Wrong.
I can feel their pulses as if they were living, breathing things with individual heartbeats. Their timing is half a second off, throbbing around my neck and then again in my pocket. They strain toward each other with magnetic desperation—power so strong, it’s dizzying. Draining to the point of exhaustion.
It’s toomuchpower.
“So what happens when we join them? Are they just going to shoot up into the sky?” I ask Mar.
“I hope not. But that’s where this comes in.” She reaches into her satchel and pulls out a shiny, metallic box with an ornate closure. “I need you to use Furi’s fire to forge this.”
“Forge it?” My eyebrows tilt up. “What the hell does that mean?”
“We are going to fortify this box so it can hold the star. And the best way to do that is for you to wield. Once the halves are joined, who knows what will happen. But until we know how to use it, we need to make sure it stays contained and secure.”
“So forging first.”
“Forging first.”
My palms grow slick at the thought of wielding, my memory serving up a sample of that indomitable fire. The way it felt running through my veins, the pain?—
Pain comes with the position, Dragon Rider,Furi says.Luckily, it’s nothing you aren’t familiar with.
I set the box down on the grass and head toward the cliff where she waits.
How is your fire going to fortify the box?
By suffusing it with magic,she answers, her scales shimmering beneath the pearly moon.
We’re going to turn it into a magic box?
Her head swings toward me, and she lets out a huff, blowing my loose braid off my shoulder.
The strongest magical objects that exist in this world have been forged by dragon fire. It is the most efficient way.
That it may be, but it’s also a fucking nightmare.
You’re trembling, Blackblood.
I’m just not sure I can do this without killing myself,I admit.
You’ve done it before.
A little wave of sadness hits me as I glance toward my friends, scanning for the one person missing.
Jace was always there, talking me through it. Anchoring me. He’s been MIA since he found out about Kylian.
I frown up at my dragon.Furi takes a definitive step toward me, her talons digging into the ground.
You do not need him. You stand on your own two feet now, on the shoulders of your ancestors. You need nothing and no one to bring this world to its knees.
Her words warm my heart, scaring away some of that anxious energy. I move closer and wrap my arms around the rough patch of her leg.
There, there, no need to slobber on me.
I laugh, releasing her.Okay, let’s do this before you really trigger the waterworks.Deep breath.Ready?
Her head dips, nudging against my stomach.Together.
My hands find her snout, and her green eyes close in time with mine. Our breaths fall into a rhythm, and I block out all that exists outside of this bond. Her power latches on with a sharp bite, flooding me with an onslaught of heat.
