Page 133 of Madness of Her Mages

“Your mates?” His voice broke, panic puncturing his words. “You don’t understand. You’re all about to die.”

Venom shot into my veins as my heart pounded out a drum in my ears. “Get that ball out of here.” My siren voice dropped to a thunderous rumble. “Now!”

The Fae stumbled out of the barn, nearly bumping into Nikkos, who snarled at him, his hands bursting into flame.

I gasped when the Fae dodged Nikkos’s flame, yelping as it scorched his back.

“Do not touch him!” My siren voice barreled through me like a dragon’s roar. “Let him pass!”

Terror propelled my legs forward as I chased after the Fae, commanding the gathering throng of fire mages to clear a path. I tossed a look over my shoulder, relieved to see Blaze was there with Ember in his arms while Nikkos held Aurora. I spun back around, following the Fae as he cut a path through some grass around the stables, heading straight for a wooded area before stumbling up to a big, black wyvern hiding among the trees.

“Fly to the ocean, Beau!” the Fae cried as he mounted the beast. “Hurry!”

Shiri!Drae landed beside me.What’s happening?

Panic punctured my words. “Sound the alarm.”

“Why?”

I jutted a finger toward the Fae as his wyvern launched into the sky. “He brought a bomb into camp.”

“A bomb?” a familiar female voice boomed.

Bile raced up my throat as I turned toward my aunt, smoke curling from her fingers while she scowled at the retreating wyvern.

“Made of my sister’s magic,” I added, then cringed, knowing she would blame Tari for all of it.

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “Your sister tried to kill us all, even her children. If we ever had any doubts that she’s turned evil, now we know.”

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “Or else he brought the bomb into camp because she refused to attack us.”

She wagged a finger at my chest like she was scolding a child. “How did he extract the magic from her, Shirina?”

“I-I don’t know.” My voice faltered. She had a point, but I still refused to believe it. “Maybe she was tricked.” I recalled the look of shock on the silver-haired Fae’s face. “He didn’t know we were here. He wanted us to come with him.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Which way did he go?”

I motioned toward the direction the Fae had flown. “He’s flying toward the ocean.”

“What will happen if that bomb goes off in the ocean?” Nikkos asked.

Drae gritted his teeth. “It could create monster waves.”

Malovia turned to a gathering throng of fire mages behind her. “Alert the camp. We might need to fly.”

A crack of thunder rent the air, shaking the ground beneath us. I gasped when the midnight sky turned a blinding shade of white. Thousands of dragons launched from Caldaria, flying erratically through the air like a flock of birds fleeing a predator.

That white light pulsed like a living thing, and I knew that magic had come from my sister, for I swore I heard her voicecalling to me as it raced across the ocean, barreling toward the seawall that protected the Tribus Point from monstrous waves. It would destroy everything, all three cities, the armies, my mates, my nieces, my sister...

“Take to the air, everyone!” Malvolia hollered as Mortimus swooped down toward her.

Drae scooped me into his arms and shot into the sky with a roar. I gasped, squinting against the blinding white light while searching frantically for Nikkos, Blaze, and the girls among the horde of airborne fire mages.

“Blaze! Nikkos!” I screamed.

“Here!” I heard them call as they flew next to us, holding my frightened nieces in their arms.

“Follow me!” Drae said.

---