Page 80 of Merciless Is My Crown

Someone raised their hand over the crowd, finger pointing to the west, joined by another, the coven milling around in confusion, the buzz of conversation growing louder.

“What is that?” I breathed, my heart skittering.

The smudge on the horizon was little more than a murky shadow through the blowing snow, too fuzzy to make out any details even with my Fae eyesight, but it was big. Moving fast. Too fast to be a cloud, and my heartrate raced faster.

“Not Reapers, thank the gods,” Raziel murmured, Bella’s head snapping around, her eyes wide. “They’re in Caladrius, circling the skies above Tempeste,” he explained softly enough no one but Vepser could hear.

Then a golden owl sailed gracefully past Tristan’s gaping mouth, wings tipped to catch the sunlight as he made a long, taunting circle around the wyvern.

Tristan pulled back then snapped his head out, fast as a serpent’s, teeth clacking on empty air as Simon rolled and dove, heading straight for me. Tristan’s scales glistened as he uncoiled his powerful body and roared in protest as the owl landed on my outstretched arm.

“That was foolish, Simon.” I resisted the urge to run my hand over his head and see if those feathers were as soft as they looked. “Tristan could have eaten you in one bite. And for gods’ sake, don’t shift unless you have to. It’s seriously cold for nakedness, and these witches think we’re a strange bunch as it is.”

“I second that.” Raziel scowled, but behind his stern expression, relief shone in his eyes.

They were back.

The owl hooted softly, then we all caught our breaths as the shadowy smudge turned into something I’d only read about in books.

30

ANARIA

Ididn’t know where to look when Zephryn came into view, parting the wintery mists like waves in front of a ship’s prow, the boom of every powerful wingbeat thundering against the mountains.

He sailed toward us, wingspan so immense the tips almost brushed the canyon sides.

“Holy goddess,” Bella murmured, and her mother wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders as the dragon banked, following the same trajectory as Simon, tracing a lazy circle overhead.

“I’ll bet Tristan doesn’t try to eat him.” The owl hooted in agreement.

“We should probably clear a landing spot, which means everyone should get back inside.” Those heavy wings stirred up a cloud of blinding snow and the dragon wasn’t even close to the ground.

The coven scattered, most choosing to huddle against the walls of Stormfall to watch as Zephryn landed, blasting ice and snow against Raziel’s shield. Without it, we would have been knocked on our arses.

The dragon was a black, scaled behemoth. Where Tristan was lithe and sinuous, Zephryn was built for ramming and crushing. No less graceful, as his head swung in a wide arc to glare at the gaping witches, at least three times the size of Tristan and broader across the chest.

Torin slid down one side, legs crumbling beneath her when she hit the windswept ground. Simon was already gone, flapping up into the wind, a shrill keening cry trailing behind him.

Vesper’s eyes flared in horror then swung on me.

“That is the Fae King’s High Seer. Why is she here?” Bella hissed as some strange, new magic thrummed around us, Vesper and Bella’s fingers glowing blue. “You’ve betrayed us to the Fae.”

Raziel stepped between us. Even Dane had sensed the change in mood and was racing our way, Tristan roaring at Zephryn like he meant to take on a dragon thrice his size.

“You are in no danger. These are friends of ours,” I explained quickly. “Returning from freeing their friend from years of captivity.” The dragon stalked in a tight circle around Torin, baring fearsome teeth that made the wyvern’s look like kitchen knives.

The rest of the coven fled through Stormfall’s reinforced front doors, slamming them behind them.

“Torin was the High Seer of Tempeste,” I explained, ears popping from the force of their throbbing magic. “But for three hundred years she’s been working to overthrow the Fae King. She’s on our side.”

“My mother does not trust her. I do not trust her. She is the Oracle’s minion, last we heard,” Bella hissed, but after another of those silent conversations they spooled their magic back.

It was too soon to explain who the Oracle really was, so I gave them both a crooked smile. “I don’t exactly trust her either, no offense”—Raz huffed in agreement—“but she’s growing on me.”

“We are a bunch of unlikely allies, that is true,” Raziel explained, his eyes fixed on the dragon circling Torin like a protective watchdog. “But we are all on the same side at the moment, and if my years of combat have taught me anything, it’s to take help when it’s offered.”

“There is a war coming,” I explained to Bella and Vesper. “A war none of us will survive if we do not band together. That alliance is what we must decide.”

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