Dayn.
High above, silhouetted against the blood-orange glow of the fires, two titans are locked in a lethal battle. Dayn clashes with another obsidian dragon armored in plates of what looks like solid gold. They spiral and dive, black scales against gold, their massive bodies blotting out stars as they wheel across the night. When they clash, the impact sends shockwaves through the air that shake the treetops below. Dayn's midnight wings unfurl like sails of darkness as torrents of flame collide mid-air, creating a cataclysmic explosion of color that bathes the battlefield in unnatural daylight. The heat sears my face even from this distance, my skin prickling as the very air around us seems to warp and bend.
It’s a battle of gods, a conflict so far beyond the desperate struggles on the ground that it feels like watching a separate, more terrifying war.
But I force my gaze from the sky, back to the two dragons on the ground. They seem to be a closer, and more pressing situation. Ariella and her companion haven’t even glanced up. They continue their purposeful walk toward the academy’s central spire.
And my plan shifts. I tighten my grip on Nyssa’s arm, changing our trajectory.
“Those two,” I murmur, pulling her into the deeper shadows of a crumbling archway. “We need to follow them.”
41
BRYNN
“Looks like… Ariella and Raelle Rogon…” Nyssa whispers as we cut across a scorched courtyard, following the women toward the oldest part of the academy.
The part where the deepest chambers are carved.
“Cousins,” Nyssa adds.
That would explain the likeness, but I don't know much about Raelle. Esme might have mentioned her only briefly. Something about her being a bitch.
Shit.
“They’re going for the trial room,” I hiss, my voice lost in the shriek of a dragon overhead. I just know it in my bones. Why else would they be headed in this specific direction? Ariella could’ve sleuthed and figured out where it is.The snitch.
Nyssa’s eyes widen. “What trial?”
“The one that’s going to save us or get us all killed. Either way, they can’t interrupt it.”
We cut through a collapsed archway with greater urgency, the air thick with dust and smoke. Dragons are much fasterthan me, their long-limbed strides eating up the ground—even Ariella, who apparently recovered swiftly from her injuries. We have to intercept them before they reach the final corridor. I point toward a narrow service passage, a shortcut I used a thousand times to sneak extra books out of the restricted archives.
“This way.”
We pound down the passageway for what feels like two agonizingly long minutes, then burst through the emergency exit into the long corridor that leads to Merlin’s chamber.
And there they are. Twenty yards ahead, their trajectory obvious.
“Stop!” The word rips out of my throat.
They turn, and the dragon with Ariella—Raelle, her face a sharper, crueler echo of her cousin’s—smiles. It is not a pleasant expression. “Look, cousin. The librarian and… her new pet?” Her expression darkens as she recognizes Nyssa, clearly demanding,What are you doing with her?
Nyssa shifts, a twitch of her fingers betraying nerves, but she doesn’t leave me. Yet.
Ariella’s gaze is now cold, hard. A far cry from the trembling dragon we saved. I wonder if all of that was an act, a front to stop us from killing her in her vulnerable state. Either way, her injuries were superficial.
And here I thought we’d shared a moment.
“Get out of our way, darkblood,” Ariella says. “We have no quarrel with you. Our target is the kinslayer’s whore.”
Wow. Five-star gratitude right there.
My blood freezes, then boils. I take a step forward, my hands balling into fists. Nyssa grabs my arm, her grip strong. “Don’t,” she murmurs. “They’ll kill you.”
“She will destroy everything,” Raelle says, her voice ringing with zealous conviction—or perhaps just spite.Wasn’t she thatother chick who fancied Dayn?“The Ides will unmake the world. We are here to prevent that.”
“You’re doing a decent job of that already,” I snap.
