The serpent's wail cut off. With a final rumbling moan, it cracked down the middle, its body splitting open in a whirl of boiling ice and crumbling shards. It slumped to the ground and what was left of it melted into the glacial meadow.
With a snarl that rolled through the trees, the dragon’s head snapped toward the boulder where the high lord hid. Its maw opened wide, fire spiraling up its throat in a torrent of molten silver and searing red. The flames slammed into the rock, encasing it and the area beyond.
The lord shrieked, a sound of raw terror that cut off sharply, leaving only silence in its place. The boulder glowed red, veins of molten stone coursing through it before it cracked and split, the halves slumping onto each side.
Nothing but smoldering ruins remained beyond.
The dragon turned toward us. My breath snagged in my throat, and I shifted to stand in front of Reyla and Farris, facing down the creature that could kill us with one blast.
Its wings snapped back to lie flat along its spine, and it lowered itself slowly, its claws sinking into the ground. Its ember-red eyes locked on mine.
Farris growled, but I put a hand on his back to keep him still. Reyla eased over to stand beside me, throwing blades in her hands and electricity glinting at the tip of her finger. Even her shadowssurrounded us, rising up only to ooze back down to the frosty surface.
The dragon’s gaze met mine, and it dipped its head. There was something sovereign about the gesture, something old, like a queen acknowledging a king she didn’t serve but respected.
You will fulfill your promise soon,it said.
It was only then that I recognizedher.
I staggered back half a step. Alarm rising on her face, Reyla reached out, latching onto my arm.
A memory of me kneeling beside this woman I loved more than myself, begging, shouting out to the wretched labyrinth world that I would give all I had and would ever be as long as someone saved my wildfire.
Only one being responded. A hot breath swirled around us, healing my love. This dragon queen.
I pressed my fist against my chest. “Tell me when.”
The time is coming.The dragon bowed again, her gaze sliding to my wildfire standing bravely at my side.
Mist coiled up from the earth, rising around the beast’s legs, her wings, her shoulders. The wind stirred, lifting the mist, spinning it in slow spirals. When it swept away, nothing remained but a bit of rancid smoke coiling up from the ground where the lord had hidden.
I turned to Reyla, pausing to tug the hood of her fur-lined cloak up to protect her face and kiss the tip of her nose because I couldn’t resist.
“Even covered in frost and blood, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.”
“Flatterer.” But her eyes softened. “Tell me, husband.” Her narrowed gaze met mine. “What do you owe that dragon?”
Before I could answer, a sound made us both freeze.
Slow clapping echoed through the frozen garden.
“Magnificent performance,” said a voice we both recognized. “Though I do hope you haven't forgotten why you're here.”
Queen Naveer stepped from behind an ice-shrouded tree, looking nothing like the woman who'd sent us into this frozen wasteland. Radiant, she glowed with stolen vitality. How many deaths had she fed on while we fought for our lives?
She held a single silver blossom with curling fangs between her fingers.
A frostwilla. Our prize. Our only way forward.
“Lovely, isn’t it?” Her smile was predatory perfection. “There’s one left on the plant, but beware. The garden has grown hungry watching you play.”
Chapter 36
Reyla
Ice churned up to form an icy wall, and when it collapsed, Naveer was gone.
Without naming it, we opted to ignore her threat and focus on the task at hand.
