Chapter Thirteen
When Zahra had imagined the griffon kingdom, she hadn’t envisioned it to appear anything like this.
Her mouth fell open in wonder as their group traveled by horse through a canyon with high, red walls of rock casting deep shadows over them. The sand beneath the horses’ hooves was loose, hot, and red, the texture thin and soft, completely unlike the coarse sand found at the beach.
A flash of blue contrasted beautifully against the backdrop of red. She lifted her head to watch as Weiyu flew overhead in his breathtaking phoenix form, little sparkles of sunlight reflecting off the shine of his feathers.
He arced low and tipped his body at an angle to brush the tip of a feather across her cheek in greeting.
Her heart warmed at the silently affectionate action.
She pressed a hand to her cheek as she watched him soar into the skies once more, quickly joined by three other phoenixes with varying shades of blue feathers.
She reached for her necklace and held it firmly in her hand, enjoying the warmth pulsing against her skin. A hesitant thought crossed her mind, and she bit her lip as she carefully considered what Ye-Ye had mentioned to her.
“It is also said a non-shifter may develop the ability to shift through the Aquatic Core’s power.”
Was it truly possible? Could she develop the power to shift herself?
She hunched her shoulders, anxiety running rampant through her body at the idea of soaring through the skies with the ground far below. What if she fell? What if her wings stopped working? What if—
Rolling her eyes, she internally chastised herself for jumping ahead. It may not be likely for her to develop the power in the first place, especially not anytime soon.
She released the gem and focused on riding her mount by herself for the first time.
Riding was easy when the horse simply followed the others, and she didn’t need to do anything other than hold on and not fall off.
Not an easy task, but also not unmanageable.
As long as the creature didn’t jostle her too much.
High above her, Weiyu turned on his wing.
Sunlight rippled across his feathers in such a dazzling array of color, different from the other phoenixes who accompanied him through the air.
The Aquatic Core made him stand out. There was no question about who flew through the Duneshard Canyon.
Weiyu was entirely unmistakable. It was no wonder he’d refused to shift when breaking her out of the Perch.
Everyone would have immediately known who he was.
A sigh of longing escaped her as she watched him fly through the air in graceful arcs. That was her mate up there. Only a short time had passed since their joining, and the situation still felt surreal. All her life, she’d been invisible. Unloved. Unwanted. An outcast.
But Weiyu cared for her. It was a difficult concept to wrap her mind around. Perhaps with time, she might eventually believe she belonged at his side. For now, she was so happy and grateful that he’d seen her and he’d wanted her.
A sudden chill swept through the canyon, and it felt as if a shard of ice pierced her chest and entered her bloodstream.
She lifted a hand to her Core necklace, shocked when she realized the feeling had come through the gem. From Weiyu.
Her head snapped upward, and she quickly scanned the skies until her gaze landed on Weiyu. His wings tipped toward the left, branching away from the group riding through the canyon. Several phoenixes flew in formation, following behind as if through silent orders.
The canyon became unnaturally quiet.
“I don’t like this,” Yinyu murmured from where he rode beside her, following the king’s trajectory with his eyes. His hand strayed toward the sword at his side. “It could be nothing. But...stay close.”
Their group slowed until they stopped on nervous, fidgety horses. The creatures flicked their ears back as if they sensed something sinister in the canyon with them.
“The King of Duneshard?” Zahra ventured a quiet guess.
Yinyu shook his head. “He would have revealed himself. This is something...else.”
A moment after the royal guard finished speaking the sentence, a red light cracked through the sky like lightning. The horse jerked to the side too quickly for her to hold on. She was thrown off the creature, but a pair of quick hands caught her before she slammed into the ground.
Zahra gasped when she noticed white hair and cold blue eyes. But they weren’t directed at her. Rather, they watched the skies.
She spun around, watching in horror as a red barrier separated Weiyu from the rest of the soldiers following close behind. He was trapped inside, now fighting red phoenixes. One against twelve.
One of them she recognized as her father. Mogwai.
And caught by surprise, Weiyu was losing.
“Weiyu!” she shrieked, starting forward, but Yinyu held up a restraining arm, preventing her from going any farther.
“No one is able to enter,” he murmured, watching as the blue phoenix soldiers rounded the red barrier, unable to pass through to help their king.
“I’ve seen that trick before!” she gasped. “It blocks all shifters from entering a barrier.” She latched onto Yinyu’s arm. “Mogwai is going to kill him!”
Yinyu’s golden eyes hardened, and he began barking out orders to his men. A panic ensued because they had brought only their best with them on the journey. Non-shifter warriors had been left at home to defend the Perch with a small group of shifters.
“I did not know Mogwai had the power to do this,” Yinyu snarled. Then he turned to her, his expression somewhat softer. “Are you sure? How did you know?”
Zahra released a trembling breath, finally speaking the truth after weeks of keeping it hidden. “Mogwai is my father.”
In a flicker of a second, Yinyu’s expression became steely and hostile. He grabbed her wrist and held her with an unforgiving grip as if she might try to break free and run back to her father. “You told us you were only a servant. Why did you not say anything? People got hurt!”
“I know,” she replied miserably. “I thought I could escape that life. I was wrong. I’m so sorry.”
“Does Weiyu know?”
She shook her head. “I was going to tell him. I kept putting it off. I knew he would not be happy.”
Yinyu sighed long and hard, a frustrated sound as he lifted his head to watch the blur of red and blue fighting each other. Instead of berating her like she thought he might, he asked, “How can we get past the barrier? How long does it last?”
She thought back to when she’d seen her father use this technique. The barrier wasn’t large. It wasn’t too thick. Mogwai clearly meant to weaken and tire out his opponent without interference.
“A half hour maybe.”
The man swore under his breath. “Weiyu is not a strong fighter, especially since his deaths. He will not last long.”
Finally, Yinyu dropped her wrist. “Stay here.”
“I can get past the barrier,” she insisted.
“No. You are now Weiyu’s mate. You will stay here where it is safe. I will find Kai. He is also a non-shifter and isn’t far behind the rest of the group.”
After leaving her with a few shifters, Yinyu transformed and leaped into the skies as a blue phoenix, several other soldiers falling into formation with him.
If Weiyu would not outlast the barrier, she must act. Because help would not arrive soon enough. And she refused to allow him to die a third time.