I could barely breathe. My muscles were trembling as I lay on my back, gasping for air, while molten rock slowly cooled around me. The magma returned to its slow roiling, the destructive power no longer threatening to erupt. Mlot had truly lost, and for the first time since fighting this war, I found a semblance of peace.
It didn’t last long, though.
‘Reynard. Thank you.’ Tova’s voice was barely above a whisper. I didn’t answer, even as his footsteps approached. ‘You alright? Please tell me you’re alright.’ Tova leaned over me, frantically shaking my shoulders. ‘Motherfucker, say something. Sana’ll kill me if something happens to you!’
The sheer panic on his face sent me into a fit of laughter. My Roksana, a woman who barely reached my shoulders and whose open, innocent smile lulled so many into thinking she was a gentle soul, scared two adult men out of their boots.
‘You and me, Tova. You and me. We’re so alike, both fearing the one we love.’ I dragged myself up, cursing when pain shot through my spine and my hands. Those who believed the berserker felt no pain during battle never realised what he feltafter. I’d lost myself in the Wild Magic twice today, and my body was a mess of torn muscles, pulled tendons, and still-bleeding cuts. ‘Please tell me that’s the end of it. I have nothing left to give.’
Tova’s eyebrows rose, and he pulled away with a shrug. ‘Your clothes are burned.’ He pointed down to my exposed legs, the trousers a tattered ruin, the skin dirty from soot and smudged with molten rock. ‘I thought you’d lost your mind when you stepped into the lava and grabbed the chain. How in Svarog’s arse is that even possible?’
‘Dragon magic,’ I answered shortly. Out of options, I reached for a scroll to cover myself when heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber.
‘Since when do you have dragon magic?’ Tova’s face was a mask of surprise before mischief took over. ‘Does Sana know?’
‘No, and you won’t tell her,’ I said, wrapping the scroll around my hips. ‘How the fuck will we explain what happened here?’
Tova smirked before pointing to the corridor we’d come from. ‘You just tell her the Beast of Dagome saved the dwarves.’ He approached the nearest table, picking through a stack of notes. After a few moments, he smiled and stuffed them into his vest. ‘That’s what happened. There is no need to explain the pressure, the valves, or any of the things us dwarves did to tame Wiosna Mountain. All that matters is the War King’s courage and mercy, and that he saved us all.’
He was so serious, putting a hand on his chest and bowing low. I couldn’t stand it. ‘Tova… I did what I had to do, but it was you who led your men to the throne room and knew how to stop the eruption.’ I smiled, coming closer. ‘I should bow to you.’
He shook his head. ‘It should’ve been done a long time ago. I let the evil of a broken mind fester. Today, I fixed my mistake. I’m relieved, but it doesn’t make me a hero.’
‘I disagree, my friend,’ I said gently, unsure how to convince him he deserved this recognition.
‘So, I’m a friend of the king now?’ he asked, tugging at his slightly singed moustache.
‘You are the brother of the queen. What do you think?’ I answered, and his eyes widened so much that his eyebrows disappeared into his hair.
‘Lada, save us; does Sana know… No, don’t tell me. Just promise I can be there when you tell her. Gods, her expression will be…’ His mood shifted, and he laughed, slapping his thigh. And just like that, I wanted to throw the annoying bastard into the lava.
It was Ivar who saved him, gasping as he entered the chamber. ‘Sire, we … What happened to your clothes?’
Chapter 27
Reynard
Iemerged from the dwarven mines only to be blinded by the light of the setting sun. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts, to settle the maelstrom of emotion roiling in my chest.
I’d watched Mlot’s body be ripped to pieces by his own people. I’d sat back and let it happen, but he’d deserved it. The familiar feelings demanded my attention: guilt for surviving, elation at winning against the odds, anger at the deaths of my soldiers and innocents. It was a mess, but over the years, you learned to face each one and accept them.
‘At least this matter can be put to rest,’ I muttered, focusing my mind on the future.
That lasted all of three steps when a roar shook the mountain, deafening me, and a crimson shadow blotted out the sun.
‘Reynard!’
Once the ringing in my ears abated, I recognised the voice in my head repeating its call. The beast was magnificent. His scales gleamed in the twilight, cinnabar struck through by veins of pure gold. His wings extended high above my head until he folded them, tucking the vast membranes to his sides.
I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes, mesmerising, beautiful orbs that contained the fire of the gods. He stared back, golden irises expanding, radiating such fury that I took a step back, unsure of my safety. The massive muzzle hovered in front of me, lips rising, uncovering a row of sharp teeth and the furnace behind them.
‘Are you trying to end your miserable life, King of Dagome? Is it your intention to break the tether connecting us? If you crave fire so much, then let me give it to you.’ His muzzle opened, and burning saliva dripped onto the cobbled street.
‘Stand down!’ I shouted as the sound of dozens of swords leaving their scabbards echoed off the mountainside.
I stepped closer to the dragon. Cinared was bigger than Vahin, and my brother’s companion was the largest dragon I’d ever seen. He was also the angriest, and I’d witnessed Vahin threaten the Dark Fae Empress. Still, beneath the menacing tone, there was an undercurrent of fear, worry, and… affection?
Images assaulted my mind. Countless visions of my body buried under the srebrec and rock, Cinared frantically trying to dig me out. He couldn’t stand it. Not so soon after finding me, of being needed, of no longer being alone in the vastness of the heavens.
