Page 7 of Mantle

“I’m not gonna leaveyouin an incapacitated state.”

“It’ll be a few days at the most for me to recover.”

“I know how much you hate feeling weak. It’s already happened to you, one of your worst fears, when you were hit with that Celestial infection. You’re not gonna suffer through that again. No more than you’ve already endured by saving my life tonight.” He gestured around. “Fortunately, there’s a way that can restore us both without worsening things.”

I took in our surroundings, the jagged cliffside he’d brought us to.

The sheer immensity of what it truly was hit me.

We were on the side of a volcano, its monstrous black peak further up lost in a swirl of ash clouds. Lava streamed in distant rivers down its scorched flanks, veins of molten red cutting through the black like open wounds. Jagged spires of ebony jutted out from the cracked terrain around its base, remnants of eruptions frozen mid-stream.

The air was thick with heat and sulfur. I’d thought the strain of my breathing had been caused by the weakness currently besetting me, but it was a combination of the scent of fire and ash as well.

“Krestaz,”I breathed. “The largest volcano on the mortal plane.”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“I recognized this as the site of the meeting space that Malrik and Draco used. It makes sense, considering Malrik was trying to keep their affair off the Dracoryn Realm’s radar. The lava… it blocks dragon-scenting. They wouldn’t have been able to track him here.”

“How does that help us? You believe there is some residual draconic magic here that you can draw on?”

He stepped toward a blackened ledge, his boots crunching on ash. “Malrik was in grave danger at the time, the time when he washereat this specific site. When dragons believe themselves to be in that situation, especially one as powerful as Malrik was, they have been known to store some of their fire. With our blood connection, I can use it, draw it into myself, use it to bolster meandto revitalize mine—a kickstart to it, basically. Then I can return your magic to you without risking my life.”

“Fuck. I know that’s the last thing you want after you saw what he did, how he betrayed the Dracoryn Realm so horrifically, and how he infected your bloodline and altered your fate in the process, how he forced this upon you.” I pushed to my feet, staggering in the process. So much so that it had him spinning back to me. I held up my hand, discouraging him from lending me his support again. I could manage it, and I needed him to concentrate on hearing me right now. “I don’t need you to do this. I can deal with the weakness for a little while. There’s a lot I can investigate and research for us without my magic.”

“There isn’t time for you to endure being without your magic, Kai.”

“What?”

He winced. “You can’t feel it because your magic isn’t with you.”

“Feel what?”

“As soon as we passed back onto this plane, I felt something. I guess, employing another Celestial ability with my Command of Beasts back there made me more open to the rest, and I was able to access my Rift Vision. It kind of slammed into me, actually, once we passed back onto this plane.”

“Your ability to see between weak points in the realms and shifts to the balance.”

“Exactly. This, that I felt, it was a shift in the balance. A massive one.”

“Ari,” I choked.

“That was my first thought, too.”

“Just before I took off to aid you, Cornelius felt a disruption as well.”

“Motherfucker, this is fucking bad then. I tried to reach out to Ariana via our mind-link, but there was some sort of blockage. I couldn’t get through at all. And… my dragon senses… they’re not working. Not until I restore myself in a draconic-based way, not via the fueling of my strength with your power. Andyoucan’t track her until you have your magic back.” He laid his hand on my shoulder. “We don’t have a choice. This needs to be done, Kai. And I’m willing to do it. It’s okay.I’mokay with it.” His eyes flickered. “Ariana could be in severe danger. She needs us. She needs us ASAP.”

“Get us inside there now.”

He nodded, then swept us up in another cloud of teleportation.

We rematerialized a moment later inside a space that was very familiar thanks to the Stone of Recollection memories.

My boots skidded slightly on the blackened stone. The molten veins etched into the black walls pulsed faintly, a reminder of the volcano’s power. The air tasted like metal and magic, sending a shiver through me. It was hot, making me sweat within seconds of being inside the chamber.

I hung back, slapping my hand to one of the rough walls, carefully avoiding the lava veins, as I watched V stride to the center of the space where a raised platform jutted out from the rock.

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