Where?he growled.
A friend overheard Ivenrail and the high advisor talking about it.
They’re fools to speak of such a thing where someone mightoverhear.His gaze sought the other dragons.Which friend?
Reyla.
She has a kind heart.
She’s amazing. She’s the reason I’m in faerie.I explained about Kinart.
You also have a kind heart, though it’s equally strong. And the will to do what you must.
I’m not sure about my will. And if I were a stronger person, I would’ve killed Ivenrail even if that meant Vexxion died.
You’re stronger because you didn’t kill him.Leaving the shore behind, he flew out over the channel, the other dragons soaring alongside us.
“You need to leave him alone while he’s flying over the sea,” Vexxion said. “You shouldn’t distract him.”
Is that true?I asked Madrood.
He scoffed.I’m not afraid of sea beasts.
Beasts?
Pesky things,he snarled.
A glance down showed nothing but deep blue water dressed in white caps from the wind.What’s waiting for me at Lydel?
I believe it’s best if you see it rather than have me tell you.
Bone coins,I said, as one last parting shot.I want to know more about them too.
It’s not my place to discuss them.
Alright. I’ll stop quizzing you.
He gave a long sigh.Finally.But I could tell by the way he huffed out sparks, that he wasn’t irritated with me for asking questions.
A shimmering blue creature longer than my body and with a mouth full of jagged teeth as long as my fingers shot up from the ocean below. If Glim hadn’t darted to the side, the creature’s teeth would’ve raked across the dragon’s belly. It snapped out, snarling as it fell back toward the sea, landing with a big splash.
My friends bellowed and scrambled for weapons as their dragons shifted and darted to avoid the swarm of creatures attacking from below.
Higher,I called to Madrood, and he led the charge, shooting up toward the clouds with the other two dragons flapping their wings in a furious pace to keep up.
A whirring sound sent me spinning to the right barely in time to deflect a cluster of big blue and gold birds with my arm. Drask squawked and smacked my head with his wings while I swiped out with the side of my blade, knocking the vicious creatures in all directions.
Darting and twisting, the dragons flew as fast as they could toward the island, shooting flames at the sea creatures spearing up from below, though their fire deflected off the scaly hides.
We hung on, defending ourselves as well as we could. If we fell, a sure death awaited us in the churning ocean below.
Horror surged through me as a bird’s claws raked across the exposed skin on my arm, sending shards of agony through me. While Vexxion’s threads swarmed around us, snatching sea beasts from the air and flinging them back toward the water and smacking away birds, I snapped out with my magic, lifting walls between us and both beasts alike. The snarling creatures smacked into the clear structures and plunged toward the ground.
Some of the birds slipped through our barriers, and they pecked at our hair and clothing, dive bombing the dragons’ faces. Our guttural cries filled the air, and I worried we wouldn’t last much longer.
The island still appeared quite a distance ahead.
Madrood and the other dragons’ roars mixed with my friends’ sharp cries of pain. My heart hammered as it tried to beat through my ribs, each pulse shaking me from the inside out. Nausea churned in my belly while cold sweat slicked my skin, sending shivers racing down my back.
