Dance of Wings, page 57
part #1 of The Dragon Portal Series
The mountain shook and trembled around them. A hole in the wall began to form. A large obsidian claw dug into the crack, widening it. A familiar golden eye peered inside and narrowed at the sight of them.
“Mine,” Darius said with a snarl.
“You weren’t invited to this party,” Malek said, swiping outward with his tail to suppress Typheron’s thrashing. He needed more room to maneuver. Then he would gladly tie Typheron’s tail into a knot, right before stuffing it up his ass.
“I invited myself,” Darius said and clawed at the wall, enlarging the hole. “He abducted MY new daughter. From my fucking home. You think I’m going to sit back and let you kill him without taking my pound of scales?”
“Fine. I’ll share.”
Malek reared back and shoved Typheron through the hole. The dragon screamed and tried to fly, but Malek and Darius both dove after him.
“You’re all mad!” Typheron shouted, his mental voice resounding in their heads. “I am a Triumvir! The head of my clan! You would choose a Tuatha Dé over your own kind?”
Nymira shot downward, a stunning emerald blur that streaked across the sky. Her sharpened tail whipped out lightning fast, striking against Typheron’s scales and injecting lethal poison beneath them.
She raked her talons across his back and said, “Tuatha Dé or not, she’s a beloved daughter of the Obsidian Clan. And you’re the bastard who cracked my new window!”
Malek exchanged a look with his father. Moving in tandem, they shredded Typheron’s wings and flayed the scales from his body. As Typheron’s lifeless body fell toward its watery grave to the ocean below, Malek watched in satisfaction as the Topaz Clan leader’s reign came to its final end.
As the water splashed upward, Malek flapped his wings and soared toward Ishu and his mate.
Raynor’s voice shouted in his head, “The chains are down! The bastards have blown up the chains from Direh. We’re losing Kavi!”
CHAPTER 58
Small rocks and dirt continued to fall from the ceiling, coating Sabine’s hair and skin. Jac may not have used an iron weapon on her, but it wouldn’t be long before she lost consciousness. She was already light-headed.
Sabine dug her fingers into the dirt, trying to rise above the pain and stabilize the mountain with her rapidly-depleting strength. It would be much easier to mend a dragon-sized hole in the middle of a mountain if she could reach for the land’s full strength. But the barrier between the land and sky was one her magic couldn’t breach. At least Malek had prevented them from being burned to a crisp by evicting Typheron.
Efa ran over to them and kneeled beside her. “How bad is she?”
Tristan placed his hands on Sabine’s stomach, his wings beating softly behind him. “I cannot stave off the blood loss for long. Our healers are either dead or too weak to aid her.”
Aeron cradled her in his arms. “Aderylin, we must get you to the temple.”
She shook her head, unwilling to break contact with the ground. “No. The mountain will collapse if I don’t hold it. Bane and Thalassa will get your people out. I just need to buy them enough time.”
Aeron exchanged a look with Tristan. “If the aderyan abandon Ishu, the rest of the Aeries will fall into the sea. The wingless do not possess the magic to keep the islands afloat.”
Efa straightened and glanced over her shoulder. “Jac and Winifred, we need to get upstairs and unchain the others.”
Jac shook his head, his arms wrapped around the dark-haired woman. “No good, Efa. Winifred can barely walk. I won’t leave her.”
Efa muttered a curse. “I’m a flier, not a swimmer. I’ll go save our people by myself.”
Tristan reached for her hand. “No, Efa. There is another way.”
Efa pressed her lips together and nodded. “So be it.”
“Bane can heal Sabine and then she can fix everything,” Blossom exclaimed, still in her pink dragon form. “Pixies, fan out! Find the hungry demon with the starfruit essence.”
The pixies squealed and a dozen tiny pink dragons darted in all directions, some going out the side of the mountain while others flew up the tunnel and into the main part of the prison.
“Demon?” Tristan asked, his brow furrowed.
Aeron nodded. “Our Aderylin calls many to her cause, including the demons and flutterfolk.”
“They could have picked a better glamour,” Efa muttered.
“Blossom is often full of surprises,” Sabine said, taking a shuddering breath as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She couldn’t even reach for Malek with her thoughts, or it might break the tie she had with the land. If she faltered, even for a moment, the mountain would bury them and any remaining captives.
She needed to hold out just a bit longer.
Efa spread her dusk-colored wings and said, “Take back your magic, Aderylin. Use the strength you gifted me to do what you must. I will act as part of the triad.”
“I offer mine as well,” Tristan said and spread his wings with a flourish. “Save our people, Aderylin. If the mountain goes, so do we. It will be my honor to act as part of the triad.”
Aeron’s wings flared out, surrounding her with their feathery softness. “If they provide you with their strength, I will hold the tether and complete the triad.”
Sabine wasn’t sure what he meant, but the other aderyan seemed to understand. Their power pulsed with every beat of their wings and spread over her like a cool breeze. Their strength merged with hers, and her weakness flowed to Aeron. Through the oath he’d sworn, they were bound together and their life force shared across the ether. Should she falter or die, Aeron would join her.
This was what it meant to be Aetherbound.
She hadn’t understood.
“I’ll do what I can,” Sabine said, pressing her hand against the ground. She closed her eyes, using her blood to strengthen her connection to the land. The song of the stone rose within her, its rumbling voice thudding within her like a second heartbeat.
Yet there was a hollow echo, where the mountain had been sundered and the protections ripped away. Pulling upward from the rock beneath them, she carefully shaped the stone until it nearly matched the resonance of the original song.
Something was missing.
Aeron opened his mouth and began to sing, his voice a melodious tenor that evoked images of the sky at dawn. She drifted upon the magic like a feather upon the wind, searching for something she couldn’t explain. Efa and Tristan’s voices joined Aeron’s, and their combined song added a richness and depth her magic lacked. Understanding intuitively what was missing from the mountain, Sabine wove the triad’s power through the stone.
The wall reformed and became whole, with an added layer that was derived solely from aderyan magic. The power itself should have been foreign to her, but she recalled the way she’d surrendered part of herself to give the aderyan back their wings. All magic came from the same place and required some sort of sacrifice.
It was born in the ether.
They had all sacrificed to make it theirs.
The aderyan understood the concept of balance far better than the fae.
Then again, they’d always been closer to the gods.
Sabine looked up into Aeron’s eyes, the barriers between them stripped away and their thoughts laid bare. He loved her, not as Malek did or even Bane, but rather with a quiet reverence their people had once shown the gods. His world had been nothing but darkness before she came. She was their Aderylin, their Divine Light who could cast her grace upon his people and share the light of her soul with them, or turn away and abandon them to the darkness once more.
He needed to be important to her to ensure his people were never forgotten again. He would be anything she needed or perform any task in the hopes his people wouldn’t be cast aside. Gods. Please don’t let them be forgotten again.
Sabine cupped Aeron’s face and kissed him softly. If she lived for eternity, she would never, or could ever, forget them.
Humbled beyond imagining and far weaker than she had been, she released the magic and collapsed in his arms. Dimly, she heard Malek’s voice calling out to her in warning, but the words floated away like feathers upon the wind.
And Aeron held her and wept.
The moment Sabine slipped away from him, Malek shot upward with a burst of speed. She was alive, but barely. Her life force was fading by the second.
He passed by the place where he’d thrown Typheron out of the mountain and mentally cursed. Sabine had already sealed the hole, or Malek would have gone back in the way he came out. She wouldn’t have wasted magic repairing it unless he’d given her no choice.
Malek rose to the top of the mountain and shouted, “Levin, get a healer down to the lowest level now! I’m losing her!”
“They’re working as fast as they can, Malek. She barricaded part of the mountain. If we blast through, we’ll collapse the tunnels. One wrong move, and we crush her instead of saving her.”
Malek snarled, eyeing the mountain for possible points of entry. He needed to find Thalassa. If she could reopen the secret entrance, he could reach Sabine quickly.
“Where’s Thalassa?”
“Inside the prison bringing out some of the captives. She’s the only one able to keep them calm. We were moving them to Kavi, but Raynor sent out the alarm. We’re evacuating the island. Dammit, Malek. What’s left of the Topaz and Garnet forces are converging on the last of the Kavi chains. They’re trying to take down the island, even without Typheron at the head. My mate is still over there.”
Malek was half-tempted to find Typheron’s corpse, reanimate him, and kill him all over again. “Find Linus. Typheron’s son is pulling the strings now. He’s as much a coward as the old man and is likely hiding somewhere on Ishu. We’ll get Esme out.”
From his vantage point, he spotted a large group of aderyan captives huddled together. Several wyverns were nearby standing guard but without some direction, their presence would likely cause more damage than help. In the distance toward Kavi, he caught sight of more aerial battles being fought.
His parents shot past him, cutting through the sky as they headed toward Kavi.
Malek reached for his sister with his thoughts. “Kaia, finalize the evacuation orders and leave Kavi immediately. I want a full squadron escorting you to Ishu. Bring Esme and Rika.”
“Already done, big brother,” Kaia said, exhaustion coloring her words. “We’re on our way, loaded up with supplies and healing tonics for the aderyan. Esme’s using some sort of witchy illusion to keep us out of the fighting. Rika’s still spitting out predictions. She says you need to get to Sabine right now. Tell her to remember the Huntsman’s warning.”
Malek turned and dove downward, following the slope of the mountain toward the hidden entrance Thalassa had shown them. He could always try to blast it open.
A tiny pink dragon shot upward in front of him and he jerked upright, halting in midair.
“You’re not the hungry demon!”
Malek blinked, unsure which of the pixies was addressing him. He huffed and shook his head no, annoyed by his inability to communicate.
“I need a hungry demon to heal Queen Sabine. Have you seen one? He smells like starfruit.”
Aha. Blossom sent out the recruits.
Malek nodded and pointed to the ground with his tail. He dove downward, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the pixie was following him. He landed outside of the prison entrance and transformed into his human form.
Several of the nearby aderyan gasped and moved away from him.
“Show me the fastest way to get to Sabine,” Malek said to the pixie. “I’ll see what I can do about healing her and getting you another sip of the starfruit essence.”
“This way! Come quick! I’ll show you right now!”
Malek darted after the pixie, determined to get to Sabine. At least this time, he didn’t need to worry about keeping his presence a secret.
CHAPTER 59
A cold, wet nose nuzzled her arm.
Sabine blinked open her eyes to stare up at a large golden hound peering down at her. “Basco? What are you doing here?”
He whined unhappily.
Bane lifted his hand from her abdomen, ignoring the three glittering pink dragons flying around him. “He was bringing us to you. A few more minutes, and even my efforts at healing you would have failed.”
One of the pixies sniffed at Bane. “He smells like starfruit.”
“Yum! Can we try licking him?”
Bane growled. Two of the pixies dove for cover behind a fallen rock.
The third pink dragon swished her tail and said in Blossom’s voice, “No licking demons! They’re like poisonous frogs. Sheesh.”
Bane narrowed his eyes on the hovering pink dragon. Blossom gave him a toothy dragon grin that was more than a little disturbing.
Sabine pressed her hand against her stomach, feeling the smooth skin beneath her fingertips. Bane’s healing hadn’t helped the exhaustion or weakness plaguing her, but at least she was alive.
Aeron helped her sit up, his soft wings brushing against her skin.
Lyra stood next to Basco, her hand buried in his thick golden fur. She tilted her head, watching Sabine with solemn eyes. Sabine sighed, unsurprised Lyra had found her way back down to the prison.
“It was risky coming down here again, Lyra. I thought you were going to remain on the surface with your mother and Thalassa.”
“I had to come.”
Sabine arched her brow. “Oh?”
Lyra nodded. “Basco said you needed me. I kept my magic small like you said.”
Sabine frowned and studied the hound. With the bond between him and Idola severed, Basco had apparently decided Lyra needed his protection. If Lyra was truly bound to Sabine, she would need such a stalwart defender. Although, she wasn’t sure how Lyra’s parents would feel about the hound.
Her gaze drifted to Tristan. He stared at his daughter as though memorizing every detail. Aeron touched Sabine’s arm and shook his head sadly. Sabine nodded in understanding. They needed to find a way forward and heal the rift Typheron had caused.
Lyra turned to Bane and held out a silver dagger. “Will you kill the one who hurt our Aderylin?”
Bane’s lips twitched as he took the dagger. “The little one is growing on me.” He held out his hand to Sabine and helped her rise to her feet. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill the talking turkey who stabbed you with your own blade.”
Jac cautiously approached them, his arm and wing wrapped protectively around the pregnant woman. She lifted her head wearily, the dark circles under her eyes a stark contrast against her pale and fragile features. Despite her exhaustion, there was an aura of peace that surrounded her as she leaned into Jac’s strength. He murmured something to her, his expression filled with love and tenderness.
Sabine kissed Bane’s cheek. “Because love should never be punished or used to manipulate. They’ve been through enough. I won’t put them through any more.”
Bane sighed. “You forgive far too easily.”
Blossom landed on Sabine’s shoulder and shed her pink dragon illusion. She sniffed and said, “I love it when those of us with wings get a happily ever after. Now we just need to find the last artifact.”
Lyra blinked at Sabine. “I will show you.”
Tristan cleared his throat and crouched beside Lyra. “You have seen it in visions?”
Lyra turned to him, her expression puzzled. She touched his face, running her small fingers over his cheek and across his nose. Tristan froze, remaining motionless as she traced the tattoo on the side of his head. She leaned back, her lower lip trembling slightly.
“D-Daddy?”
His eyes glimmered, and he nodded.
Lyra threw her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. “I dreamed of you. You sang to me before I left.”
He hugged her tightly, his wings surrounding them. “I sang to both you and your mother in Belon. Every night. Even when I thought you could no longer hear me.”
Basco whined and nudged Lyra.
She sniffed and looked over at the hound. “I have to go find it.”
“You’re talking about the artifact?” Sabine asked.
Lyra nodded. “The dragon was hiding the treasure. Basco says I need to show you where before it’s too late. The chains are breaking.”
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
The Huntsman’s words replayed in Sabine’s mind. She turned to Aeron and asked, “Were the chains that tie the islands together always part of the Aeries? Or were they created by the dragons after they claimed this land as theirs?”
“They were a creation of the dragons,” Aeron said, his gaze darkening. “When our numbers and magic dwindled, the dragons forged the chains to extend our magic beyond normal boundaries. In exchange for keeping the islands afloat, they demanded a tribute from the other dragon clans.”
“How many clans knew of your suffering? How many of them turned a blind eye to your plight?”
Aeron hesitated. “If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said nearly all. I no longer believe that to be true.”
Efa gaped at him. “You can’t be serious. You think some were ignorant of our suffering?”
Aeron turned back to Sabine and said, “Malek’s surprise was genuine, Aderylin. I do not believe he could have deceived you. I heard rumors over the years that I dismissed, but now I wonder if the Topaz and Ruby Clans kept our presence quiet to further their own ambitions and wealth. The Garnet Clan knew, and their tribute amount was offset in exchange for overseeing the prisons.”
“Other islands existed before the portal was sealed,” Tristan said. “Their names have been lost to us, but the dragons allowed them to fall as a reminder of what would occur should they fail to offer tribute.”
Efa crossed her arms over her chest. “Or maybe it was because they’d killed too many of us to keep the other islands in the air.”
