Page 40

The moment they descended from the clouds, Aemyra knew something had gone wrong.

The city gate was barred, archers were positioned on the battlements, and Kolreath was perched atop the highest turret of Caisteal Lasair, barbed tail lashing.

Her heart was pounding as they landed with a crash beside the lines of cavalry and Adarian flung himself off Terrea’s back, hitting the ground running. Her dragon was writhing her serpentine neck skyward, where Draevan was pursuing Kolreath through the sheeting rain, long streaks of fire lighting the dull sky. Aemyra’s army battered themselves against the nigh impenetrable walls of àird Lasair, their screams chilling her blood.

Aemyra’s heart twisted and fear shot through her. With Evander’s instability, and the Covenanters within the caisteal, she prayed to Brigid that Fiorean was alive. Aervor was nowhere to be seen.

Terrea loosed a tongue of flame, roaring her challenge to the two male dragons who dueled high above the city.

Still, Aemyra did not let her fly.

“Adarian!” she screamed above the roar of dying soldiers, another volley of arrows felling more than she could count.

Her brother grabbed the bridle of a gray destrier, swinging himself expertly up into the saddle, and reined around to face her. They didn’t need words to convey their feelings. With a heavy nod, Adarian spurred the horse into a gallop, already re-forming the lines of foot soldiers and gathering up his cavalry.

She hadn’t planned on Fiorean failing.

Suddenly glad that her father had taken precautions for her troops in Fyndhorn, Aemyra knew what had to be done.

“ Sgiath! ” she cried, and Terrea gladly spread her wings wide, leaping from the ground in a dark blur.

Aemyra buried her fear for Fiorean deep within herself as the wind stole tears from her eyes. In an instant, she merged her consciousness with Terrea’s.

Aemyra felt as if she were soaring on wings of her own, the muscles of her back and shoulders contracting with each strong push through the air. Parting her lips, she could taste the fear of the men and women far below.

Fire hot enough to melt bones burned in the back of her throat, but she would not loose it. Not yet.

Keeping low to the ground, her violet underbelly skimming the heads of Aemyra’s soldiers, Terrea surged upward to avoid the next volley of arrows.

“Take cover!”

The shout sounded across the battlements as Aemyra and Terrea advanced on the wall. If the gates would not open voluntarily, they would create an opening. àird Lasair could withstand a siege for months if necessary, but without a proper army, it wouldn’t last long against dragons.

Opening her mouth, white-hot flame crackling in her maw, Terrea prepared to throw the full force of her fire into the city gate.

Aemyra roared her challenge as they neared the battlements, gripping the two onyx spikes in front of her tightly.

Just as Terrea parted her teeth, Aemyra felt the world tilt on its axis and she almost impaled herself as an immense force collided with them midair.

Shaken back into her own mind, Aemyra tried to make the world stop spinning, stomach swooping as she almost lost her grip. Terrea’s midnight wings flapped furiously to keep them airborne, and Aemyra swiveled around to see Kolreath advancing on them.

Evander was brandishing the first king’s sword above his head, wearing a maniacal smile.

Terrea managed to twist and aim a stream of fire directly toward Kolreath’s face, but the golden beast soared right through it.

A desperate spiral in the air allowed Terrea to escape his jaws, but only succeeded in exposing her soft underbelly to the male.

Pain shot through Aemyra as Kolreath’s claws sliced through Terrea’s scales. Dùileach and dragon screaming through blood and fury as Terrea whirled away.

Aemyra fumbled the wet spikes in front of her and was left clinging on for dear life as Evander raised his sword, slicing it through the air as Kolreath brought his Bonded Dùileach within feet of her.

Summoning her magic, Aemyra dared to let go of one spike as Terrea leveled out and threw a jet of fire toward Evander.

Kolreath swerved, his barbed tail swinging for Terrea’s side in retaliation.

“Where the fuck is Aervor?” Aemyra screamed into the rain, as if her dragon could tell her.

Before Aemyra could summon another flame, an emerald dragon barreled into Kolreath, spikes missing Terrea by inches. Thankful for the brief respite, Aemyra panted as Terrea leveled out. The wounds from Kolreath’s claws were long but superficial.

Terrea shook her neck in agitation, but Aemyra could only watch as the male dragons tore at each other with teeth and claws, wings flapping as they fell through the air. The Dùileach on their backs battling with their fire.

The males went careening into each other, tumbling wing over claw, and Aemyra felt terror grip her heart as an auburn braid whipped around.

“Father!” she screamed, sure that the dragons would hit the ground.

Gealach was the first to level out, using his claws to push Kolreath closer to the ground as he swooped upward on shimmering wings, hovering below Terrea protectively as the golden dragon plummeted toward the army fighting beneath them.

At the last moment, Kolreath righted himself. Wing membranes straining with the effort of slowing his massive body, he narrowly avoided squashing the soldiers on the ground. Kolreath stroked for the sky with a roar of fury, heading straight for Terrea.

“Fuck,” Aemyra swore, blinking rain out of her eyes.

Terrea quickly got into formation beside Gealach. As they turned, Aemyra glimpsed Adarian far below. Astride his gray charger, sword held aloft.

Unable to watch her brother fighting within range of the arrows still raining down from the battlements, she focused instead on the mighty golden dragon bearing down on them. Terrea loosed a roar toward Kolreath, her tail lashing angrily.

Hair plastered to her scalp, Aemyra saw the fury in her father’s face, the desire for vengeance.

“With me!” Draevan called out to her.

Aemyra followed him, Kolreath hot on their tail. Quite literally, as the enraged golden dragon was shooting streams of fire toward them both.

As the three dragons flew through the rain-drenched sky toward the open fields beyond the army, Aemyra noticed the blood streaming from Gealach’s neck. Kolreath had injured him during their fall. Deep puncture wounds parted the emerald scales and her father’s dragon was flying stiffly. Before Aemyra could see how bad the damage was, Terrea banked sharply.

Kolreath, still determinedly pursuing them, shot in between the black and green dragons.

Evander’s maniacal laughter died as he understood he had flown straight into a trap.

Aemyra hadn’t spent four days in the Deàrr Mountains sitting on her arse.

As Terrea and Gealach closed in on the golden beast, Aemyra and Draevan united their magic into a firestorm that engulfed the pretender king.

Gritting her teeth as she heard Gealach crunch into Kolreath’s side, Terrea kept her distance and Aemyra felt Evander’s magical shield buckle against her power.

Kolreath’s wings were so large that they eclipsed everything else, only allowing her to see glimpses of her father. His braid was whipping out behind him, his fire stuttering as he held fast to his dragon with one hand.

Evander’s shield broke just as Kolreath swerved to avoid Gealach’s spiked tail and he flew directly into Terrea.

It didn’t matter that it had been accidental, Aemyra almost impaled herself again as she hurriedly let go of her magic to concentrate. Terrea’s fire seared Aemyra’s cheeks as her dragon roared her displeasure into Kolreath’s face.

Enraged, the male dragon opened his enormous jaws and Aemyra glimpsed death at the back of his throat.

He was too close for Terrea to turn in time. Her dragon might not perish in the fire, but Aemyra surely would. She unsheathed Fearsolais as if the sword would help her.

Terrea looped her neck around, trying to outmaneuver the male, but before she could get underneath him, Gealach slammed into the golden dragon with a bone-shaking crunch.

Aemyra fumbled her sword but managed to keep her grip on the rune-carved hilt.

The she-dragon hovered midair, powerless, as Gealach clamped his emerald jaws down on Kolreath’s neck.

“No!” Aemyra cried out instinctively.

Hot blood rained down upon her, mixing with the rain, and she watched as the larger dragon plummeted to the ground. Evander scrambled in panic, Kolreath’s blood spraying across his face.

Aemyra’s heart twisted, urging Terrea toward the ground after them.

The wind was fierce in her ears, the shouts of the soldiers drowned out by the roars of the dragons. Kolreath screamed and thrashed in Gealach’s jaws, their wings and tails lashing as they tried to stay airborne. Until Gealach splayed his wings and the son of the mighty Kolgiath hit the ground.

The impact made Aemyra’s teeth shake and even Terrea balked. Gealach barely had time to slow his momentum and landed hard on the ground beside the crippled dragon. He roared his triumph into the sky as Draevan leaped lithely from his back.

The battle still raging before the walls of the city, Aemyra could only stare at the devastation. Terrea’s feral roars joined those of Gealach as her claws finally sank into the muddy field.

Aemyra’s heart was pounding as she looked upon the twisted and broken giant. Kolreath’s wings were twitching, a pained growl escaping his blood-soaked lips.

“Father?” she called out, limbs shaking as she lowered herself from Terrea’s back. Mud sucking at her boots, Aemyra scanned the blood-soaked earth around Kolreath’s body. Skirting the broken wing, she found Evander clawing himself out from underneath his beathach. Draevan was waiting for him.

It was a miracle that Evander hadn’t been crushed in the fall, but bubbles of blood were forming at the corner of his mouth. Blood painting his auburn hair crimson.

Breaking into a run, she made it only a few feet before Draevan drew Dorchadas.

Evander tried to use his magic, but it faltered and died in his palm as his energy reserves depleted.

Aemyra saw it then, the haunted look in his eyes. The madness that had taken root in his mind upon Bonding to Kolreath.

Aemyra slowed from her run.

What Draevan was about to do was a kindness.

Her father pointed Dorchadas toward Evander’s chest. Aemyra uttered a hasty prayer to Cailleach and Hela for Evander’s soul; he wasn’t far from the Otherworld even without Draevan’s help.

“We have come to remove your festering carcass from the throne and restore the rightful line of succession. You sought to take what was never yours,” Draevan growled.

He paused with his sword held aloft. It took Aemyra a moment to understand he was asking permission from his queen to behead a traitor.

Evander smiled, a hacking cough choking up his throat. “The crown is heavy. She can have it.” He turned his eyes on Aemyra and peeled his lips back from his bloodstained teeth. “It will break her neck.”

Reminding herself that all the Seers had perished when Tìr Sgàile fell to the curse, Aemyra muttered another hasty prayer.

And nodded her head.

Draevan swung Dorchadas and severed Evander’s head from his shoulders.

Despite his injuries, Kolreath loosed a bone-shaking screech as Evander’s head hit the ground with a sickening thud. Another Bond broken.

Knowing Evander had given the order to behead Pàdraig, and likely Kenna too, Aemyra felt a distinct lack of remorse.

Turning, Draevan locked eyes with Aemyra, their dragons roaring their victory into the rain-soaked sky above them.

“That was for your family,” he said firmly. Lifting his eyes behind the dragons, he looked toward àird Lasair. “Now we take back your city.”