“I’m sorry,” I said, searching her ember eyes. “I don’t know what you want.”
“She’s trying to tell you something.” Rivelin stepped closer as the dragon edged back, and he started to lift up my tunic.
Heart pounding, I caught his arm. “Now?We’re out in the open in the middle of the day, and there is a dragon standing right there.”
“Daella, my love,” he said in a low, velvety caress. “Let me see your hip.”
Rivelin lifted the tunic and gently pushed down the waistband of my trousers, exposing my scar. It was still there, of course, puckered and pink. The ice shard was embedded just beneath the skin, but—I gasped. It no longer glowed with the pale blue light of Isveig’s power.
“I knew it. No wonder Aska was so eager to obey you. At some point, she must have bonded with you,” Rivelin said, smiling wider than I’d ever seen before. “Her magic, it’s counteracted the shard. You don’t have to worry about the emperor anymore. You’re free, Daella. You’re fucking free.”
Free.
Emotion swelled in my chest. Swallowing hard, I gazed at Aska, almost afraid to believe it could be true. But the dragon bowed her head, purring. And that was when I remembered. There had been a moment in the forest when I’d first climbed onto her back. Unrelenting magic had rushed through me, potent and all-consuming. The heat had been exhilarating. We must have bonded then.
I shuddered at the thought, unable to hold back the intoxicating relief that flooded through my veins like strands of fire.
Unbidden tears streaked down my cheeks as I turned to face Rivelin. He was staring at me with such open adoration that every last remaining defense inside me shattered like glass.
I leapt into his arms, sobbing.
That was when the screaming began.
37
DAELLA
Rivelin and I broke apart and took off down the winding road. The screams were coming from the festival on the outskirts of the village, and it would take us at least a few minutes to get there. I didn’t want to think about what those screams might mean.
Had something gone wrong with my wish? Had I asked the wrong thing of the island? Or worse, had it rejected me because I was only Rivelin’s assistant and not Rivelin himself?
We finally reached the edge of the meadow and started down the hill when a line of ice giant warriors shifted into view. They were all armed with deadly spears and protected by thick leathers, the shoulders engraved with the wolf sigil of the Grundstoff Empire.
Isveig’ssigil.
I choked out a cry and stumbled to a stop, taking in the sheer number of them. There were at least a hundred warriors…though I would have expected more from all those ships. Still, a hundred was more than enough to conquer this island. My plan had failed. Instead of protecting Wyndale, I had doomed them.
“Daella!” a voice called out from somewhere near the merchant stalls. A familiar voice. A friendly voice.
With my heart in my throat, I turned toward the sound. Thuri was bounding toward me, her pale blue braid thumping against her back. She wore a smile and carried a tankard of Lilia’s famous ale. In her hands, it looked quite small.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at her, as if she were an apparition come to haunt me. How was she here? And where was Isveig?
“Daella,” she said again when she reached me. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
The world seemed to shudder back to life around me, sights and smells and sounds all at once. It was then I noticed the screaming had stopped and the babble of conversation trickled through the festival like a pleasant stream. The merchants were cooking up some food for the evening, and the crowd was milling about as if nothing unusual was happening at all, let alone the arrival of a hostile empire. Even the ice giants looked relaxed, standing around and watching the festival with blatant curiosity.
I blinked. “I am, Thuri. Thank fate you’re alive, but…what’s happening? Aren’t those Isveig’s warriors?”
“Ah. No.” She grinned. “They’re mine!”
I clutched her arm. “Do you mean to tell me you took them from him?”
“I took everything from him,” she said with a conspiratorial wink. “After I got your letter, I decided it was time to do something about my brother’s monstrous rule, and there was far more support for me than I’d ever dreamed. It did not take much convincing for me to gather enough fighters to stage a revolt. They thought the Old Gods were making a statement by saving me. And so, here I am. Meet the new Empress of the Grundstoff Empire.”
I laughed, delight chasing away the tension in my body. “I knew you could do it, Thuri. The empire will be far better off with you in charge.”
“Apparently so. Even the elements are in agreement. Do you know that endless cloud finally dispersed? It drifted off as soon as I locked Isveig in the dungeons.”
