If Kaden could not bring down the cavern around Eckoghari before it collapsed and buried us all, perhaps I could use my magic.
I’d never practiced a rune designed to melt ice, only to freeze it. But suddenly, a plan took shape.
It was a long shot. Maybe even insane. While the freezing rune had been the first Coranthe rune I’d mastered, I’d never used it on this scale.
Still, I had to try. Kaden’s shadows were growing weaker by the second, his movements slow and sluggish. If we didn’t find a way to end Eckoghari soon, I didn’t think we’d make it out of here alive.
Closing my eyes, I pulled myself back in time to the airy chamber in Adraeis where I’d trained with Gaeldric. If I concentrated, I could almost smell that laurel-scented breeze and hear the old witch barking at me to concentrate.
Focusing every fiber of my being on my intent, I summoned the rune in my mind’s eye. Golden threads formed a lattice of loops, with interlocking triangles at the center. My skin tingled with magic, and I felt Kaden’s attentionon me as I drew that power into myself and channeled it into the rune.
A shrill shriek made my eyes fly open, and I looked up just in time to see ice crystalizing all over Eckoghari’s body, crackling as the moisture froze on his wings.
The dragon screeched, flailing them uselessly as the weight sent him plummeting like a stone.
Water lurched over the side of the mineral pool as he landed with a splash, and I gritted my teeth and focused once more on conjuring up that rune.
Magic danced over my skin as I concentrated, teeth grinding together as I poured my intent into every line of the rune. Sweat beaded on my temples, and my palms were already slick. Ice cracked and groaned as the dragon roared, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that the pool had frozen over, trapping Eckoghari within.
A second later, a huge chunk of ice fell from the ceiling, shattering into a million pieces.
Shit. While I might have frozen the water around Eckoghari, the rest of the cave was still collapsing from the heat.
Just then, a dark blur appeared in my periphery, and my breath left me in a whoosh as Kaden swept me into his arms. We careened out of the cavern and into a dark tunnel, huge chunks of ice falling around us.
A frightened whinny echoed off the cavern ceiling, and I felt a pang of remorse.
The horses.
There was no way they’d make it out of here. Not at the rate the caves were collapsing. But then a falling hunk of ice clipped Kaden’s wing, and all thoughts of horses flew from my mind as we pitched toward the ground.
I cried out just before Kaden righted himself and clung tighter to his neck.
Shouts echoed down the passageway, and a shudder of relief went through me when I realized the others were behind us.
A deafening rumble shook the walls, and Kaden increased his speed. I could feel the strain of his muscles everywhere we were touching as he worked his wings in a frantic rhythm.
More chunks of ice fell in my periphery, my shoulder smarting as one struck me.Hard. Wheezing through the pain, I glanced behind us and saw Adriel and Sorsha careening down the tunnel, the princess’s faelight bobbing erratically.
More ice rained down from the ceiling, blocking my view as white clouded my vision.
I didn’t know how Kaden could see where he was going. There was only an avalanche of white.
We weren’t going to make it.
Eckoghari’s roar shook the tunnel, but I couldn’t tell if his cry was one of pain or victory. I’d successfully trapped the dragon in his own lair, but perhaps he’d realized we were going to die in here with him.
Then I turned my head and was immediately blinded by a brilliant flash of light. Flakes of ice and snow glittered in my vision, clinging to my lashes and partially blinding me.
For an instant, it felt as though I were crashing through a dream into another world. A world of ice and snow and glittering splendor. But then I realized what I was seeing.
A flicker of daylight beamed up ahead, beckoning us out of the tunnel.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
LYRA
