Ice, sunbeam, and lightning hit the volcano as one. It rumbles horribly as magic pulses through it.
Then it erupts. What was almost a gentle flow of lava now surges, angry and destructive. The noise the dragons make is awful. Theytake flight as Skylar runs, the lava so close behind her that her back is molten sweat. She hears a hiss as water hits lava to her right—a water dragon, trying to mitigate the damage.
The cliff is right in front of her now. Shit, she didn’t think: the lava will come over the edge, even as the dragons work together to stop it, to protect their home.
That smoky voice, again in her mind.
Jump.
So she does. She leaps, throwing herself off the cliff, lava barely inches from her ankles. She is falling, the bright orange cliff rushing past her, wind scraping against raw skin. The sea below is approaching too fast—she’s going to hit it, she’s going to die. Behind her, there are snarls and snaps—the dragons, coming after her. If the fall doesn’t kill her, they will.
Impossible pressure builds within her, her whole body screaming at her.
If there’s anything you’ve been holding back—now’s the time to let loose.
She screams, and with it, the energy bursts from her. It’s like an explosion of pure force, pulsing from her in all directions, smashing into anything it meets. An explosion of magic.
She feels the power connect with something above her—multiple beings thrown back. Dragons. Dragons thrown out of the sky, by the force of her eruption.
She hears her name, screamed in panic, just before she hits the ocean.
She’s too exhausted to swim. She survived the fall, but now water floods her mouth, and she has no energy left to pull herself up. She tries to kick, but her legs won’t move. Her lungs burn, even as her arms flail pointlessly.
Then there are hands, dragging her to the surface. She is gasping, spluttering, as Axel pulls her through deep water into the shallows. She is on her knees, coughing. He kneels, too, gripping her shoulders. He is white when she looks at him. But he is here. He stepped foot onto dragon soil, put himself in danger—to save her.
She looks up, still coughing, to see the dragons circling above. But they do not dive. She doesn’t know why, but they’re not attacking—maybe, after everything she did, someone breaking the rules about coming to aid an heir is the least of their worries.
She glances down, around where she is kneeling. The very ground is white, all color leached from it. The trees that grew out of the cliff edge have wilted. There is a circle around her and Axel, she realizes, where there is no life at all. Like it has been pulled away, the land left bare. There is rubble around them, parts of the cliff littered on the rocks.
She did this, when she exploded. And though it feels like a relief, to have itoutof her, she knows, when she meets Axel’s gaze, that there is no coming back from this. The evidence is all around them.
Axel is still holding her arms, on his knees before her. He does not look terrified. He looksawedas he scans their surroundings, taking in all the life that has been drained. Drained by her.
Then he looks right at her, and says the words she has always known would be a death sentence.
“You’re an Exhauster.”
27Astrid
A voice is calling her. Saying her name over and over. Gentle hands stroke her face, her hair. She’s lying on something warm.Someonewarm.
“Astrid, can you hear me?” The fingers probe at her neck, checking her pulse. “Come on, Dimples. Open your eyes.”
She tries to remember where she is, but her head feels like it’s being pricked by dozens of tiny needles. It hurts to think.
“Astrid?” Zryan’s hand stills on her hair. She groans and slowly blinks open her eyes. She’s lying in the prince’s lap, her head in the crook of his arm as he cradles her. “Thank Arach. You scared the living shit out of me.”
“Astrid,” she mumbles.
“No,youare Astrid.” He sounds vaguely alarmed.
“You said my name.” Her voice is hoarse from screaming. “You’ve never called me by my name before.”
He adjusts slightly, keeping her tucked into him. “You almost died, but, sure, that’s what we should focus on.”
Almost died. Did she? She needs to sit up, but she can’t quite manage it. Plus, he smells so nice. Like a sea breeze and… maleness.
A deep laugh. “Maleness? That’s a first.”
