Page 50

Chapter Fifty

A elia

“No!” The scream tore from my lips as I raced to the window and caught a glimpse of Sol streaking through the darkness, seemingly out of nowhere. Red-hot fury surged through our bond, the frenzied sensation swelling in my chest. Reign was at my side an instant later, gaze sweeping toward the approaching dragon. Lightning struck across the midnight sky, illuminating their monstrous forms. Sol, no ! I screeched through our mental link, but I hit a wall of impenetrable black.

“What is he doing?” I shouted.

“Getting his revenge.” Reign’s resigned gaze remained locked on his quickly approaching brother.

Sol’s golden wings cut through the thick air, his powerful muscles coiling in preparation to strike. Across the open sky, Mordrin roared, his slate-gray scales glinting like tempered steel beneath the flashes of lightning fracturing the heavens. His massive tail lashed, slicing through the wind with enough force to rattle the trees below.

“Stand down, Mordrin!” Ruhl's shout carried across the distance, raw and desperate. Tracing my glowing finger in the air, the celestial glyph flickered to life, amplifying my vision and hearing. I could see the strain in Ruhl’s grip, the way his body rocked against the dragon's erratic flight. But Mordrin refused to obey.

Fear struck my chest, a slice so quick I gasped from the impact. No. No. No. Sol’s quest for vengeance would get Ruhl killed. And cuoré or not, I didn’t want him dead.

Sol snarled and snapped his wings tight to his back, rocketing toward the Shadow Fae’s beast like a bolt of molten gold.

"Sol, no!" I shouted again, but the words were torn away by the wind. Gods, if Ruhl died I’d… A flurry of wild emotions struck my chest, a twist of mine and my skyrider’s. Whether it was the false memories Helroth had planted or something else, I was certain of one thing, if Ruhl died, I would never forgive myself.

Reign’s face flashed across my vision next, the idea of losing him taking a firm hold. All the air fled my lungs, and I was left gasping for oxygen.

The dragons collided with a thunderous crash, tearing my attention to the sky once more. Mordrin's talons raked across Sol’s hide, scales cracking beneath the pressure. Sol retaliated, his jaws clamping onto Mordrin’s shoulder, fangs piercing deep. The gray dragon let out an ear-splitting screech, writhing midair in an attempt to break free, but Sol refused to let go.

Ruhl struggled to control his dragon, digging his heels into Mordrin’s thick neck and shouting curses. “Stop! Damn you, stop!”

Mordrin twisted, his sheer force throwing Ruhl sideways. For a terrifying second, I thought he would plummet from the sky, but somehow, he managed to keep hold.

“Reign, we have to do something! Sol is blocking our bond; he won’t let me in. He’s going to kill Mordrin, and Ruhl in the process.”

Another crack of thunder sounded as Sol released his grip and raked his claws across Mordrin’s side, sending dark blood cascading in a mist through the air. Mordrin roared and lashed out with his spiked tail, the impact catching Sol’s wing and throwing him off balance. My dragon reeled, wings snapping open to catch himself before he spiraled out of control.

The sky burned with fury, and I could do nothing but watch.

Mordrin dove, aiming straight for Sol’s exposed underside. My stomach clenched. “Reign!” My voice trembled, but he was already moving.

A shadow shot across the room—Reign, a dark blur against the walls as he leapt for the window already fully dressed, his shadows whipping around him, stretched across his shoulders.

“Wait! You have to take me with you.” I raced across the room, pulling my leathers on over my nightgown and stepped into my boots.

“It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s my dragon, my responsibility.”

Reign’s dark brows twisted, a tendon in his jaw feathering. “And Ruhl’s your what?”

“Raysa! What does that matter right now? We just have to save him!”

His mouth hardened into a tight line, and his head dipped. “Yes, of course, you’re right.” He held out his arms and I leapt into them, curling my arms around the back of his neck.

Reign’s shadow wings extended, his powerful thighs thrusting us out the window and into the wild night. Rain pelted my face, the pungent scent of smoke and ash filling the air.

The dragons were locked in battle, shrieks and growls renting the rain-laden air. I could just make out Ruhl’s form pressed against Mordrin’s back.

“Sol won’t stop,” I gasped, my heart slamming against my ribs as we drew closer. “And Ruhl can’t control Mordrin. We have to get closer.”

Reign’s shadows flickered in the wind, his jaw clenched tight. I could feel his fear for me surging through the cuorem, icy and insistent.

“Get us closer to Sol.”

Reign’s entire body tensed, muscles taut as a bowstring, but he didn’t fight me. Shockingly. His shadow wings pumped harder, instead, struggling to keep up with the enormous dragons.

Just ahead, Sol unleashed a brilliant column of white-hot flame, the light so intense it cast flickering shadows across the rocky clearing below. Mordrin veered sharply, but not before the fire scorched the edge of his wing, sending up another agonized shriek.

Then Sol lunged.

The force of impact cracked through my bones as their massive forms crashed against one another, tumbling toward the earth below. His fangs clamped down on Mordrin’s throat, driving both dragons into a brutal downward spiral.

“Sol, no!” I screamed, for what seemed like the hundredth time, my nails digging into the back of Reign’s shirt as I watched in horror. We weren’t going to make it in time. “Please, don’t!”

Mordrin thrashed wildly, his tail coiling, his limbs weakening. His powerful gray body bucked beneath Sol’s grasp, but the golden beast held firm, keeping them hovering in mid-air.

“Ruhl!” I screamed, a rush of images streaking across my mind. That familiar quirk of his lips, the way he held me in bed, his lips on mine. Real or not real?

Ruhl’s cry rang out through the night, raw with desperation. “Mordrin, yield! Gods, yield!”

“Why doesn’t he shadowtravel off his dragon?” I cried out against the wind.

“It’s not our way. You never abandon your skyrider. Would you leave Sol?”

Of course not.

But that wasn’t what I wanted to hear right then…

Reign’s wings snapped against his body, hurling us after the plummeting dragons in a steep dive. But we would never reach Ruhl in time, and the realization hit me hard. They would crash into the ground, and Ruhl would be crushed between the brawling giants. “Change of plans,” I shouted into Reign’s ear over the rushing wind. “Then it’s up to us to get your brother off Mordrin now.”

“I’m trying, princess.”

“We have to shadowtravel. Onto Mordrin’s back.”

“Have you lost your sun-loving mind?”

I gritted my teeth, throwing him my steeliest glare. “It’s the only way to save him.”

“And if Solanthus can’t control himself? If he’s given into the bloodlust, the craze of battle, it could be too late. He could kill us all.”

“He won’t hurt me. I’m certain, Reign. Now, please, we’re running out of time.”

With a growl, Reign’s shadows wrapped tighter around us, and in an instant, we plummeted into inky darkness. In a heartbeat, the shrieks and roars all fell away, giving way to nothing but black. Then, what felt like an instant later, everything sped up again, the sights, the sounds of battling beasts, crashed into me as we emerged from the shadows.

My feet hit shaky ground as we landed. No, not ground, Mordrin’s scaled flesh. Reign and I teetered along Mordrin’s spine, his hands clasped around my hips, guiding me across the dragon’s slanting back. Sol’s jaw was still clenched around Mordrin’s throat, blood spurting from the wound.

Ruhl stood between Mordrin’s wing bones, oblivious to our arrival, his arms thrown out for balance as he attempted to dislodge Sol’s teeth from his skyrider’s neck with his boot.

“Solanthus!” I bellowed, the force of my words ricocheting over the chaos. “Solanthus, the Sun Chaser, release Mordrin immediately.” Power surged through my veins as I opened the door of that little cottage, and the trio of energies flooded my voice.

Ruhl glanced my way, eyes wide with shock, before pivoting his focus back to his dragon. For a terrible moment, I feared it was too late. That Sol wouldn’t stop. That his uncontrollable fury would drown out all reason.

I summoned more power, allowing it to bleed through every inch of me. “Solanthus, I command you to release him now .” Thunder boomed across the sky, a crackle of lightning illuminating the mid-air battle.

Sol’s smoldering golden eyes lifted to meet mine without releasing his enemy.

But he deserves to die for what he did…

I don’t disagree with you on that, but Ruhl does not .

He huffed, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. Fine , as you wish, little Kin . Slowly, his golden jaws parted, releasing Mordrin’s throat, then his talons loosened their hold on his wings. With a guttural, defeated growl, Mordrin hovered in the air, his torn wings sagging.

I whirled around, eyes meeting Ruhl’s. “Can he get us to the ground?”

Ruhl’s expression blanked for an instant before he nodded. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but he should survive.”

The gray dragon angled his wings toward the earth, bowing his head in submission.

Reign exhaled sharply beside me, his grip still firm at my waist. “I’ll get us to the ground.”

Tugging me into his arms before I could argue, his wings extended and he leapt off the dragon’s back. We followed the big beasts toward the clearing in front of the manor. I could just make out Aidan’s form perched in the doorway with Kaelith beside him. The rumble of battle must have woken them. Turning my gaze to Ruhl as we descended, his face blurred, replaced by Reign’s, and the strangling fear of losing him returned. I blinked quickly, chasing away the image. Not Reign. It’s Ruhl.

As soon as Reign’s boots hit the ground, I jumped from his arms and raced toward Mordrin. Deep bloody gouges raced along the gray dragon’s scales, from his underbelly, across his wings, the deadliest being at his neck. Gods, Sol had nearly torn his head clean off.

Ruhl leapt off Mordrin’s back, his chest heaving, but with not a scratch on him from what I could tell.

I erased the distance between us and yanked him into my arms. “Thank the goddess you’re all right,” I whispered against his ear. My nostrils flared at the sharp odor of blood and smoke clinging to his clothes.

He shuddered beneath my touch as I squeezed. “If I knew all I had to do was nearly die to get your attention, I would have attempted it long ago.” A lopsided grin flashed across his face as I pulled back, holding him out to arm’s length to confirm he was whole.

Once I was certain he was unharmed, I pulled my arm back and landed a firm punch to his shoulder. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Reign appeared beside me a moment later, his shadows receding into his tense form. “I’m glad to see you’re alive.”

“Yes, well, I appreciate the save, brother.”

“I can’t take the credit; it was all Aelia.” He ticked his head at me, a frigid mask descending over his handsome features.

Oh, realms. As if what happened in my bedchamber wasn’t bad enough, now he was surely questioning my feelings even more so.

“Why didn’t you abandon your damned mount?” Reign snapped at his brother.

“You know I couldn’t,” he replied casually before swinging his head over his shoulder, eyeing the wounded dragon. “Besides, I was fairly certain I was the only thing standing between Mordrin and certain death.”

“You’re not wrong,” I responded. If Ruhl hadn’t been aboard his dragon when Sol attacked, I doubted I would have even attempted to stop him after hearing the story of their past. Glancing across the rocky landscape, I caught sight of Sol perched on the cliff, gaze intent on the sea. Or perhaps it was on the dark form flying closer. Phantom.

“Someone arrived conveniently late,” I muttered. Though I wasn’t sure she would have been a help or more of a hindrance.

“I called for her the moment it started,” Reign answered, “but she was hunting in the north.” His shoulders slowly lifted before falling in defeat.

“Now, can someone kindly explain why Solanthus attacked my skyrider unprovoked?” Ruhl’s questioning gaze bounced between us.

It was time to fill in Ruhl on all that we’d learned in the past few days.