After a few peaceful moments that warmed not just my body but my heart, I smiled. ‘Can you take me to the edge of the swamp?’ I asked, gathering my things and pulling the cloak from the nest. The creature observed me, quiet and unmoving, the unflinching focus of its golden eyes prickling my unease.
‘If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but I have to go. My family is waiting for me,’ I said with a deep sigh, walking towards the entrance.
The bies followed me. The massive beast, whose antlers kept catching the tree roots above us, followed me, crying its distress when I stepped into the open. Dark shadows swept across the sky, creating a gust of wind that was so powerful it bent the treetops.
‘What the…’ I crouched, shielding my eyes. Hackles raised, the bies rushed in front of me. Its roar, deep and powerful, bellowed a challenge as it pawed the ground. The creature backed up, trying to force me back into the lair.
‘No, you hide. I can sneak out. I can’t… Stop it,’ I said, standing my ground while it kept nudging me backwards, nearly knocking me onto the ground. Shadows swooped past again, sending my beast into a frenzy. I couldn’t see, trapped between the roots and the bies’ body. After another roar, hackles trembling with rage, the creature lowered its antlers, preparing to charge, but I couldn’t even see an enemy.
Then came the pull in my chest, sharp and familiar. It wasn’t exactly pain, but the sensation of something yanking at my aether, fighting my magic as if forcing it to reveal its secrets.
‘What the f–’ I gasped, pressing on my sternum, right before a stream of fire engulfed the ground, turning the frozen swamp into a wetland dotted with sparkling water and burning branches.Dragon? Rarog? Why are we being attacked?
There were few species that could fly and rain fire, but none of them liked swamps, and only two were brave enough to attack a bies.It’s a rarog; it has to be. A dragon wouldn’t attack unprovoked, whilst rarogs burned anything and everything, feeding on the fiery destruction. But the pull…
I was barely able to think when whatever tethered my soul grew stronger, expanding, searching, threatening to steal my breath away. Another stream of fire followed, and the bies howled, its fur smoking, singed by the heat.
I pushed him away hastily, tracing the sigil for water, directing the stream first over my beast then straight into the sky. If I was right and the monstrous firebirds were attacking us, I had plenty of water in this forsaken swamp to fight them.
‘Show yourself, you bastards. Show yourself, so I can drown your flaming arses in the mud!’ I shouted, holding the bies’ fur while I directed a vortex of icy water into the heavens. The shadows were returning, but I couldn’t make much out in the blazing sunlight, just the dark shape of a wing, large and leathery, when it glided across the sun.
My enemy swooped down, rapidly approaching our position. The spell I held fell apart when I saw it, a scaled terror ruling the sky in all its glory.
I was fighting a dragon.
And that was a fight I could never win.
Chapter 39
Roksana
What’s going on? How is this happening?
The bies refused to let me pass, each attempt to move forward ending with me closer to the den. Still, if I couldn’t see, how could I understand why a creature of the mountain heights was hunting in the frozen swamp? In an act of pure madness, I climbed onto his back. Now, I was sitting on the monstrous beast like a child on their first pony.
‘Roksana, get away from it! What are you doing?’ My jaw dropped at hearing the one voice I could recognise anywhere. Frantically, I searched the sky until I saw him, Reynard, the Berserker King of Dagome, riding the biggest dragon I’d ever seen. He was waving furiously for me to move, while the dragon swept the treetops. His wings held in position, jaws apart, an ominous glow building in his maw, but all I could see was the man on top of the beast.
‘Reynard?’ I whispered, blinking rapidly. It was him, black armour and all. My heart stuttered almost to a halt when sudden relief washed over me. I couldn’t relax just yet; my bestial mount was still agitated, pawing the frozen ground, ready for battle.
‘No,’ I said, pulling on the fur, my heels squeezing his side with all my strength. The bies turned his massive head, eyes staring with confusion and warning. I patted its shoulder, muttering soft platitudes. I almost had him calmed until a gust of wind dragged his attention back to the enormous crimson beast, now landing at the bottom of the hill. To make it worse, Reynard drew his sword, sliding off the dragon’s back, and charged at the bies, shouting my name.
‘Reynard, stop!’ I shouted back, grasping the beast’s antlers when it lowered its head to confront the blade. They were sharp as spears, the lethal edges cutting my skin, but I didn’t care. If I couldn’t stop the clash between the berserker and the bies, one of them would die.
My gaze landed on the dragon, who observed the scene, the vertical pupils narrowed to a slit. He didn’t join the fight; if anything, he took a step back, the intensity of his gaze almost burning a hole in my skull.
‘Help me,’ I mouthed, hoping he would understand. He didn’t move, and there was no time left to think. Reynard was too close. The bies lowered its head further, almost throwing me off its back. Instinct took over as my magic flared to life. Emerald strands dug into the ground, and the roots of the ancient oak sprang from the frozen earth, wrapping around both fighters’ legs and dragging them to a halt.
Is that enough? It had to be enough. If I could only talk to him…
‘Rey, stop! Please, stop! I’m safe!’ I shouted, hoping my voice would break through the berserker’s rage. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I begged all the gods, above and below, for mercy. I didn’t want this kind beast to die because of me. Still, if I had to choose…
‘Please stop,’ I whispered, fighting back tears. Reynard shook his head, hesitation flashing in his eyes. His gaze darted betweenthe bies and me, slowly realising I was sitting on top of the monster, struggling to keep it still. However, I was slowly losing the battle. My hands were slick with blood and covered with shallow cuts. My magic was slipping away, the snare weakening with each passing heartbeat.
I released the antlers, letting my body slide off bies’ shoulders. With shaking hands, I reached for my belt, grasping the poison a moment before the dragon’s roar shook the swamp forest. Both Rey and the bies turned to look at him, and I took it as my chance.
My knees buckled, sending me to the ground, and I kneeled in front of the beast, reaching for its bovine-shaped head and crooning. ‘It’s alright; he won’t hurt you. I’m safe. You kept me safe.’ My words, but even more, the soft hum of my mother’s song, soothed the rage in the monster’s gaze. His eyelids closed as he listened, exhaling puffs of warm air into my hand. He was calm, enchanted by a Vila’s song. Now, I needed to face the king.
When I turned, Reynard was standing there, utterly still, with only a muscle twitching in his jaw. If not for that, he could’ve been mistaken for a statue. His eyes still burned with golden fire, his berserker fury barely restrained, but he wasn’t fighting. He just looked at me with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. One wrong move, one threatening gesture, and his control would snap.
