The sand sprite’s black swirling eyes widened as he stumbled back. “Your dragon? But… Fire…” He looked at Brela. “But you…”
“Zvocz,” she hissed at Oni. Still keeping Night Carver pointed at the Crown Prince, she spoke over her shoulder. “Oni wants to see how Atuphe will react to Cason’s lightning, which I don’t think is a good idea. But Oni was too busy pranking me to realize thatmyscent wasn’t the only thing being masked.”
Cason stilled. “Your scent masked my fire. That’s why you didn’t fight harder not to ride with me.” He glanced at the bloodied hand he still held and Farrah’s icy fingers. “Your blood and Farrah’s water were a backup. He only saw the ink for my perception and lightning and didn’t think twice about our scents being mixed.”
Brela’s eyes sparkled over her shoulder. “Oh, gods, I am incredibly turned on by how quickly you put that together.”
“Really, Bre?” Elias grumbled. “Will you finally tell us why he can’t use his fire?”
“Because they’re afraid of me,” Cason replied.
Brela faked a gag and pointed to the sand sprite who was now trembling on his knees and staring at Cason. “Because they’re going toworshipyou for having both fire and lightning, and we don’t have time for the gods-damned feast they’ll throw you.”
Serill snorted. “I think this is the best day of my life.”
Cason shot him a glare.
Brela continued. “Yes, they are afraid of your fire, but only because one lick of fire magic has the potential to send the suxa into a frenzy. They’re going to treat you like you’re made of… well, glass. They won’t risk making you angry and releasing the fire. It’s been centuries since the dragons were gone, but let’s not assume that the beasts won’t remember.”
Before he had a chance to speak, Farrah’s grip dug into his forearm, her hand trembling.
“Uh, we have a problem then,” she whispered.
Hot air huffed and Cason turned to see six red eyes glaring down a bone muzzle, only lightly scarred with crystal but displaying significantly more cuts along the bone. Saliva and blood dripped from the sixty curved teeth. And those were the only ones he could see.
“That’s not Atuphe,” Elias whispered, not moving a muscle.
“No,” Oni said, not a tremble in his voice. “It’s her baby.”
“Baby?” Brela squeaked, eyes wide. “She’s double the size of her mother.”
Oni carefully stood and leaned forward. Good gods, he leanedcloserto the beast’s foul breath. “Dulphi isn’t usually this… alert. She smells him.”
“The fire?” Brela rasped.
“No,” Oni replied. “She’s drawn to power.”
“She’s so frail,” Brela whispered, studying the creature. Cason couldn’t figure out which part of this enormous vaarasuxa was frail, but Oni nodded. She sighed. “That’s why you wanted to test his lightning. Not for Atuphe.”
The sand sprite stood straighter. “Dulphi’s bones did not develop like normal. Her armor is so weak that even brushing against her mother breaks the bone. I had hoped a bit of magic could help, otherwise one of those cuts has the potential to get infected and kill her.”
Cason didn’t dare pull his eyes away from the creature. “Brela, do you think it would help?”
Brela’s fingers tightened. “I…” She forced a breath out her nose. “Yes, it would, but you’d have to use a lot of power. And you’d have to balance it between striking Ceirdephal’s repelling bones and Dulphi’s attracting ones.”
Serill swallowed. “Would he?” Oni and Brela were the only ones to take their eyes off Dulphi and look at the prince. “It’s not natural lightning, rather Cason’s magic, which means it would have a male’s signature on it. That could be enough.”
Oni’s fangs glinted as the sand sprite smiled and spoke to Brela. “I like the company you keep,ov czaraw. They are smarter than the redhead.”
Cason stared at the dripping teeth and red eyes that seemed to only be focused on him. He let out a slow breath. “Your call, Brela. Tell me what to do.”
She studied Oni for a moment longer before squeezing Cason’s hand. “Okay.” She limped to his right side, freeing his preferred arm as she twisted her fingers around his hand. “Oni, put your scouts on alert. Cason, don’t let go of me and follow my lead.” She pointed to a solid bone along the bridge of Dulphi’s nose. “Start slow. Show her your lightning and get her back into the middle of the arena before you hit that spot first. It’s the strongest, so if there are any issues, we won’t hurt her.”
He nodded and drew sparks to his fingertips, and if he didn’t know better, he could have sworn the six red eyes lit up with curiosity.
Slowly, Dulphi tracked his movements. Left. Right. And as he pressed forward with his hand, she released her claws from the walls of the arena. She thudded to the ground, and he could have sworn the entire desert shook.
“Good,” Brela whispered, stepping closer to the edge. “Small at first. See how she takes it.”
