Page 88 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

When Gareth intercepted me, he healed my hand and then took off toward the border. An hour later, Hesperos managed to catch up and fly beside me. Neither Kieran nor I said a word. After flying in tense silence, we heard the sounds of dragon roars.

Kieran and I exchanged a look, and our dragons flew even faster.

My lungs constricted. This was it. The very thing we were trying to avoid.

But we needed those eggs. My breath hitched when the battlefield came into view.

Ben, Aurelia, and Gareth were already there.

I didn’t know what town we were in, but even if I had known, I wouldn’t have been able to name it.

Because now, the village was mostly rubble.

Fire blazed around us, consuming various homes.

People screamed and ran through the streets, trying to avoid any falling debris that a swipe of a dragon’s tail brought.

Three Andovan dragons fought against our own.

One of them—the purple dragon—was massive and only a bit smaller than Hesperos.

I knew whose dragon it was—King Tancred’s.

My heart stuttered. That meant he was here somewhere, waiting for the battle to clear so he could take the eggs.

But at least he didn’t have them yet, because atop Praskovya, the gray dragon, the woman still had the satchel containing them slung across her shoulder.

The dragonsguard was trying to get to her but struggled against the green dragon, Asterius, and the purple dragon.

I looked at Kieran for direction, letting go of my anger for now. ‘What’s the plan?’ I asked down the bond.

‘It’s game over if Tancred gets his hands on those eggs,’ Kieran said. ‘Once those eggs are hatched, none of the dragons will be willing to fight. They’ll prioritize the hatchlings’ safety.’

‘Can you use your shadows to take the eggs?’

Kieran clenched his jaw. ‘I’ve exhausted my magic. I can’t.’

Fuck. That complicated things. ‘What do you need me to do?’

‘You won’t like it.’

‘Just tell me.’

‘Stay away from the fight. We’ll need you in case that woman manages to slip away. Especially if you can unlock that power of yours.’

Kieran didn’t wait for a response. He jumped into the fight. I thought I’d knew chaos and danger before but… Kieran was right. We’d been too cocky. Seeing all these dragons fight… three from Andova and four from Lusadia… we were out of our league.

I hated this. I wanted to step in. It seemed like a no brainer—five dragons against three. But I only had half a year of training. I’d get in the way. So instead, I gritted my teeth and flew up ahead. Umara was tense under me, her gaze going between Thaleia and the dragon eggs.

My heart went out to her. I rubbed her scales. ‘It’ll be okay. Your mate’s a badass. She’ll be okay, and we’ll get the eggs back.’ I expelled a breath.

From far away, the inexperience was clear to see on both sides.

The flames our dragons shot nearly clipped our allies half the time.

Even the Andovans faced the same problem.

On that front, the riderless purple dragon, the king’s dragon, had an advantage.

He didn’t have to worry about his rider getting burned.

He weaved himself through the onslaught, firing at the dragonsguard every chance he got.

It was only because of how hard my friends trained that they managed not to get caught up in it.

“Catch me if I fall!” Ben screamed at Kieran and then unclipped himself from his seat.

“Don’t!”

Ben ignored Kieran as his dragon flew over Praskovya, and he launched himself at her.

The woman shouted. Ben landed on her in an awkward mess of limbs, but we’d trained for this.

He latched on like his life depended on it.

The woman flailed and tried to bat him away, but I’d experienced Ben’s death grip. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Enmei and Aurelia dove toward Praskovya.

Enmei swiped at her, stopping the dragon from attempting a barrel roll.

Meanwhile, Ben tugged at the satchel. Blood dripped from his nose—a sign of his Gift working overtime.

That’s right. His telekinesis. The satchel tugged against the woman’s body—both from Ben’s grip as well as his Gift.

This has to work. We have to end this.

But while the two dragons wrestled for control, I spotted the purple dragon creeping up from behind. Its mouth opened—

‘ Kieran! Their backs!’ I screamed through our bond.

Hesperos rammed into the king’s dragon, stopping him from firing on Praskovya.

Praskovya roared. Time went still as a bloodcurdling scream filled the battle. Bile threatened to rise in my throat when I followed the source of the flames. Enmei was covered in the flames and on his back…

Gods, the image would haunt my mind. Aurelia was still screaming. Her hands flailed helplessly as she batted at her face, but there was no outrunning the flames.

Enmei bellowed. Fire kindled in his throat as he prepared to fire straight at the mess of dragons. He didn’t care that Kieran and Ben were right there. No. Oh gods, no.

“Gareth!” I shrieked. “You have to—”

“On it!” Gareth called. Eutimio was already hurtling toward Enmei. They slammed into each other, and Enmei’s flames missed its target. Thank the gods.

Kieran was right. We could pretend we controlled our dragons, but we didn’t. I glanced at Aurelia’s slumped form. If this kept up, everyone would die. “Gareth, I— ”

“You have to get her!” Gareth yelled. Enmei bared its teeth at Eutimio. “I can’t get to her right now.”

The Mother help me. My heart pounded. All of Kieran’s predictions came true. Our dragons were turning on each other. ‘Umara, please listen to me. Take me to Aurelia.’

I thanked the gods for Umara following my command. She flew atop Enmei where Aurelia was flung around like a ragdoll, moaning and clutching at her face. My stomach rolled. “The Child help me.” I unstrapped myself and jumped down.

Slam! I yelped as I collided against Enmei’s silver scales. He swerved to the side, and I barely managed to stay on. Inches above me, flames coated the air. Fuck. My heart hammered against my ribcage. I kept a tight grip as another collision nearly sent me flying.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My nails bled, but I refused to let go. We needed to end this.

I glanced up from where I hugged Enmei’s lower back.

Aurelia’s prone form lay against his neck, but she wasn’t passed out.

No, I could hear her moaning from here. Gods, the pain she must be in.

The fire had gotten her face and the left side of her body.

Some of her uniform had melted into her skin.

“You have to stop this!” I bellowed at Enmei. “Please.” I wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. And Aurelia… if she wasn’t dead, this might just kill her. “It’s for her. She needs to be healed.”

But Enmei wouldn’t stop. Not when he was too wrapped up in his rage to think clearly.

I took a deep breath, ignored my aching muscles, and yanked at Aurelia’s strap.

When it came loose, I wrapped my arms around her waist and prayed to the gods.

It took one slight shift from Enmei and then we went flying through the sky.

For a terrifying couple of seconds, I was sure I’d die. That we’d splatter against the ground. But then a cool shadow wrapped around me and cradled me in the air.

‘What the fuck, Selena? You said you wouldn’t get involved.’

I smiled. ‘I knew you’d catch me.’ Our relationship aside, Kieran was my captain. He wouldn’t let me get hurt. And more than that… as his fated mate, he’d prioritize my life.

The shadows took us away, and we reappeared on the grass several yards away from the absolute mess of a battle. Most of the villagers’ screams had died down. I didn’t want to think about what that meant.

‘DON’T do that again. I can’t—I don’t have any reserves left.’ That’s what he said last time, but I wasn’t going to test him. Instead, I murmured a promise to be more careful. ‘I can’t lose you, Selena. Don’t take any more risks.’

I ignored my muddied emotions and turned my attention to Aurelia. She looked awful. Burns covered the entire left side of her face and her neck. Not just that, but her entire left side. Her clothes had melted into her burnt skin.

Oh gods.

“Kill… me,” Aurelia moaned.

“No.” I wanted to take her hand, wanted to comfort her. But I wasn’t sure if it’d cause her more pain, so I kept my trembling hands at my sides. “You’re not dying.”

“Kill… me… I… don’t…”

One of her eyes focused on me. The other… I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to see out of it ever again. Energy thrummed under my skin, and a sudden calmness washed over me. “ Go to sleep. You don’t feel any pain right now.”

Aurelia’s breath hitched. Her bottom lip quivered, and her right eye watered before it fluttered shut.

At first, I thought she’d succumbed to her wounds, but then it hit me.

My Gift. The sudden calmness I felt wasn’t clarity or shock, but my Gift awakening.

It hummed in my ear, a song demanding to be sung.

A Siren’s song. Kieran would have a field day at that.

I looked up at the battle. Four Lusadian dragons against three Andovans. Umara stayed behind to guard us, but the rest of them… it was a fucking mess. But between the flurry of limbs and flames, I realized—Praskovya wasn’t there. My heart stopped.

I glanced down at the peaceful expression on Aurelia’s ruined face. Guilt gnawed at my heart. “I’m sorry.” We couldn’t let the eggs get away. “I’ll be back.”

I climbed on Umara, and she launched into the sky.

I felt like such a piece of shit. We needed to do this and yet…

I was willingly leaving behind a teammate.

Someone who desperately needed medical attention.

But the eggs.. they came first. Above all else, we needed to ensure the eggs stayed out of Tancred’s hands, even if they had to be killed to do so .

We couldn’t allow Andova to match our dragon population.