As Lithava narrows her eyes on us, the Black Dragon responds to her unspoken command. Opening its great maw, it roars in a devastating wrath—hammering its bone-shattering and blood-pulling heart curse right at us.
But even as the entire Grand Palace goes up in renewed oilslick-black flames from the Usurper’s roar, in a blazing flare of pure cosmic light, our shield holds. As I heave a command right through all my drakes now, via our united Bloodbond, we put everything into our counterstrike.
Blasting our auric shield out now, like a bomb.
As that incredible power shatters our shield of blazing light, it inundates Lithava and her drakes in our fires of pure heart. Those flames go seething all around them now in a wildfire of true love, making them shriek as they are inundated by blisteringlight.
But it gives us the moment we need, as I heave a command through all my drakes now, and Lærke, to get the fuck out. We blast up into the skies as our dragons, as even the Black Dragon recoils, stunned by our tremendous wealth of love.
King Huttr is in Bjorn’s talons, and Prince Halfdir is in Ström’s, as we rocket up fast to the portal.Retreat!Bjorn roars all through our allies, as his power pulls from us in a riptide.
And we flood to the portal, winging fast towards clear skies.
22
BLAZE
Dragons wing hard away from the battle of Stockholm, as Bjorn and Baldur stabilize our portal to Harnakje with their united power. That shimmering oval of blue in the sky is the only place the air is clear. Our allies fly fast for the portal now; my drakes and I zoom up with our King and Prince in our talons, as the battle becomes chaotic.
Because our enemy didn’t expect us to abandon the city; as everyone rips through the skies to the portal now, I feel from Bjorn how our King had the city emptied of all dragons except his fighters these past few days.
Safe in the provinces of his most loyal Jarls, our King protected his people by sacrificing his city. I’m grateful for his smart maneuvering, as we leave only burning buildings and shattered warriors now, rather than the carnage this could have been today.
We need to save our remaining warriors, however, as our allied forces heave through the portal in droves. Our last Kingsguard remains to battle at our tail. Lærke, Mikkel, and I do, too, because Lithava and her drakes are right on our asses, recovered from our flash-bomb down below in the palace ruins.
The Black Dragon is with them as it roars and heaves its massive bulk up from the burning rubble into the skies. Its devastation is everywhere, as I dodge like crazy now to hammer back volleys of caustic black Bloodspears, cast at me in a tirade from Lithava and her drakes.
We’re all beyond exhausted, but it’s a fight to the death now, as the Thorsens turn back volley after volley with me, heaving their beautifully poisonous magic through the skies. I feel how their minds yoke as one now to control our enemies’ bodies and thoughts. They make our enemies turn on one another rather than fight us, reducing the number of dragons coming after us.
But even as Mikkel and Lærke shoot vast jets of chartreuse acid at Emil Beck now, trying to bring him down, Lithava and I are on each other. We dart through the burning skies, heaving massive volleys of ultra-bright and devastatingly dark Bloodspears at each other, trying to take each other out.
I don’t know if we can, as both of us still wear our black and silver rings, and our mates do, too. But I’m game to try, as my inner dragons hammer so hard into my united Bloodwalker power now that a tremendous concussion of pure auric wildfire thunders off me, right into Lithava and her drakes.
Lithava’s power is no less, as terrible diseased black and crimson sigils spiral all through her dragon, lit with a vivid violet hellfire. She slams her power at me, inundating me in a wave of caustic black sigils, making me roar as they scald into my scales and skin.
We can barely battle, however, because the Black Dragon spews its terrible hellfire everywhere now. Even Lithava and her drakes dodge those burning ropes of nightmare, and the thundering, bone-breaking and blood-siphoning concussions from its voice.
I hear Lithava shriek her commands at it now, to decimate our allies at the portal, rather than trying to hit me and my drakes. It’s almost as if it can’t hear her, though, as it goes Berserk and Wraith now, spewing its terrible fire all over everything.
It even hits Arvid and Lars with one towering jet, as I understand Lithava’s lost control of it, the creature possessed by battle-fever. She can’t command it anymore; I connect to it for only a moment, and hear the horror of a hundred thousand voices shrieking at what’s happening here, making it crazy.
Though Hedda imparted her drakes back into the beast, and most of her own soul-essence, she always knew Lithava couldn’t control it. It’s clear now that Lithava doesn’t have enough Bloodwalker might to manage it. The mad rampage of the Usurper is uncontrollable, as it flies in an unhinged frenzy through the blackened skies.
If we lose control of it, no one will survive; I know it’s true, even as I dodge a tremendous ball of spikes heaved at me from Emil Beck, trying to bring me down.
I see the last of our allies wing hard towards the portal in the skies, with our rear-guard keeping our enemies out. But even as Ström ushers the last of his exhausted Eriksson fighters through, commanding them to protect the inner side of the portal, the Black Dragon heaves a tremendous gout of fire right at the portal-way.
Dragons scatter as others drop from the skies, blood jettisoning from them as bones shatter; aflame, they shriek with caustic fire devouring them. Ström is missed by that catastrophic drive, but just barely. I go insane now as Lithava and I lock in a death-dive, ripping at each other with talons and fangs, and the Black Dragon heaves an immense roar of rage, wrath, and confusion.
As it suddenly roars all of its bone-shattering and blood-pulling curses and darkfire right at us, Bjorn flashes in. Drawing on all our Bloodbond, he explodes a massive Bloodshield of burning wildfire right before me as he casts that blast back.
Our King still clenched in his talons, Bjorn roars up at the Black Dragon in a vicious fury—and I understand he made a spontaneous portal just now, like Jarl Jorg, to get in front of me that fast.
But Oggi Magnussen protects Lithava now, as I see a terrible oilslickBloodshield explode through the air on the other side of us. As Lithava and I break apart, stunned and shredded to ribbons, I hear the towering roar Oggi Magnussen heaves at his son.
And Bjorn’s massive thunder, as he roars right back.
Bjorn’s mind goes red with rage then, as he finally faces off with his father. I feel him lose it, as he at last goes Berserk with his vast need to punish Jarl Oggi for everything he is, and everything he’s done.
