches my attention.
On the floor lies my set of blades, and my bow. Bloody.
A little farther down is a path of corpses.
I follow the trail of bodies, the same path I walked a hundred times before.
The same path I trained on.
It hits me then.
This isn’t a battlefield.
It’s a path I carved.
Before I can process that thought, I’m yanked back to reality. The dragon’s cool snout is still pressed to my forehead. When I peel my eyes open, it moves down to the space between my breasts, right where Lorca’s tattoo is.
When the dragon nudges me there, I lose my balance and plop on my ass on the hard, wet stone.
Speechless, with a pounding heart, I look up at the dragon.
The dragon pulls back slightly.
Watching me.
Waiting.
As if she wants me to—
The growl that rises from within her reverberates in my bones.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
Before I know it, it grabs my left ankle with its teeth.
And yanks me off the ground.
My heart drops and my stomach somersaults as we get into the air. Rain whips harshly against me, the wind cold and merciless.
I don’t understand what’s happening.
Swiftly, the dragon whirls around in the air, and then we’re dropping. A scream lodges in my throat. Closer and closer we get to treetops.
I’m about to die.
I know it in my bones.
The dragon has seen my true colors. It has shown me the future I’ll bring to Ekios.
And it refused me.
When we’re a few feet away from the trees, the dragon makes a sharp turn. We soar right above the trees. And then—
I’m falling.
A roar pierces the sound of the driving rain just as I fall through the forest branches. They whip at me even harsher than the rain. Thankfully, they also slow my fall.
Desperately, I claw at the branches as I fall deeper into the forest. Each one I snag keeps breaking. It does make my landing on the mossy forest floor softer, though.
All air leaves my lungs when I finally reach the ground. My skull rattles, ribs aching.
But at least I’m alive.
She let me live.