Page 94 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

Just as I was about halfway back, a cream-colored dragon flew over my head, talons descending. I called my magic and sent a stream of water from the palm of my free hand into the dragon’s underbelly. I didn’t know what I expected, but clearly the only thing water hindered was their fire. Not their large, strong bodies.

The dragon shook itself, reminding me of Nightbane, and lowered toward the ground. I swung the sword, aiming for the tips of its talons. All I needed was to make them bleed.

Then, suddenly, the dragon moved a few inches behind me, and I realized its intent.

It wanted to damage my wings, so I couldn’t fly.

Jerking downward, I spun around and swung the blade at the talons. The dragon threw its head back and roared. Crimson blood shot from the wounds, covering my face and chest. The stench of fire grew even stronger, as if their blood smelled of it as well. I spun around, allowing it to splash my backside, and began flying once more.

My whole world stopped when I noticed Eiric running toward me out of the chaos. Her hair was tangled and her eyes bloodshot as she took me in.

“Lira, you’re safe.” She hurried to me.

I landed before her, looking over my shoulder to find five more dragons racing our way.

“You need to fly home.” I didn’t understand why she was still here. “They threatened to kill you—it’s not safe for you here.”

She shook her head. “I’m not strong enough to fly, and I’m not leaving you or Pyralis here.”

My head jerked back. “Pyralis?”Holy crap. Please don’t tell me she has Stockholm syndrome.

What does that even mean?Tavish replied, making me realize that I had unintentionally spoken to him.

I didn’t want to bring up what she’d said, so I changed the subject.I’m with Eiric. She’s too weak to fly.I glanced up through the dragons to see Tavish fighting alongside Father and Mother. Mother was using her wind magic to knock dragons back while Father kept bending the earth to his will. Impressive though it was, they wouldn’t be able to continue this much longer because we weren’t on Seelie land.

We had to get leverage, but how? The dragons had clearly been prepared.

“Here, I’ll carry you.” I held out my arms, hoping that I’d still be able to fight while holding Eiric’s weight. “I’ll just need you to hold on to me tight.”

“Listen to me—the only way we’re going to get out of this is Pyralis. We need him.” Eiric stared into my eyes, the emerald in hers darkening as she pleaded.

I shook my head. “E, that’s heading toward more dragons. We need to get away.”

“Lira, listen—” she started, but the roar of the dragon behind me had me spinning around to face my enemy.

All five of them were descending upon me, the injured dragon flying to the right, glaring at me.

Knowing that I couldn’t carry Eiric and move fast enough, I stood there, feet shoulder-width apart, prepared to fight once more. I couldn’t allow them to pin me down.

Then I took off, the adrenaline coursing through my body, helping take the edge off my pain. The first dragon was smaller, which I hoped meant that it wasn’t as tough of a fighter. I’d never fought a dragon before, but I would have to figure it out on the fly. Remembering how Tavish had killed the dragon in Cuil Dorcha, I decided to start by aiming for its neck.

The first dragon was on me, its pale-yellow scales reflecting the moonlight. I pretended to fly downward like I was going underneath it to get it to move along with me. As soon as Iwatched it dive toward the yellowing grass, I tilted my wings and flew up, stabbing the blade through its neck. At first, the sword met resistance, but I strained and pushed it in farther and out the other side, blood squirting all over me, even into my mouth.

The blood tasted like ash. I spat, trying to get the nasty taste out of my mouth, just as the second and third dragons attacked me from both sides. Their eyes were wide with rage. I tried to yank the sword from the other dragon’s neck, but it was stuck.

I wasn’t going to get it out in time. If they didn’t tear me apart, there was still no way I would get free. My heart sank.

I needed help.

32

TAVISH

My heart had never felt so frigid before. Being so far away that I couldn’t protect Lira once again made me feel entirely helpless.

Every time I tried to fly toward her, another blasted dragon got in the way. The only redeeming thing was that she’d gotten away from Pyralis, but five shifted dragons flew after her.

She’d just stuck a sword through the one dragon’s neck, completely unaware that the other four were ready to attack. They’d be on her in seconds, and I was still too far away.

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