As we sprint, I catch sight of a bluish hue behind us. One of the chosen on the horse of ice is close behind me. I can feel the wind around me turning to frost as tiny snowflakes float in the air.
The Fireninze senses it, her head flailing wildly before hot steam singes the air, creating clouds of scorching wind that surrounds us. Instantly, the snow melts, allowing warmth to melt back into my body. I grip her mane tight, the fire curling around my fingertips while we take a sharp turn around the mountain, her back hooves digging into the gravel at the edge of the cliff.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t finish what I started!” a man shouts. A soft, wicked laugh escapes his lips that echoes in the wind.
Damn it. Dryden.
He might be more foolish than Skydance.
I glance over my shoulder, watching Dryden grip the midnight-black reigns of his Iycekazie before giving the horse a stern kick against its side.
Behind him, Koen is in view. Sprinting around the sharp turn of the mountain cliff, doing everything in his power to catch up to us.
“You shall pay for the lives of the men!” Dryden’s voice cuts through the air, sending a nasty shiver down my spine.
“What men!” I shout. My throat is drying out.
“The men of the sea! You burned them all, didn’t you!” I hear his violent screams over the sounds of the horses hooves, and I know he is talking about the men that came to the room to kill me.
I glance over my shoulder to holler back towards him, but a damn dagger soars through the air, slicing my cheek. A subtle wince escapes my lips, but I keep my hands wrapped in the flames of my horse's mane.
He’s going to regret that.
“Dryden! It is against the chosen ways to attack another!” I hear Koen yell. “If you think about doing that again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do! Do you understand!”
I hold my hand over my hair as I glance towards the two of them riding behind me. My body lifts and falls, completely in sync with the Fireninze. But as I hold my gaze towards them, the lush, green grass turns to sand and I know, we have entered the Desert of Death.
The last place I ever wanted to return.
Dirt mixed in with the golden, rust sand kicks up behind my horse, making it almost impossible to see Koen and Dryden behind me.
But as soon as I turn to grip the flames with both of my hands, another dagger hits directly into my back, piercing my skin. I let out a raging, violent scream as I claw at my shoulder to try and get it out.
“I’m not afraid of you!” I hear Dryden let out a shrieking yell.
Well, that’s his first mistake.
I pull back on my horse’s mane, the fire flowing between my fingertips. Her hooves slide into the sand, digging deeper until we are fully stopped.
Screw this.
Why run when I can burn?
I throw my leg over her body, my boots slamming into the sand as it kicks up all around me. I shift until I’m standing directly in front of my Fireninze and wait for this stupid man to make his way to me.
Fire flickers from my palms, tickling at my fingertips as I wait for him to come for me.
“Are you sure about this?”Her nose pushes against my back. My rapid heart rate is slowing down. This is the first time I have heard her communicate since the bonding.
“They need to learn I am not afraid to use the dragons or the curse,” I sigh.“If only I can remember what my damn gift was from the Gods. I need the stones.”
“Quit wasting time then.”She breathes out hot steam, kicking her front hoof. “You need it in order to take her down.”
“My sister?”
Dryden comes into view on his ice horse before the Fireninze can respond, pulling back his reins swiftly as soon as he sees me. My arms hang at my sides, fingers stretching wide as my eyes narrow into slits. I will wield my dragons out here and burn this man to the ground if it comes down to it. I don’t listen to the Queen. I don’t care if it’s forbidden for me to burn him to the ground during the race, I will do it.
His brows pull inward, and he hops off of his horse with one swift motion, tilting his head to the side.
