Before the flames could reach him, Ivenrail flitted from the room, leaving only fear and chaos behind.
Madrood roared and sent fire to where Ivenrail had been, but it was already too late.
The time to end this would come, but it wasn’t this moment.
“Stop.” Tempest rubbed the ferocious beast’s leg.
What do you need, little one?Madrood asked.My back is yours. My will is yours. Command me. I now belong to you.
Get us out of here,she said.
Her words echoed around me.
She was safe—for now.
If only I could hold on . . .
2
TEMPEST
“We fly south,” I shouted to Reyla and Airia as our dragons fled across the valley below King Ivenrail’s castle. We’d escaped, and I was sure he’d regroup and come after us soon.
Drask clung to my shoulder, leaning against the side of my neck to avoid most of the wind’s resistance.
“We’re going to Lydel?” Reyla asked.
“Ultimately, yes. We’ll sleep at Weldsbane tonight.” As tempted as I was to fly until we reached the dubious safety of my court, I didn’t dare risk traveling after dark. Weldsbane felt like home. Sanctuary. A place where I could reconnect with Vexxion.
Our beasts flapped their wings in a furious rhythm, and my heartbeat thudded along with them. I’d intended to kill the king today—until I discovered that killing him meant I’d also murder Vexxion, the fae lord I loved.
Ivenrail wouldn’t stop until me and every person I cared for was dead. I’d not only stolen his precious dragon, Madrood, I’d bonded with the mighty beast, something unheard of for so long, most in faerie had forgotten such a thing could be done.
Even worse, I’d taken the son Ivenrail desperately wanted to mold in his own image.
I still couldn’t get over what I’d recently discovered. Vexxion was my fated mate, and I was Brenna, the true heir to Lydel Court. The fluffy princess of a woman I’d called Brenna, the adopted heir of the Nullen king, was my younger sister, Layla. I had family, and I might never see her again. Zayde had stolen her from Ivenrail’s throne and flitted her to a safe place. If he was wise, he’d keep her hidden until this was over, no matter what the outcome.
Reyla clung to Brodine who sat in front of her on Vexxion’s dragon, Glim. He stared forward blankly, and a mix of rage and sorrow stormed through my veins. I’d destroyed the collar binding him to Ivenrail, and I’d blasted my friend with power multiple times, hoping to draw him back from the ether. So far, he hadn’t emerged.
Would he ever do so, or would I lose him like I had Kinart, the brother I’d mourn until my dying day?
I held my love, my Vexxion, in front of me while guiding Madrood with my knees. My magic was good for keeping him in place, if nothing else.
As we flew above a vast, grassy plain with the sun hot on my spine, I pressed myself against him, feverishly whispering the freeing spell that had worked on the creatures trapped within picture frames inside the castle. It worked for Reyla,and it would work for Vexxion and Brodine. I’d never stop trying.
It was all I could do to keep my heart from sinking into a bottomless void. I bit back the cry of grief and fury that kept roaring up my throat. My heart was a useless, vacant thing, and a piece of my soul had been ripped away with his loss.
What awaits you in Lydel?Madrood asked in my mind.
I’d not only bonded with this glorious beast, I could talk to him like I had with Vexxion. I suspected Madrood would stand as my shield until Vexxion could once again take his place by my side.
I hope to find a place where I can breathe long enough to figure out what I must do. I sense it only exists there.Would Aunt Vera be waiting? After I freed her from the painting, she said she needed to leave to prepare. For my arrival or something completely different?
I’m going to claim Lydel’s core of power,I said.Only then will I be strong enough to return to Bledmire Court and kill the king.
If you feel you must go there, then that’s where I’ll take you, Madrood said.They’ll welcome you.
Or else, I felt the words he didn’t say.
