The silver dragon that had been about to tear through Draven’s side screeches in agony and jerks back. Pleasure thrums inside me, but I quickly cut off the magic again to save energy. My attack achieved its goal.
Swinging his head around, Draven bites his teeth right through the thrashing silver dragon’s neck and rips its throat out. Blood drips from Draven’s jaws as he bellows out a roar while the silver dragon tumbles lifelessly to the ground.
But Jessina’s avalanche attack bought her forces enough time to compose themselves and re-form their ranks. Ice flames shoot through the air as silver dragons speed towards us from all sides, backed up by white and red dragons.
Fire roars through the sky, slamming into the ice flames. Isera yanks up another ice shield to protect her dragon companion, but exhaustion lines every inch of her face. Cleaving that massive ice block and moving it away from us used up most of her remaining energy.
My heart pounds in my chest. I don’t have a lot of energy left either. And the Unseelie fae around us have even less raw magic than we do. They must be close to their breaking point as well. We will never be able to take out Jessina in this state. We need a break from constantly using our magic so that our energy levels have a chance to build back up again.
As if Draven could read my mind, he lets out a roar again and then shoots upwards. A massive storm cloud spreads out around him, blocking out the majority of the enemy forces. The oneswho get caught in the thick black clouds snarl in rage and frustration. But Draven and his clan are already moving.
Speeding through the sky, they fly back towards our own ranks.
Enemy dragons shoot towards us from all sides, trying to stop our retreat. Isera and the rest of the fae with elemental magic slam attacks back at them in an effort to keep them away from us while the dragon shifters twist and swerve through the sky. I shove my magic at any emotion I can find in their chests, making them hesitate and panic and crash into each other in confusion.
Then we at last break through the final rows and soar back through the part of the battlefield where we hold the sky.
Draven roars again, and a few dragons of various colors from several sections suddenly disentangle themselves and follow us towards the back. Diana is one of them.
Ejnare, the leader of the Blue Clan, immediately flies forward and takes her place at the front instead. The black, blue, purple, and orange dragons that remain rally around him, pushing back the waves of enemies that tried to follow us.
We land on the charred grass outside Rin’s healing station. She is working tirelessly on the fae and dragon shifters who were already there when we left, and some new ones that have appeared since as well.
A weight lifts from my chest when I find Alistair standing with Lyra on the grass a short distance from where we land. I quickly slide down from Draven’s back, and he immediately shifts into his human form.
With a gust of wind, he clears the worst of the smoke from the grass after the other dragons have shifted into humans as well. The fae who were seated on their backs stagger across the grass, gasping in deep breaths.
“She told you to rest,” Lyra is growling at Alistair.
“No, she told me to avoid using my magic too much until the energy has built back up,” Alistair retorts.
“That’s the same thing.”
“No, it’s not.” He frowns. “And besides, since when are you this cautious? You’re supposed to be the reckless one.”
“Not when it comes to you.”
He stops short, his mouth open but no argument making it out. Then his features soften, and he discreetly reaches out and laces his fingers through Lyra’s. His green and orange eyes are full of light as he gently squeezes her hand. “I’m fine, sunshine. I promise.”
Across the grass, dragon shifters in black, blue, and purple dragon scale armor crouch down to check on their fae, who have all collapsed on the ground. The only ones who look relatively well are Trevor, Fenriel, and Kevlin.
An involuntary shudder rolls down my spine when I spot Kevlin. The last time I saw him, he snapped my ankle and crushed all the bones in my hand in his attempt to win the Atonement Trials. Though given that our fight ended with me cutting his hamstrings, I suppose we’re somewhat even.
Draven slides his arm around my back as we walk towards where Lyra and Alistair are standing. “You okay?”
Warmth floods my heart. He noticed even that small shudder. Of course he did. Draven always does.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” I reply, smiling up at him.
Galen comes jogging across the grass while Orion simply strides towards us in that refined way of his, the very image of royal nonchalance. Isera stalks over from the other direction, her long black hair windswept but her eyes as sharp as always.
We reach Alistair and Lyra at the same time as Diana does. Fenriel hurries over after her, Talon perched on his shoulder.
“We need a new plan,” Draven says without preamble.
“Agreed,” Orion says as the rest of them reach us as well.
“A frontal assault clearly won’t work,” Galen adds, raking a frustrated hand through his blond hair. “There are too many of them. If we have to fight our way through, we won’thave enough strength left at the end to take on Empress Jessina.”
