Chapter 79
“I’ve found something!” Kezra comes whizzing into the room shouting, startling Daegan and me awake. I turn over in our colossal bed.
“Huh?”
“Buried in a sandy dune by the mountainside. On the side which faces east.”
“What did you find?” Daegan asks, wiping at his eyes and sitting up, his chiseled torso on display.
“A pocket of emberstone. Shaped like a large bowl. It’s a lot like the ancient description of the Eternal Pit. Maybe we can… light it? Recreate it?”
Daegan runs his hands though his messy, perfect morning hair, then along his sharp jaw. “It’s worth a try. Can you go inform Raef? Please.”
She nods and flies out the window, not wasting another word on us. I glance at Daegan again, suddenly feeling… anxious. There’s a pit in my stomach that has developed, and I can’t say why. I’m not excited about the new lead like I usually am, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a dead end either.
He falls back against the pillow, wrapping his arm around me and staring deep into my eyes. “I’d rather just stay here in bed with you all day.”
“Me too,” I agree, placing a kiss on his stubbled jaw. “But this feels like… something.”
He nods lightly, holding my stare. “It does,” he whispers in agreement as he pulls me on top of him and squeezes both my ass cheeks with his enormous hands.
~
Everything has erupted into utter chaos. After Daegan and I finally got out of bed, he got dressed in his usual black pants and short-sleeved shirt, and I got dressed in similar attire, but with a purple shirt.
We emerge to find Raef in a panic in the hallway.
“They’re coming,” he tells us in a rush. We follow as he turns and leads us down a hall.
“Who? Where are we going?”
“Battle briefing,” Raef says as he looks back, giving us each a loaded look.
“Fuck.” Daegan tenses beside me, then grabs my hand tightly and picks up the pace.
We arrive in a large room with less windows than most rooms in the palace.
There’s a grand, white, marble table in the center with scrolls scattered about, stone figurines, and random weapons lying atop it.
Daegan’s father, along with several others who I’m guessing are in some sort of leadership role, are spaced around the table, each one looking more tense than the other.
This is not a planned or carefully organized meeting.
“What’s going on?” Daegan demands calmly as he takes a spot near his father, remaining standing. He pulls me closer until I’m at his side along the table.
Taevis shoots him a glare as he clears his throat and then speaks. “Ten thousand troops are marching onto our land as we speak.”
My heart sinks. Ten thousand. That’s… overwhelming. None of the allies the dragons have gained are here…
Daegan’s eyes meet mine before he responds.
He holds me in his gaze like there are still a thousand unspoken words still between us.
He looks at me like I’m the most precious thing in this world to him.
And I look back with the same intensity.
I memorize every fleck of color in his eyes, the way his long eyelashes frame them so beautifully.
The moment doesn’t last more than a breath or two, but it seems like an eternity.
If the future is taken from us today, I’m glad we were able to reunite at least for a little while.
This could very well be the day the rest of us are wiped out.
“Okay… so we fight. Everyone who is able-bodied and willing to fight for our people,” Daegan says as he looks back at his father.
Kezra nearly startles me as she joins us, hovering in the air by my shoulder.
My mind is buzzing and doesn’t process everything as they begin talking strategy, moving pieces around the table to locations I’m not familiar with, arguing about tactics I don’t understand, and finally calling the meeting. Time is limited.
As we reconvene in the hallway with Raef and Kezra, my heart begins to race, the urgency in which everyone moves around us making it feel so much more real.
“So, what are we doing?” I ask.
In answer, Daegan grabs my hand and gives me a look that tells me he’s not leaving my side even for a moment.
“We fight, right?” Raef answers.
“No,” Kezra says with an abundance of impatience. Her wings are practically buzzing with it. “This is likely our last chance. All that we’ve done cannot die with you today. We must try the mountain one last time. Something ancient whispers to me about this spot.”
We all look at each other, not speaking. Everything feels so final suddenly. A lump forms in the pit of my stomach and I have a feeling it’s not going away any time soon.
“You two go,” Raef finally says. “I’ll stay and fight.”
A look of finality crosses between Raef and Daegan. I stand back as they step toward each other… and hug.
“Love you, brother,” Daegan says as he holds his arms around him tightly, clapping his back.
Raef nods. “Love you too, but don’t choose now to get all sappy on me. I’ll see you guys soon, okay?”
It tugs at my heart as Daegan gives him a subtle nod in return.
Raef approaches me next, wrapping me up into an embrace and lifting me off the ground. “Take care of him,” he tells me as he sets me back on the ground. “He’s not always as tough as he looks.”
I open my mouth to reply, but Kezra, growing even more impatient, cuts in. “Okay. We must go now. Enough of the pleasantries.”
“What’s pleasant about any of this?” Raef mumbles to himself.
“Nothing. But just know that if you all die today, I’ll make sure the work you’ve done does not die with you. I’ll find someone worthy to carry on your quest.”
“O…kay,” Raef responds, raising his brows at us.
“I must go with Elysande and Daegan and guide them to the destination, Raef, but fear not, I have sent for backup. They know what to do,” Kezra tells him.
Before Raef can respond, she flies off down the hallway. I guess that means we must follow.
Daegan and I run after Kezra through long, warm, airy hallways. There’s something buzzing in the wind today. I can feel it all around me as we reach the outside. Like the culmination of all our plotting and scheming is coming down to this day. I don’t know how or why I can feel it, but I can.
Or perhaps there’s some other explanation for the sensation.
Maybe it’s the thousands of troops closing in on the village. Their heavy, synchronized, arrogant footsteps quietly shaking the ground.
Kezra doesn’t look back or say a word as we follow her lead along the base of the mountain.
Daegan possesses the sword, the blood, plus the shard of emberstone still in his eyebrow in case we need it, while I carry the new blood vial and the necklace in an interior pocket of my shirt.
Its heavy weight feels like it’s pressing in against me, almost as if it’s humming with anticipation. Again, that could just be in my head.
I look back as the land begins its slight incline, and my heart sinks.
The elven army is already on the dragons’ doorstep.
Not too far in the distance, they approach the walls in seemingly endless lines of marching, foreboding precision.
I stand on the hill frozen, unable to peel my eyes away from the terrifying sight.
But all along the inside of the walls, dragons are beginning to line up.
Dozens upon dozens of terrifying, massive, fire-breathing dragons in every color imaginable.
There should be more. There should be thousands.
The elderly and the young were evacuated to some hidden caves in the mountains, but there are still a few hundred. That could be enough.
I sense Daegan’s conflicted mood beside me, and I don’t have to look at his face to know that more than anything, he must wish to be down there fighting with his people, defending his home and all those who have suffered.
He meets my gaze and pulls in a steady breath.
“I’m exactly where I want to be. By your side.
” He nods toward the village that’s now filled with tension I can feel from all the way up here.
“They can handle this. They will be victorious, and they will make those soldiers wish they never fucked with the dragons. Before they send them into oblivion, of course.”
I raise my eyebrows at his confidence, and I have to admit that it makes me feel just a little bit better.
“Time is slipping by like a wave on the treacherous, salty sea. Keep going.” Kezra isn’t slowing down for a moment. She is a queen on a mission, guiding us up this hillside.
The sandy hill is slick as we climb to the top of the first one, before it dips down and turns into an even bigger hill.
After my first close call slipping and falling, where Daegan somehow reaches back to catch me in time, he decides to switch positions and walk directly behind me.
My feet feel heavy and slow trudging through all the sand, and Kezra’s urgency is making it even harder.
Suddenly, chaos ensues below us.
A mix of elements and arrows begin sprinkling the air. If there wasn’t certain death on both ends of it, I’d almost describe it as a hauntingly beautiful display of dueling lights, elements, and magic. Like a painting.
“Fuck.” It’s me who curses this time.
Daegan turns, his eyes meeting mine almost level as he stands lower than me on the slope, and they tell me to keep going.
No matter what, we must keep going. Even if we see a bright red dragon, the biggest one down there that’s currently at the forefront of the dragon army, in peril.
There’s nothing we can do from so far away at this point.
I’m about to turn around and continue our ascent when Daegan pushes me aside, knocking me into the dirt as he jumps in front of me in a single blink.
The heat of an angry fire kisses my face as he torches something in front of him, and all I can do is hope that he’s okay and Kezra got out of the way.