43. Thyra
Chapter Forty-Three
Thyra
Arush of air hits me amid the explosions of starlight breaking across the sky behind me.
Maxim’s serpent appears through the wash, dipping toward me, and I don’t miss a beat, breaking into a run, just as I would for Nara, sprinting fast enough to match the serpent’s speed before leaping up onto his back.
The beast hisses before soaring back into the air, speeding toward the mountains, which rear up at us within seconds.
Below, a flash of white reveals Stellen riding Nara, the wolf’s speed nearly matching the serpent’s, her powerful strides carrying her up the side of the mountain.
On my other side, flashes of darkness draw my focus to another figure dashing through the air.
Antony. He stayed.
He keeps his distance from me but matches our pace, following the serpent’s flight path.
Where we’ll go now is a different issue.
Maxim disappeared into one of the narrow corridors within the mountain range and my quick scrutiny tells me that between the narrow passes and the vast debris of burned-out towers, finding him will be very difficult. I look for his fire, hoping to see it gleaming in the dark, but to no avail.
The serpent heads due south across the mountain range and heads toward the spot where the Mothers had grouped themselves to wait for me. Right at the eastern side of the dark channel. More difficult to make out now because the channel is quickly brightening. Dispersing.
Natural starlight breaks through the air ahead of me and moonlight beams over us.
A final ripple of brighter, magical starlight floods the air overhead, spearing far into the south.
Antony dips into the shadow of a final mountainous crevice as the pulse of starlight breaks across us.
Then the darkness is gone.
A glance back tells me that the edge of the bloodlands must have reverted to where it was before, much farther into the north, since the landscape appears clear for as far as I can see.
More confronting are the burned-out towers, both Iron and Ember. Maxim will need to move fast to shore up his border.
Although…
A horn sounds in the distance, coming from the east, and groups of serpents rise into the air, headed in the direction of the now-exposed border. Hopefully, one of those riders is General Kaiba since Maxim seems to trust him.
Before I can see more, the serpent dips down the southern side of the mountains and my view is blocked. He soars toward the plain where Miriam and the Mothers are now visible in the moonlight.
They’ve risen to their feet, heads tipped back to the sky, their joyous voices a hum that quickly fades to silence as we rapidly approach and the serpent lands beside their group.
“Thyra!” Miriam races toward me as I dismount and greet her, her smile beaming. “You did it! You woke Aeliana.”
Aeliana? But that’s the name of Antony’s mother who died…
My focus flies to the dunes behind me, where he has landed and now hangs back, Stellen and Nara also coming to a halt beside him.
If the starlit woman back there is Antony’s mother, then it seems I have a lot of catching up to do.
“Did you see the page?” Miriam asks.
I catch her hands. “What page?”
Her face falls. “The page from the—”
“She gave it to me.” Antony’s voice sounds at my right shoulder, the rush of air from his impossibly fast approach buffeting the women’s silken scarves and nearly knocking Miriam over.
My arm swoops around her, keeping her steady.
She trembles. “Iron King.”
Antony immediately takes a step back, his quiet exhale loud in my sensitive ears. “No longer.”
Miriam blinks at him. “Pardon me?”
“I’m no longer the Iron King.”
Miriam takes glances from Antony to me and then to Stellen, who has remained at a distance. “If you have the page and it’s clear Thyra hasn’t seen it yet… You all have a lot to talk about. But…where is Maxim?”
I try not to let my frustration show. “I don’t know where he went.”
“Hmm.” She squeezes my hands. “Well, the Mothers and I will be ready when you need us, Thyra.” Her focus shifts to Stellen, but her voice doesn’t rise, indicating she knows he can hear everything from afar. “Stellen Nas’Lethian, will you take Thyra to the charcoal tower?”
He gives her a silent nod, stepping closer to me.
To me, Miriam continues. “The sun will rise soon and the Mothers and I need to get back to the city while we can use the night as cover. When you’re ready, you will find us in the caves south of the charcoal tower.
Follow the old lava trail to the cascading rock.
You’ll know it when you see it. We’ll be there from tomorrow night. ”
She slips my hold. “Be sure to get indoors well before midday or our sun could burn you badly.”
I let her go, keeping watch as she and the Mothers begin a smooth jog back across the sand dunes.
Meanwhile, I’m conscious of Antony retreating again. This time, he approaches Stellen.
“You may have a truce with the Ember Fae,” Antony says to him, “but I don’t. I can’t travel across the open dunes. I need to keep to the shadows. Tell me where to find this charcoal tower and I’ll meet you there.”
“Fly east to the charcoal cliffs, then find the northernmost point before you would cross into Iron territory. The tower is built from black stone.”
Antony levitates into the air, but Stellen leaps after him, drawing his swords and barreling into Antony before he can get far.
Stellen’s swords are crossed at Antony’s throat.
“If you abandon Thyra,” Stellen says, snarling, “I will hunt you down and cut off your head.”
Antony is frozen, the blades pressing against his armor firmly enough that I’m certain Stellen could slice through the metal with ease.
Antony’s response is far quieter than I expected. “As you should, Stellen.”
With that, Antony eases back, Stellen’s swords near-singing as they run across the black steel at Antony’s throat.
In a flash, Antony takes to the air, leaving Stellen to sheathe his weapons and turn to me, his white hair falling across his face.
We’re alone now except for Nara and the serpent.
Stellen takes a breath, the quietest inhalation sending warmth across my chest. “Will you ride with me?”
I’d already be at his side if it weren’t for the serpent. This beast saved my life. I’m not about to leave him.
The serpent makes the decision for me, sliding around me in a wide circle and hissing softly before he takes to the air without me. He flies back toward the mountain range. Possibly to find Maxim.
I don’t waste another moment.
Sprinting across the distance, I crash into Stellen’s arms. He hoists me off my feet and rains kisses on my cheeks, forehead, and then my lips. I sigh against his skin, the cool of his mouth easing the heat of my bruised lips.
Pressing kisses across my cheek, he reaches my earlobe, where he hums softly, sending a shot of heat to my core and making me gasp. And then smile.
I close my eyes and breathe in his icy scent, taking peace from his strong heartbeats. “I thought I lost you.”
His serious voice makes my heart squeeze. “And I you, Thyra.” His hands feather my back. “But death could never keep us apart.”
I search his eyes, running my fingertips across his jaw. “You’re…”
“Not so heartless anymore?”
He gives me a sudden, lopsided grin. “I’m reacquainting myself with all the emotions I haven’t felt for a long time.” His smile fades, his expression solemn again. “You gave me back my heart, Thyra, but you nearly paid with your life. Promise me you won’t do anything like that again.”
I catch my breath at the intensity of his command, drowning in the melody of his power as it seems he’s battling with the compulsion to command me with his Voice.
“I will promise no such thing,” I say firmly. “I will not lose you, Stellen. Not to death and not to darkness.”
His mouth swoops to mine and his kiss consumes me, my armor shivering at my soft moans.
“Very well,” he says, pulling away and leaving me gasping, his eyes twinkling. “Then I will also promise no such thing.”
Before I can drag him back to me, Nara nudges my back, demanding my attention.
I bury my hand in her fur. “Brave Nara,” I whisper before Stellen lifts me onto her back. He scoops to retrieve the leather hide that fell to the ground when he charged at Antony. After carefully refolding it, he hands it to me, filling my arms with it before he slides on behind me.
As Nara takes off at a gentle run, I ask, “What is this?”
“A dragon’s hide.”
I nearly drop it. My right hand suddenly burns where it presses to the leathery material, a sensation I can’t explain and haven’t felt for hours.
Stellen’s lips are instantly at my cheek, his arm tightening around my stomach where he slipped it between my body and the hide. “Your heart, Thyra. What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, uncertain why I felt a sudden, deep horror.
“The stories my father told me about dragons made it clear: they were vicious creatures. The Battle of the Fire Dragons killed thousands of fae long before the Dragonstone Blade was created. But this feels…wrong.”
“The death of any majestic creature is to be mourned,” Stellen says, “no matter how warmongering dragons may have been.”
Nara veers farther south, putting distance between us and the border, and Stellen murmurs at my ear. “Antony wasn’t wrong about staying out of sight. The Ember Fae tolerate me, but only as long as they need me. I need to be careful.”
We’re close enough to the border that I can home in on the devastation from afar.
The fighting appears to have stopped. Farther north, a pall of black smoke is visible within the night’s darkness.
If the dark channel hadn’t been dispersed, that smoke may well have created a dark conduit for vampyrs.
I have so many questions about Antony’s mother, but first…
“What happened to make the fighting stop?”