70
Ro
Abubble popped along the surface. Then another. My eyes remained fixed on the last evidences of Dae in this world.
Some of The Eleven broke their uniform stance, dropping their hands. Even they were glued to the sight before me.
I couldn’t describe what I saw, but the closest thing to it was that the Black Pool… awoke. It inhaled, as if it finally received air. On its exhale, Dae slowly emerged, not a single part of him wet. He looked the same, except his aura…
I could see it this close. The obsidian edges.
The weight keeping me down disappeared, someone distracted from using their magic against me.
The Black Pool had accepted him, deemed him worthy of carrying its power, and infected him. I had a hard time caring that he just became the twelfth accepted into The Order of Darkness, because he wasalive. If I had told Dae what that meant, I knew he wouldn’t have allowed himself to emerge. I couldn’t find it in me to regret my choice, though things were indiscriminately more dire.
The Pool set him on the bank. Marvoe’s eyes finally displayed the white parts left from how wide he held them open. The Eleven were shocked at the accepted offering they didn’t plan to receive. In the moments that seemed to slow, all of our attention was stolen to the figures above. Wing beats boomed over the treetops and all eyes turned to see the horde of dragons soaring above.
If I gave into any more fear, my heart would probably cease beating.
“Run to me,” I called out to Dae.
He sought me out, and then he was running. Marvoe didn’t break his concentration from the horde above, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
“AVOID TOUCHING THE LAND,” I shouted internally toward the sky.
Dae reached me, and then we were running together. His brothers raced alongside us, no one saying or doing anything other than bolting away from the danger. Screams from the camp filled the otherwise silent forest, and judging by the sound, the dragons made pain rain among them.
I wanted to cover my ears, to shut out the cries of agony. The way it wrenched my heart made each breath painful. Questions of right and wrong, good or bad, fell away. All I could feel was the desire to escape it. Loss of life had always been difficult and agonizing, and to be surrounded and bombarded by the sounds of people actively dying had my soul crumpling with every step.
Dae’s hand squeezed mine. I hadn’t even noticed he’d grabbed it. “Get on!” he called to his brothers. A moment later, he shifted. The three of us slammed to a stop at the sight. Instead of orange and white fur with black stripes clothing him, he became a creature of onyx. Bigger. Bonier. More ferocious looking.
We locked gazes, and my body involuntarily trembled. His slitted pupils dripped with pure malice, as if they thirsted for death. Not for himself, but to inflict upon the world.
“What’s wrong?”he asked, tilting his head to the side. The tips of his ears had become jagged, nothing soft left.
“Nothing,”I lied,“let’s go.”
Dae’s brother reached out as I took a step forward, halting me. “I don’t know if—”
“It’s still him.” I looked Kaval directly in the eye, fully understanding his hesitation. “He’s still in there.”
His brothers exchanged a glance, Kaval’s hand remaining to keep me from approaching the monster of death that Dae had morphed into.
The screams picked up, and this time, I did shield my ears.
“Ro.”Dae sprung for me, nuzzling against my hip. I reluctantly dropped my hands. He maneuvered his head between my legs, scooping me up until I slid and rested at the base of his neck.
“I just want to leave,” I admitted, not bothering to hide the emotion from my voice.
I already liked Dae’s brothers. Any fear they had quelled at my admission, understanding softening their gazes to something tender, like they cared. It only took them a minute to mount Dae, and then we were holding on for dear life as Dae ripped through the forest.
71
Nora
It had been days.
Days of traveling, leading several thousand men and women. Tryssa had done a fantastic job of spreading the word to her network of magic wielders. A few dozen had enlisted, dropping themselves into service before we departed Highcrest. Ravinder and the remaining Rahana soldiers took up position in the middle with them, including Sverik. We had capable hands, indeed.
