“You know, I could have just carried you,” Ellas said, from my right.
I scowled at him. “Then why didn't you offer to?”
“Because I thought you should heal before you went after Aras. You need to be at full strength, Lyran. That sorcerer has spirits under his command. Who knows what he can do?”
I grimaced. “Good point.”
“Should I carry you, now? Maybe it would be best to conserve your magic.”
“Yes, very well,” I grumbled. I didn't like the thought of being carried to my mate's rescue, but it was better than failing to rescue him because I was too depleted.
Ellas grinned and snatched me off my water bubble. With his claws holding me aloft, I let go of the magic, and the water evaporated.
“That's a very fine trick, though,” Ellas said.
“Ellas, you're my best friend, and you've saved my life today, but my mate has been taken. I'm not in the mood for conversation.”
“You need it,” my father said from our right. “It will keep you steady.”
“What will keep me steady is if you bank to the right and head for Latur.”
“Latur? That's where he took him?” my mother asked. “Isn't that where the Tiger's Claw is docked?”
“The Tiger's Claw,” I murmured. “Fuck. He's taking Aras to sea!”
“So what? We'll get him wherever he goes. You can track your mate anywhere.”
“A sea battle will limit us,” my father explained. “We'll have to land to fight.”
“Can't we just burn the ship?”
“My mate's ship?!” I roared up at Ellas. “With him aboard?!”
“Yeah, all right. I see the problem.”
“It will be all right, Lyran,” my mother said, her great head angled down to look at me. “You are not alone.”
I looked back to see at least a hundred dragons flying with us. With them at my back, victory should be assured. But not all of them would be able to land on the Tiger's Claw, and how would they fight spirits, anyway? I was flying into a battle that I had no idea how to win. I didn't even know if Aras would want to be rescued. Risarren was his father. What if he wanted to be with him? And their relationship made a fight even more difficult. Aras might be upset if I killed his father mere hours after they met.
Fuck this day.
As we flew, I went silent, muttering responses to whatever my parents and Ellas said. Most of my attention was on my mate and the memories of him involving Risarren. All those times when he stared at Aras oddly. They were coming back to me now. He'd even said a few strange things. I recalled him asking about Aras's mother. And let's not forget about his eyes. They had always reminded me of Aras, but I never thought it was due to a family resemblance.
“There they are!” Ellas shouted. “Oh, thank fuck, they're just leaving the dock. Lyran, we can stop them and have this battle on land.”
“Good,” I growled, my stare locked on the Tiger's Claw. The ship had just unfurled its sails, the fabric cracking from the wind. “Release me.”
I could feel Aras below me. He was awake now. I'd felt it when he awoke earlier, anger instantly infusing him. He was restrained, but at least he wasn't frightened. No, my mate was . . . confused. Oh, fuck. He was faced with the only family he had, and he didn't know what to do. I couldn't be the one to take his father from him.
When Ellas released me, I shifted, my body transforming as it plummeted to the Bay of Inler, named after the fishing village that stood on its shores. My dragon burst free faster than it had ever come before, its eagerness to find our mate driving it. But as my healed wings caught the wind, and I swerved up from the water to hover before the Tiger's Claw, I prepared to tuck the beast away again. Not just because I had to land, but also because I didn't want to fight. Not until I was forced to.
No shouts came from the deck of the Tiger's Claw when I hovered above it. It wasn't abandoned. Far from it. The crew crowded the main deck, leaving just enough room for my parents and Ellas to join me when I shifted once more and dropped onto the upper deck beside the helm. That's where my mate stood, though he wasn't doing the steering.
The helm was held steady by invisible hands.
My King's Guard couldn't land, so they hovered above the ship, the gust from their wings sending the ship backwardinto port. On the docks, people were shouting and running. That many dragons spotted together was never a good sign, but the fact that we were from another kingdom made us doubly frightening. I couldn't have cared less. I wasn't there for them, although I'd take this fight into their village if I had to. So, maybe it was smart of them to run.
“Ly!” Aras shouted, his voice full of relief, and his body went limp in his invisible restraints. “You're alive. You're all right.”
