"I can't feel Justice at all," Grace said, her trembling hands still on the ruby. "I don't know if she's dead or alive."
Her voice bordered on hysterical now; Tyson was hovering close by to catch her if she lost it.
Unable to sit still any longer, I lifted my mate into my arms. Despite the weight of the stone, I would carry her for the rest of my life if that was what it took.
I started to walk, having not a clue where I was heading, but with a desperate need to get away from the place of destruction that lay before me. It was not okay that she’d sacrificed herself for everyone. She’d said she saved us, but I should have been there to help her.
By trying to protect her, I'd damned her to face off against the president and all of his army alone.
Fly.
The dragon was urging me to shift completely and fly with her. I didn't understand why we needed to do that, but the dragon instinct was an ancient one built on original magic, and I trusted him.
Placing Justice gently on the ground, I stepped away from her, shifting in an instant. This time when I looked upon my mate, the ruby encasing her had transformed into a plethora of colors, many beyond what the fey eye could see, fragmenting in glorious rainbow arcs.
I’d never seen anything as beautiful. Or as devastating.
My claws wrapped around the jewel, taking a second to find a comfortable hold, and then with a roar and burst of flames, I was soaring up into the blue sky above. The way I was feeling now, the weather should be storming to match the darkness inside of me. But instead it was mocking me with perfect weather.
What now?I asked the dragon. I was just the co-pilot, while he did the bulk of the work.
We go home.
Home? As in Stratford?
If the aim was to get to Stratford, then the dragon's GPS was broken. We were heading straight up, the sun in our eyes, and the breeze chasing along our spiked body.
Not our home. Hers.
My first instinct was to rumble out:I'm her fucking home.But there was no time for me to stake that claim now. Truth was, part of her home was in Faerie, and maybe he had the right idea taking her back to the jeweled lands. If anything could restore her from the ruby coffin, it was the land that she was borne from, the land of the rubies.
The dragon continued to fly almost straight up, and I was still questioning his sanity when a shimmer crossed the air in front of us. The world flashed for a moment, like a strike of white-hot light, and then we were on the other side.
Darkness covered the land of Faerie.
The ley line is restored. The other beast has fallen.
I had to laugh at the dragon's confidence. He must not have been sure this would work, but he’d thrown us wholeheartedly into it.
How did you cross like that? My brothers can’t.
There was a pause as the dragon oriented himself, before heading off toward the ruby lands. I could see them in the distance—it wouldn't take long to reach them at the pace we were moving.
They will be able to now. The bond between the eight of you has changed everything. You can now draw on the power of your four mates, and especially those with abilities tied to the great ley line.
Holy. Fuck. So the bond hadn’t been destroyed, it just … morphed into something new. More powerful in a way, even if it felt different.
Now I just had to figure out how to save my mate.
Her parents must have felt us coming; they were waiting at the entrance to the lands, their faces drawn. Jepati had his arm around his mate, holding her close … holding her up.
Shifting my wings, I slowed, gliding down to land before them. It took a few minutes, and when I hovered just in front of them, the king reached out to take his daughter. I wanted to warn him about the weight, but he didn't need the warning. His magic was strong here, and the rubies helped him carry Justice.
When I landed, I shifted back into my human form, and, somehow, clothing wrapped around me.
We have new magic.
The dragon was pleased, but now that I was fully in my supe form, all I felt was overwhelming grief and pain. The dragon had been blocking it for me, but he could no longer.
