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I wouldn’t let him poison my mind, though. I had to steel myself against his tricks.

The strain was too much. I shook with it.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to get away!” I kept fighting the pull of the string, thrashing in his arms.

“Stop fighting the bond. You can’t break it, and you’re sick. You need to save your energy.”

“It’s you!” I fought the sleep that called, trying to suck in as much clean air as his grip on me would allow. “I’m not ill. You’ve done this!”

“No, your breathing is erratic.” Concern showed in his voice. “Did you inhale too much smoke? Do you need a healer?” He beat his wings with a new vigor.

“It’s the herb. I’m intolerant to it. It makes me ill.” I didn’t know why I was sharing my weakness with him; he was drawing confessions from me now, and I was powerless to stop him.

“Well, that is an interesting twist.” He cradled me closer, sharing his warmth. “You think I’m a servant of Uriel when your own family was actively poisoning you?”

“How could they control my intolerance?”

“It’s not an intolerance. You’re a dragon ryder. Dragon’s Bane will kill you as surely as it will me. You must have inhaled too much before I got to you, and it’s taking hold. I’m taking you right to the healers.”

“You’re lying,” I gasped, but any fight became useless, and I fought to stay conscious.

“The only ones lying to you were your parents. You would have died if I left you there. They were willing to sacrifice you rather than let you be with your kind. Their lies were more important to them than your life.”

“And what are their lives worth? You killed them all!” I screamed, only to have my words lost on the wind.

“I wasn’t responsible for that, Sol. I can promise you that.”

“Your kind was.”

“I know.” He didn’t sound remorseful, but there was a feeling accompanying his words in my mind. Regret, maybe? Sadness? Something.

“If I could have stopped them, I would have, but I had to get you out.”

“It’s not good enough. They were killing them all.” My body heaved with sadness. My parents. My brothers and sisters.Luka.

“They were only burning down the stores of Dragon’s Bane. I don’t think they were harming your villagers.” He was lying; I could feel it.

“Stop lying to me.” I beat against him again, not caring if I did die. How could I live when they were all dead?

“Stop straining.”

“Put me down.”

“Sol, do you have a death wish?” We came to an abrupt halt, and my stomach lurched.

I nearly lost it all over him. Swallowing bile, I found myself on my feet, and realized we must have landed. I wavered. “Death would be better than being your captive! I would join my family on the Shores of Avalon.”

“You’re not in your right mind.” He rolled his eyes. “You need a healer.”

“Don’t bother.” My knees went weak, and I reached out to save myself from falling, realizing to my annoyance that I was still speaking into his mind even though he could hear me clearly now. “You’re trying to trick me. I won’t give in.”

In a flash, a fae stood before me.

A naked fae.

He was close, far too close, and grabbed my arm to keep me steady.