A beat.
Then one by one, dragons began to lift their heads.
And the voting began.
Chapter
Nineteen
The voices in my mind silenced all at once.
The buzz of thoughts, the current that had bound every dragon in the clearing was gone. I stood alone in that quiet, unnerved by the sudden stillness.Kaelith?I asked.
A faint hum answered, like static crackling against my thoughts.
What’s going on?
You’ve been removed from our communications,Kaelith said calmly, her tone unreadable.
What does that mean?
It means Siergen is communing with those not in the clearing,she replied, eyes on the distant peaks that rimmed the isle.The unbound. The wild. Those still considering whether this pact is wise.
I glanced around the gathering. The dragons were unnaturally still, like statues carved from ash and shadow.
Do you think it’ll take long?I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kaelith didn’t respond at first. Her gaze held the sky.
Then her wings unfurled, slow and deliberate. Her scales shimmered in the rising moonlight, streaks of violet catching silver.
We rise together,she said, the words heavy with finality,or we die as one.
My chest tightened.They agreed?
Yes,she said.But it was close.
I swallowed hard as she turned her head to look at me fully.
Get on my back, Ashe. I must return you to the Ascension Grounds. The unbound are not fond of riders remaining on the isle.
I nodded and moved quickly, scrambling onto her back, gripping the ridges at her neck.
The wind rushed over us as she leaped skyward, the gathered dragons watching with eyes like burning coals. We flew fast, her wings slicing through the darkness like blades.
Kaelith circled once, her wings cutting clean through the moonlight before lowering us to the quiet expanse of the Ascension Grounds.
Only one figure waited in the dark.
Remy.
He stood alone, arms crossed, the edge of his cloak rippling in the wind Kaelith stirred as she descended. His eyes never left me.
I slid from Kaelith’s back, my boots crunching against gravel. She took to the skies again without a word, her massive form swallowed by shadow. As soon as her wings vanished beyond the towers, Remy stepped forward.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
I didn’t stop walking. “There’s not much to say, Remy.”
