I would never place a curse on someone, even if I knew how.
No, I mean…is that your attempt at using expletives?
His only reply was a ripple of puzzlement.
If the situation weren’t so dire, she’d be amused, but this situation was far from amusing. According to Valorre, Ferrah wasn’t the only dragon here. She rushed to the other side of the courtyard outside the Godskeep, eyes to the sky, seeking any sign of wings among the clouds.
Teryn shadowed her steps, hand protectively on her lower back. Just minutes ago he’d touched her for far more pleasant reasons. The sealing of their marriage, their kiss. Everything had been perfect.
Then it had been shattered.
Resentment tightened her chest.
Teryn sucked in a breath. “Fire.”
Cora followed his line of sight to a column of gray smoke wafting into the air in the distance. Mother Goddess, she hoped that wasn’t a village. She blinked a few times, orienting herself with nearby geography. Her only solace was that there were no surrounding villages in that direction. There was, however, vast farmland.
The column grew denser, rising higher into the clouds.
Then a dark shape emerged above the trees. Cora made out the distinct silhouette of wings lifting a sinuous body into the sky.
Too fast the dragon approached, crossing the distance in a matter of wingbeats. And it didn’t take long for Cora to realize it wasn’t Ferrah. This dragon was probably twice as large with midnight-black scales and leathery wings instead of feathered ones. It flew over the courtyard, lower than Ferrah had dared to fly, eliciting cries of terror from the wedding guests.
Cora stepped back, pressing herself into Teryn. She flung out her hand and he grasped it tightly in his. Her heart pounded so hard she feared it would shatter her rib cage.
She held her breath as it flew past the castle, praying it would fully leave. Yet instead of soaring into the distance, the dragon circled around Ridine and made its descent. Its enormous wings pulsed through the air in heavy beats, slowing its momentum until it landed on one of the battlements. A funnel of air rushed over the courtyard, snatching a tendril of hair from Cora’s previously perfect updo.
No cries erupted from the battlements. No arrows shot through the sky. Captain Alden would still be readying the archers. Thankfully, the dragon didn’t attack. It merely perched upon the battlement like it was its nest. But what would happen once the archers arrived?
“Go. Just go,” Cora whispered, wishing she could use her magic to convince the creature to leave Ridine.
Another pair of wingbeats sounded overhead. Ferrah had returned. Following the black dragon’s lead, she circled over the castle before descending toward it. To Cora’s terror, she landed not on another one of the battlements, but directly upon the keep. And she didn’t nestle upon the roof like her companion. Instead, she gripped the crenellations and leaned over the edge, stretching her long neck until her head was level with the top row of windows.
Ferrah was looking for something. No, someone.
Cora knew exactly who. She’d known as soon as Larylis had uttered their names and charged into the castle. Was he with them already? Mareleau must be terrified either way.
A screech shattered the air, louder than anything she’d heard yet. Cora’s gaze whipped toward the black dragon. Its head was reared back, its attention locked on the next battlement over. Cora couldn’t see it from here, but she guessed Alden’s forces had arrived and that the dragon had noticed them. A red glow blazed between the scales on the dragon’s throat. Cora’s shout was drowned out by those around her as a burst of crimson flame shot from the dragon’s mouth.
Urgency propelled Cora toward the castle, though she didn’t know what she was doing. What the seven devils could she do? Perhaps the dragons weren’t here to harm Mareleau and Noah, but they were a danger to everyone else. To her archers. Her wedding guests. Her castle.
Her guards marched after her, as did Teryn.
“Orders, Majesty?” called the guards.
“Where are you going?” Teryn asked, taking her arm and pulling her to face him.
Panic raked claws down her throat. She didn’t know what orders to give. She’d asked Alden to post archers on the battlements and now they…
Mother Goddess, they might all be dead now.
What could she do?
What the bloody hell couldanyof them do?
Teryn gently grasped her shoulders in his hands. “We need to get the dragons away from Ridine,” he said, his voice deep and calming, serving as an anchor. Her tether to logic. “Is there anything we can do to aid that? Anything that will lessen the casualties? Anythingyoucan do?”
He said the last part in a lower tone, though he needn’t have bothered. He was referring to her magic, but the guests in the courtyard were far too frightened to pay them any heed. And those of her royal guard knew of her magic. Or, at the very least, she’d never hidden it from them.
