“Did you set us up?” he barks.
His words take a moment to register, but when they do I recoil, his insinuation like a stinging slap.
“No,” I answer, appalled. “They’re not here for me. I want them dead as much as you do. More even.”
The horns, ridges, and scales of Aeson’s inky black armor begin to peel back, revealing his face. He kneels in front of me, strong hands grabbing my hips, and before I know what he’s doing, the commander leans forward and licks the thin line of blood from the scratch on my thigh.
Heat blooms low in my stomach, and I try to jerk back from the searing touch of his hands and tongue. I don’t get far before he’s once again towering over me, grabbing my arms to keep me close.
“I have your blood now,Syphon, so don’t even think of trying to run, because Iwillfind you.” He presses forward and I’m too stunned to do anything other than back up to make room for him. “I don’t care who you are or what you’re the last of—if you cost me any of my Wing, you’ll beg for death long before I grant it.”
The commander’s features harden with the certainty of his promise, and something in my depths wants to rise and meet his challenge, maybe dole out a few threats of my own. Magic skitters over me like shards of ice, and I realize he’s herded me toward the portal. Onyx scales climb up Aeson’s throat, his cheeks, and then the rest of his face until he’s once again donning an impenetrable mask.
“You will shift and land where the others go. Do you understand me?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer before he brutally shoves me.
Realization grips me too late as I fall back into the frigid magic of the jump portal. Horror slams into me like a tsunami, and I scramble for purchase, clawing at the commander’s arms. His hard, slick scale armor keeps my desperate fingers from finding purchase, and all too quickly gravity rips me away, a scream spilling from my lips.
I fall.
Blue skies and creamy clouds surround me like a happy lie as I plummet. The portal I was just tossed through rapidly slips further and further away. On the other side of the magical opening, I watch as Aeson Noctis sprints fearlessly into the fray. One step he’s a drake, and the next a breathtaking, bone-quaking black dragon tears free.
The bellow that thunders out of the scion promises death and pain. It resonates in every part of me, and for the first time since I was taken by the blood brokers, I sense the faintest call of my own dragon. It’s nothing more than a slight tingling surge, but I’d know it anywhere.
I can barely breathe with the shock of feeling it again. I’ve been trying not to think about the absence of this part of me, of what it might mean long term, but it’s back. Fast as a bolt of lightning, I wrap myself protectively around the weak flicker, terrified my dragon will disappear again. I will the weak glimmer to grow, beg it to consume me until this part of me finally claims its rightful place and my dragon fully reveals.
But like blowing too much air on the flames of a newborn fire, the fragile embers blink out, and my dragon withdraws. I should have known better. I’ve been here too many times, trying to weld the broken pieces of myself together to no avail. No matter what I do, it never works.
Not for me.
Not for any of the other Syphons.
For the second time in a matter of days, I fall through the heavens with no ability to shift or save myself. I’d laugh at the fucked-up full circle of this moment, only this time, I know I won’t be waking up in a hospital after this crash.
The portal, now far above me, is a night-filled gash in the middle of a bright cerulean sky. My rapid descent into another part of Drameric has the magical window turning into nothing more than a sliver as I drop too far to continue to see what’s happening on the other side.
I twist and flip until I’m no longer facing the gate but staring head-on at the high-rises and keeps below, my death painted on their eaves and turrets. The last view I’ll ever have spreads beneath me like a mocking grin. One I’ve longed to see again, but not like this.
Paragon City…we meet again.
Chapter 9
AIR STREAKS PAST ME SO fast it feels like water shooting up my nose and into my mouth. The torrent steals my scream and I squint against the rush of atmosphere. Dread attacks my senses, but it doesn’t matter how hard my heart bludgeons my insides or how much my mind clamors for a solution, the only possible upside to any of this is if I carve a decent path of destruction into one of the keeps when I crash.
Enslee did tell me to pave the way. I don’t think that’s what she meant, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
Instinctively, I spread my limbs to try and gain control of my freefall. Shockingly, it works, and rage starts to drown out my terror the longer I plunge.
Who opens a gate in the middle of the sky?
But I already know the answer. It’s a defense measure. A good one, if I’m begrudgingly being honest. It would stop anyone without wings from following The Horde into their stronghold—which is exactly what you’d want if you found yourself under attack like we just were.
I can’t tell if I’m still breathing. I’m pretty sure my lungs have been ripped from my chest, and the rest of my organs feel as though they’re trying to join them. But the longer I fall, the more I sedately accept my fate and take in the city beneath me as I plummet like a meteor toward it.
The sheer size of The Horde’s citadel is even more daunting than I remember. I was six the last time I was here, and looking at everything now, it’s obvious how much I’ve forgotten about the scope of what we’re up against.
Paragon City is a mass of high-rises and congested airways. Vehicles buzz around towering buildings like bees circle flowers. Lakes and ancient trees are woven into modern architecture. And towering behind Paragon’s crescent-shaped settlement are four different dragon keeps that sit like layers on a fancy cake.
Thrasher Keep is at the bottom, where The Horde’s military barracks and training facilities are. Above that sits Render Keep, haven to the Healers and Shields. Channeler Keep is the easiest to identify on the second tier of the four. The keep is equal amounts stunning fortress and greenery. I can’t tell if the palace is made of plants or if the foliage is simply doing its best to take over everything.
