CHAPTER 44
LUKAS
When the cuff clicked unlocked, Arenn was fast, but I was faster. The thorny stems that burst up from the ground were immediately smothered by my roaring dragon. She charged across the ground, taking out each plant before it grew and leaving a trail of shredded green leaves behind her.
Arenn shoved away from me. “You really think that beast will be enough to save you?” he sneered.
“No.” I pushed up from the stone floor, my fingers crackling with power. “But I have more than just a water dragon.” Grey mist exploded from my hands as I thrustedthem towards the ceiling.
It was just like my aunt had taught me. High above, the mist gathered and swirled, growing darker with each ominous rumble of thunder.
“Stop that,” Arenn snarled as faeries panicked around us.
I glanced over to check on Naria. She was still standing by the river, her beautiful eyes fixed on the rolling storm above. A safe distance away. That was all that mattered.
Arenn summoned up another dozen plants, but they were washed away within seconds by my dragon.
“I’d run if I were you,” was all the warning I gave him, before a bolt of lightning struck inches from his boots.
Yelping, he scrambled up from the floor. My dragon charged after him, nipping at his heels. Another bolt of lightning cut off his path, but before my dragon could drown him, Arenn dropped to the ground and slammed his palms against the stone.
The entire cave shook. I summoned a lightning bolt, aimed right at his panting form. Just before it struck, a huge tree sprung up beside him, swallowing up the lightning bolt in its branches and forcing it towards a nearby wedding guest.
I stumbled back. Several more trees broke through the stone floor – all too thick for my dragon to destroy.
A familiar scream whipped my head to the side. Naria had been swept up by one of the trees. I raced towards her as she tumbled through the branches, her white puffy gown ripping as she fell.
“I’ve got you!” My body slammed into hers, catching her before she hit the ground. Scratches covered her now-bareshoulders and thighs, but otherwise she was unharmed, alive. “I’ve got you,” I said again. My chest heaved as I inhaled her familiar scent.
How could I have let him take her from me? I did nothing to stop him.Nothing. When all along, I had this power – power that had always been drawing me to her, begging me to protect her.
“I’ve been such a coward.” I brushed my fingers along her arm.
She tilted her head, studying me while one thought raged in my mind: I wasn’t that coward any more.
Behind us, my dragon roared in warning. I barely had a chance to push Naria to safety before thorny vines sliced along my back. Hissing in pain, I narrowly avoided a second whip of vines. But any pain I felt turned to molten rage when a few stray thorns struck Naria across her face.
“You hurt her!” I spun around to charge towards Arenn. He now stood between the trees, a menacing grin on his jaw.
“You’ll hurt her even more if you use that lightning again,” Arenn warned, summoning more vines from the ground. “I’ll make the trees send it right to her heart.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I growled.
“Wouldn’t I?” He chuckled darkly. “Her wounds can be healed. I’ll have my sister fix most of the damage, then I’ll keep her in my bed and tend to her each day.” He stepped closer as my lip curled in disgust. “After a while, she might even start to enjoy being there. I wouldn’t let her leave my bedchamber unsatisfied.”
“You bastard!” Fists swinging, I leapt towards him. Arenn’s vines charged forwards to meet me.
Bare fists clashed against razor sharp leaves. My dragon soon joined the fight, swallowing as many plants as she could, but it was difficult for her to weave around the thick tree trunks.
A stray vine wrapped around my foot, throwing me to the ground. I groaned in pain. Intense power thrummed in my fingers – power I could no longer use because of those damned trees.
Snarling, I pushed myself up. But then the buzzing in my hands became a thrum. It didn’t feel like lightning anymore. It felt stronger. Much more powerful than the simple storms I’d managed to summon with my aunt.
Heart racing, I yelled to my dragon, “Protect Naria!”
She obeyed immediately, diving off behind me.
“There’s nothing you can do to save her,” Arenn laughed. “Rain clouds alone can’t hurt me.”
