Page 65 of The Malice of Moons and Mages (The Broken Bonds of Magic #1)

Sixty-Five

Lua

E merald shine flickered through Lua’s eyelids a moment before they opened. Smoke blurred his vision as he tried to make sense of the surrounding disorder.

A body smoldered at his feet. Its skin crisped black, unrecognizable save for the blade clutched in that hand. Audra’s dagger jutted from what had to be General Xiang’s throat.

“Audra?” He reached for her, but the connection was thin as spider’s silk. He rose, wincing when he leaned on his blistered arm. Twitching or lifeless figures lay scattered across the platform. Lua choked when his gaze found Fallue’s body.

Nothing made sense. Where was Audra?

Lua’s shining thread snugged around Quin’s throat as he stood over Sharine’s lifeless form. The Rajav struggled to stand even as his magic surged. “What have you done?” His voice was hoarse.

Quin gasped. “Sh-she attacked you.”

“Where’s Audra?”

Quin motioned to a crumpled figure behind the throne. Lua released him and stumbled toward her. Again, he found only the thin connection she’d spun when he was unconscious. As he reached for her, a golden net enveloped her.

“Stop.” A woman spoke from the front of the stage. “I don’t want to hurt her.” Her face reminded Lua of another time, many miles away. The Starling from Oxton wore Moon robes, her hair had been dulled dark. She stood behind Traq who’d made it halfway across the stage and seemed to be waiting for Lua to move.

Lua sneered. “You’re not strong enough.”

Wren’s magic dragged Audra across the floor like an empty sack. Traq moved forward, reaching for her.

The white light that burst from Lua’s hand punched Wren’s chest before she could react. It encircled her, winding its way down her limbs and shifting the gold that clung to Audra toward Lua. Her magic changed, shimmering as it dissolved into him. Wren screamed.

“No!” Traq cast a weak shield before Wren, but it shattered into fragments.

With a flick of his wrist, Lua sent Traq flying down the stairs. He reeled Wren forward and gripped her throat.

“You shouldn’t have threatened her,” he said.

Wren thrashed, prying at his fingers while his magic consumed her. Her eyes were wide, terror filled.

Audra had warned him. But he’d never considered an assault on the council. Nor that Traq would turn on her. He’d savor their deaths, bask in their suffering.

“Lua?” Audra’s eyes opened. She whispered. “Please.”

His grip tightened in frustration before releasing Wren. His magic protested, licking out at the dying woman before he swatted her away like a gnat. Wren skidded across the stage and tumbled from the dais. She’d be dead soon. He’d taken enough to insure it.

He cradled Audra to his chest. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Kohl and dust smeared her cheeks. Her fingers grazed his face, but their connection didn’t change. Their touch should have re-anchored them. All his studies had said so. Fallue had confirmed it. But the threads were slow in forming. It wasn’t right.

“Stay.” Her words slurred; voice weak. “Everyone always leaves. ”

He kissed her forehead, staining his lips black. “They’ll have to kill me first.”

“That’s not as difficult as you make people think. Father’s death is proof of that.” Selene prowled onto the platform.

Bolin rushed onto the stage, falling to his knees before Xiang’s corpse. A wail tore from his throat as he clutched his lover’s remains.

Lua lifted Audra as he stood. She gripped his robe, pressing her face into his chest. A pulse rippled around them. His heart or, hopefully, hers.

The tears that wet Selene’s eyes matched Bolin’s. “I might have let her live.” She glanced at the bodies around them. “None of this would have happened if you’d just come back on the Mirren like you were supposed to. You’ve made things so difficult, especially for me. We could have ruled together.”

He held Audra closer. “You were always a better liar than I was. And if it weren’t for Dain, I might have believed you.”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult to convince him. Everyone knew Dain wasn’t a good anchor. He was soft. All too willing to sacrifice you for a useless child.”

The pulse strengthened, grew louder. The air swirled. A shadow blotted out the moonslight above. “You killed his family.”

She rested a tender hand on Bolin’s heaving shoulders. “And your anchor killed Bolin’s.”

Lua’s retort stuck in his throat. Xiang hadn’t told them about Audra. He considered his words, glancing once pointedly at Bolin’s weeping figure before continuing. “We are each guilty of atrocities. You still have Bolin. Audra is mine. We need not do this. I have the moons’ blessings. They will never accept you now.”

Bolin lifted his tear-streaked face, eyes finding the figure in Lua’s arms. “Audra?”

A gust of wind blasted through the panels above, carrying a familiar and unnerving scent. Audra’s gaze shifted upward with a shuddering sigh of relief.

Enormous, dark green wings blocked out the sky. The dragon landed on the rim of the panels, thick talons crunching the metal frame. Chunks of ceiling rained around them. A long, squared nose jutted into the room, nostrils flaring. Sharp, emerald eyes landed possessively on Audra.

If it had been full grown, flames would have already engulfed the room.

“Ferin?” Lua said.

Bolin’s robes blew back as he stared upward, paling. The red scales that glittered across his chest drew the dragon’s gaze. Ferin snorted, a hot breath of steam lilting through the cold air. The sound broke the shock in the room. Mages and soldiers stampeded toward the doors. Selene covered her eyes as the buffeting wings spun dust in the air.

“A choice,” Silence whispered.

He had to get Audra away from here, save what he valued most. Lua’s magic shot upward, wrapping tightly around one of Ferin’s wrists. Lua hauled them skyward.

Ferin launched into the night, hoisting them through the panels. When his talons gently engulfed Audra, Lua relinquished her without hesitation. He reached for the other front limb, but a gray whip nearly sliced off his fingertips, ricocheting off Ferin’s chest.

Selene screamed from the battered stage below. She gripped Bolin’s shoulder and hurled another blast with her other hand. Audra’s shield flickered and fell beneath the assault.

“No!” Lua’s magic went wide as he swayed with the pulsing of wings. He missed Selene by a foot.

Selene’s next spell skimmed past Lua. It struck Ferin’s arm, inches from Audra’s head. But instead of dissipating like the others, the thread recoiled and encircled Lua’s thigh.

His magic reacted, trying to consume Selene’s energy, but her spell tightened. Still connected to Bolin, she yanked hard on the thread. White and emerald were both sucked down the line. He felt the drain of his power and, looking at Audra, saw the siphon drinking greedily from her. Lua’s lash around Ferin weakened. The dragon’s wings faltered. As he flung another blast downward, a dizzying wave of fatigue disoriented him. His magic dimmed.

“Lua!” Audra reached a shaking arm toward him. She was pale, the color dulling in her eyes. Selene’s magic devoured the western magic through their frail bond .

“ She might yet live through this night,” Song said.

Audra croaked his name again. Lua met Ferin’s eyes. In a moment, he understood what he’d refused to acknowledge before. If Audra died, the three of them would perish together.

“Losing you won’t hurt her now. ”

Someone else could protect and sustain her. And trying to keep her would kill her.

Everything coalesced into a clear understanding. If Audra died, all hope for her people died with her. The truth Zin had spoken clearly—Western mages could sustain multiple bonds, and that dragons protect their own if they are able—was now perfectly obvious.

His breath shook. There was no other choice. Audra had to live and, with her, the youngest of the remaining dragons. To right the wrongs of his ancestors.

“Take her,” he whispered to Ferin.

His spell rose, glittering beneath the light of two moons and Raia’s ring. With a small prayer, it slashed down, severing their bond and snapping Selene’s tether.

Audra’s anguished scream ripped through him. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as her eyes found his. “No!”

Ferin’s talons tightened around her. His other claws grasped for Lua, but the mage was already gone.

Lua studied the curve of her cheek as he fell away, longing for a life they would never know. With a shuddering breath, he unspooled the last of his magic. It rose hungrily, coiling into Audra until there was nothing left inside him.

His heart slowed. Each muscle cramped as if every bone were suddenly breaking with the loss.

“Lua!” Audra cried. Silver and green threads lashed around Lua’s torso from her hand. She jerked him toward her, but it was too much, too fast. The threads snapped and recoiled. Her scream echoed toward him.

Then the Rajav Lua Koray plummeted to the ground, watching giant wings fly away.

“You’ve done well, little Rajav.”