Page 26 of House of Embers (Royal Houses #5)

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Water Ritual

Tieran wasn’t speaking to her.

He was flying to the Holy Mountain, Evien off his wing, but he hadn’t said one word to her since they’d left the House of Shadows. Not for lack of Kerrigan trying.

She had known this was going to go poorly, but she hadn’t thought it would go this poorly.

Tieran had grown up in the Holy Mountain.

He’d met his mate in the mountain. Then she had been killed by the death of her bonded rider during training, and despite his clear depression, the dragons had forced him to transfer to the House of Dragons for the tournament anyway.

He was terrified to return—terrified of what lay behind those walls.

Kerrigan didn’t blame him for not wanting to face it.

She wished that she didn’t have to face anything that was coming down the track.

Life wouldn’t stop for her, and she didn’t know who else would step up to fix it.

So there was no stalling or stopping or second-guessing.

There was only forward. Whether Tieran wanted it or not.

By the time the Holy Mountain came into view, his stony silence had gone from bad to worse. His wings were rigid, his jaw set. Every little shift in her weight set him off. It was a long flight for utter silence.

Evien pulled ahead as Lowan directed Audria where to land.

Tieran spiraled after her toward the ever-expanding view of a glittering, blue lake.

The sand was a soft, crushed tan that sparkled with gold, sapphire, emerald, and ruby.

Her eyes widened in shock at the rainbow of color that looked like hidden gems under the water.

“What is that?” she asked.

Tieran, of course, refused to answer.

He landed on the banks of the massive lake, a lake that Kerrigan had never seen on a map or heard mentioned.

It was longer than it was wide. She might be able to swim directly across it to the mountain, but she couldn’t see where it started or ended, only that large pine trees kept it from view and it was surrounded by mountains on all sides.

She slid off Tieran’s back and landed on the shore. She went to one knee, letting her hand skim the soft sand. “Dragon scales,” she whispered. “They’re dragon scales.”

“Yes,” Lowan said as Audria helped him down. “Thousands of dragons have existed on their Holy Mountain. They swim in Ferrinix Lake. It’s a sacred site.”

“Ferrinix Lake. Like the ancient dragon who was part of the Irena Bargain?”

The Irena Bargain was what had started the dragon riders.

A maiden, Irena, had bonded the Great Ferrinix, ending a fight between dragons and the Fae and starting the Society.

Kerrigan had heard the story told by her elders all her life, and since joining the Society, she’d heard varying stories from her teachers, the House of Shadows, those in other houses, and apparently the dragons.

It had been told so many times by so many people that she honestly had no idea what had happened all those years ago.

The truth lay in the midst of all this, but she couldn’t discern it.

“Correct,” Lowan said, landing in the sand and falling unceremoniously to his knees. He cleared his throat and scooped up the bag that had fallen off his shoulder. “The dragons worship Ferrinix…”

A burst of fire shot from Tieran’s snout, and Lowan jumped backward.

“We do not worship an elder,” Tieran snarled. “ Not even one as great as the Great Ferrinix.”

It was the first thing he’d said in hours.

Kerrigan’s eyebrows rose. “What he’s saying is maybe you don’t know as much about dragons as you presume.”

It took a minute for Lowan to stop shaking before he responded, “My apologies.” He bowed deeply.

“I did not mean to insult a dragon as great as yourself, Tieran. Or any dragons. I will correct how I speak of Ferrinix from now on.” He made no excuse, which was the smartest thing he could do with a dragon.

For how long he’d been working with dragons, he clearly knew their temperamental mannerisms, if not what would set them off.

“So…” Audria said, patting Evien before walking toward Kerrigan, “what do we do now?”

“There’s a ritual to request access across the lake called the Right of the First,” Lowan said. He sounded more himself again once he got into familiar territory. “Normally I have four escorts who are strongest in each of the four elements.”

Audria gaped at him. “Was that why they needed a healer?”

“Indeed. They usually send a very powerful healer to be the water elemental.”

His pause made it clear what he thought of Audria being the healer chosen. She would be the first person to say that she wasn’t strong nor had she ever wanted to be a healer. But since she was Bryonican, it was an honor, and it had been chosen for her the moment she’d entered the tournament.

“There’re only two of us,” Kerrigan growled. “You didn’t mention we’d need four people.”

“It’s not necessary. It’s just how members are typically chosen for the ritual. A single person with all four elements could fulfill the bargain. Though it hasn’t been done since the second year of the Great War…”

He prattled on about some commander who had bypassed a dragon speaker to try to get more dragons for the cause and made it past the ritual but had been roasted on a spit for a misstep inside.

“Great,” she said on a sigh. “What’s the likelihood we die here?”

Lowan paled. “As long as you follow my lead, we should be fine.”

“Reassuring,” Audria said sarcastically.

“You two need to divide the elements. Air and fire on one side, earth and water on the other.” He gestured to Audria. “I assume the healer will keep water.”

“You assumed right,” Audria said on a sigh. “Kerrigan is the strongest fire user in a century anyway.”

Kerrigan snorted. “Hardly. I always preferred air.”

“That’s not the same thing as what you are best at. Fire was too easy for you. That’s why you hated it. It scared you because it could get out of control so easily. You never embraced it like you did air magic.”

“When did you become this intuitive?” Kerrigan asked, deflecting.

“Always have been, but thanks for noticing.”

Audria was right about Kerrigan’s relationship with her strongest element.

Air had always felt like a compromise element.

She’d forced herself to be good at it to compensate for how easy fire was.

Also, it wasn’t good for a half-Fae girl to appear good at any elements, let alone fire, which was the most ravenous.

She’d never figured out how to buck that stigma even from her own training.

She’d rather use spirit magic—which no one had seen in a thousand years—than fire. She was going to have to get over that.

Lowan set them up on either side of him at the base of the lake.

The waves lapped in a serpentine fashion against the bank.

He began speaking ancient Fae that Kerrigan couldn’t comprehend.

Audria channeled water first, the lake providing the initial element of Lowan’s ritual.

Kerrigan breathed air into the water, sending it upward into a spiraling cyclone.

The sand was drawn up into the tornado, the bits of dragon scales creating a shining rainbow effect to light up across the lake.

Kerrigan touched the tap on her fire, letting it flicker into place.

But as soon as it touched the other elements, a pull came from the well of her magic.

She gasped, and her eyes snapped up to Audria, who had a mirrored expression of disbelief on her face.

“What is happening?” she asked.

Lowan frowned but continued chanting as if he didn’t hear her.

The magic was draining away. As if they were at a tap and it was pouring out.

No wonder they typically used four people for this mission.

It would only drain enough from each person equally.

Two elements a piece would mean the drain was twice as much.

Kerrigan was starting to wonder how that old general had been able to do this alone. How much magic had he had?

“Lowan,” she cried, “you’re going to drain us dry.”

“How much longer?” Audria asked with worry in her voice.

Kerrigan had more magic than Audria, and after seeing the starlight goddess, she was even stronger. If she was feeling the effects of the magic drain, Audria had to be twice as much.

Tieran and Evien hadn’t moved from their positions, flanking their riders. Their eyes were locked on the dark, imposing Holy Mountain beyond the lake, rising precipitously in the distance.

If they weren’t worried about their riders, then it would be okay, right? Or was something worse coming?

Audria dropped to a knee with a gasp.

“Audria,” Kerrigan yelled across the growing torrent. “Look at me, Audria. Right here.”

Audria’s gaze lifted. Her face was pale. Her pink lips had gone blue at the edges. Her bright eyes were dull and panicked. She looked fragile, as if at any moment, a single touch would make her crumble to dust.

“We are going to get through this. We’ve survived everything else, and we’ll do this together.

” Kerrigan reached across the divide. She couldn’t touch her—they were too far apart—but she could give her that ounce of hope.

“There’s too much to live for to let this ritual take it all away now. You understand?”

“Yes,” Audria said, her voice a croak. “We can do this.”

“Now reach across and grab my hand.”

“I can’t…”

“Do it,” Kerrigan yelled at her.

The ancient Fae was still at their back. And on the wind, a new sound joined the fray—wings. She could hear wings on the horizon. But she couldn’t break eye contact with Audria to see who or what was approaching them.

“Now, Audria!”

Audria swallowed hard and then lifted her arm with what looked like the weight of a dragon. She brought it forward, pushing across the divide. So close and yet so far.

Kerrigan took a step forward. Their fingers brushed.

Audria cried out as more magic drained away from her.

Tears collected in her beautiful lashes.

Kerrigan had just gotten her back. She wasn’t going to lose her to a stupid ritual that they should have realized came with a cost. All magic did in its own way.

“A little farther,” Kerrigan demanded of her.

Audria pushed forward with a scream, and then her hand was in Kerrigan’s.

They laced their fingers together, pressing palms flat and screaming in unison as their magic joined.

The elemental cyclone they’d created burst from them, scattering across the holy lake, whipping the water into a frenzy.

It raced across the once-smooth surface, creating roaring waves that splashed against the bank, soaking them from head to toe.

Lowan abruptly stopped chanting. Kerrigan and Audria fell forward into the sand, clinging to each other. Audria shivered under her waterlogged clothing. Her blond hair had been half tied up and now framed her face in limp strands.

“Are you okay?” Kerrigan asked.

“I thought it was the end,” Audria whispered. “I thought my magic was going to burn out.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Audria met her gaze. “Thank you. I don’t feel like I deserve it.”

“You were there for me. You did the right thing.”

Audria’s head suddenly snapped up, looking to Evien. “Ev?”

It was then that the bond between Kerrigan and Tieran drew taut. He hadn’t said anything, but she could feel the fear, uncertainty, and fury settling between them. The wings in the distance. Dragons. Dragons were on their way here.

“On my back,” Tieran rumbled. “Now.”

Kerrigan and Audria scrambled to their feet. Kerrigan vaulted up Tieran’s flank before throwing her leg over the back of the dragon and settling into place.

“Be ready to fly at any moment,” Tieran said.

“What about Lowan?” she asked.

“He does not have a dragon. He remains if the vanguard decides to attack. I will protect you. Evien will protect Audria.”

Kerrigan shivered at the hardened commander in his voice. He was prepared to leave the scholar behind to be burned alive. Anything to be able to retreat in a moment.

“I’m thinking this might have been a bad idea.”

Tieran snorted but said nothing else.

It was a tense minute as the dragons in the distance came into view.

They were both larger than Tieran though about the same size as Evien—large enough that she wasn’t sure what a fight would look like with their magic low.

Not to mention she didn’t actually want to leave Lowan behind, whatever Tieran said.

“You called. We have arrived,” the first dragon said as he settled into the sand before them. He was a shimmering, multicolored dragon that was a kaleidoscope of colors with spikes along their back and golden, appraising eyes.

The second was a blinding gold hue with a whiplike tail and red eyes.

Between her enormous talons, there was webbing that indicated she must be partial to the water.

Kerrigan had been a Dragon Blessed in the House of Dragons.

She’d helped with the upkeep of more dragons than she could count, and she had never seen any that looked like this creature.

“What is your purpose for returning?” the golden dragon asked.

Lowan stepped forward. “We have activated the Right of the First…”

A plume of fire appeared over his head. Lowan dropped to the ground. The top of his head was on fire, and he threw it into the sand. It looked like he’d done it before.

“We were not speaking to you,” the multicolored dragon said.

“Dyta,” Tieran said, dipping his head at the golden dragon and then the colorful dragon. “ Ordrax. As you know, I never intended to return to our Holy Mountain.”

“You were forced out,” Dyta said, hissing like a snake with a forked tongue.

“We have a request of the elders,” he said.

“We have the right to ask it with or without our riders,” Evien added. “ Though the Fae speaker has done the ritual properly to allow them. You should abide by our own laws.”

Dyta looked offended at that, but it was Ordrax who stepped between them.

“We accept you both, the riders, and the Faeling for the course of one night unless the council decides otherwise,” Ordrax said.

“Agreed,” Tieran said.

Dyta hissed and then launched into the air, spraying water all over them. Ordrax looked up at her in exasperation before following in her wake.

“That went well,” Lowan said cheerfully.

Audria bent down to assist him in climbing onto Evien’s back. “Your hair was on fire,” she said.

He patted the top of his head and shrugged. “I’ve had it worse. Now, let’s follow.”

There was no other choice but to go into the belly of the beast. Kerrigan held on to Tieran’s back as he sprang into the air after the pair of dragons.