“We’re almost there!” Aesira wasn’t sure there was anything better than the sound of Stone’s voice right then. Nothing sweeter, nothing more full of promise. “You need to get out!” he called, his voice drifting closer.
Bee and Aesira shared a glance. There was no way they were leaving them now. They watched the hatch, waited for some semblance of light or life all the while more deep bellows filled the room, loud enough for them both to cover their ears to dull some of the pain. Other than the deep, deep rumblings of a beast that should not exist, no other sounds drifted up the tunnel.
“We have to go in.” Bee was frantic, biting her lip and pacing next to Aesira.
“Just give them a minute.”Please, let it only be one minute.Aesira watched the darkness at the bottom of the hatch like it was her job and then, through the inky black, a flicker of movement.
“Stone,” she whispered, not entirely sure if her eyes were deceiving her. Then the ladder shook and Stone and Birdie emerged oneat a time. Sweat beaded across their brows, dirt splayed across their cheeks and face.
“I told you to go,” he said, cupping Aesira’s face in his hands. Bee and Birdie were already wrapped up in each other, whispering things Aesira couldn’t make out, nor cared to. All she wanted to do was look at Stone. Drink him in.
“And leave you here?”
A smile slashed across his lips. “You worried about me, Commander?”
Another roar echoed up the chamber, bleeding into her ears, and the reality of their situation came crashing down. “Something like that,” she said. “Let’s go.”
The four of them ran for the entrance of the ruins. Dusk had settled across Ravki, the luminous moths starting to emerge from their cracks, making their way to the fields ofastra. Behind them the earth shuddered, more and more bellows shook the ground and pierced their ears. They tumbled through the opening of the ruins in a giant heap, panting and sweating.
Stone was on his feet first, pulling Aesira to hers. They ran forward, finding coverage behind a group of tall, green trees. Aesira tried to slow her breathing. Tried to calm her heart but when the dragon emerged, not from the opening of the ruins, but from the top, with its glowing orange eyes and black jagged scales, her heart only sped up. The beast shook, its scales rippling down to its long, pointed tail. It fanned its wings, large enough to block the ruin behind it, then spread them wider and took to the sky but then, with a harsh jolt, it was thrown back.
Its roars turned to a broken wail as it tried again to reach the sky.
Tethered.
It was tethered to the ruin.
“It can’t get free,” Stone whispered. Another deep roar bellowed through the air.
Aesira couldn’t tear her eyes away. It flew up, over and over without prevailing.
Another roar but this time the sound felt like it had been broken in two. A desperate cry.
A plea.
Stone’s hand found hers, their fingers twisting together. He squeezed once and she squeezed back, keeping her eyes on the dragon. “We need to help it.”
Stone leaned forward, squinting through his glasses. “And what happens if we let it go?”
“I don’t know,” she said. She looked back at the dragon as it made a final attempt to break free. “I don’t think it’s meant to be here.”
The dragon retreated back to the ruins and they spared no time gathering their things to leave.
“How much do we need?” Aesira and Stone stood above a row of glowingastra.
“At least six,” he said. “That should get us back to Vargah.”
Aesira crouched and ran her fingers along the glowing petals but reared back when a searing pain shot up her arm. “Shit,” she muttered. A deep line bloomed red on her hand, white-hot pain aching through her palm. “How are we going to harvest this?”
Stone frowned then reached out and ran his fingers along the flower. The golden petals opened with his touch, yawning, stretching toward him. She waited for him to revolt back, to hold his hand like she had hers when it burned, only he never did. “I’ll do it, you help Birdie and Bee get the rest of the camp packed.”
“But how—”
He stroked another petal and the flower shook, golden light bouncing off it like rain drops. “I don’t know.”
“Stone,” she gasped, dropping to her knees beside him. He held the firstastraflower in his hands, the brilliant light illuminating his face, his arms, but the beauty of theastrawasn’t what took her breath away. “Your scars.” She ran her fingers over the scars on his arms and face. “They’re glowing.” He placed theastrain a bag and studied his arms, now illuminated to match the flowers.
Stone was always attractive, with his dark auburn hair and blue eyes, but with the scars illuminated he looked ethereal. Unreal. Like a painting. She couldn’t tear her eyes away.
