Page 55 of Lightningborn

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

Remy had thought he was dead.

The wind shrieked in his ears, stinging his eyes and tearing at his clothes as he fell. Around him, he caught flashes of debris tumbling with him: chunks of wood, broken planks, pieces of ships, all spinning lazily toward the huge swirling mass below. The Vortex howled, lightning flashing in its depths, a gaping maw ready to swallow him whole. For a moment, Remy wondered how it would end; would he be disintegrated by lightning, be turned into something horrific and monstrous, or just keep falling until he hit whatever lay beneath the Maelstrom?

If therewasanything beneath the Maelstrom. No one knew what lay below the storm. Maybe he would just keep falling forever.

Storm. I’m so sorry.Twisting in midair, Remy searched for his dragon. Storm had wings, of course, but he was still too young to fly. He would fall as well, and there was nothing Remy could do to stop it.

He saw him then, several feet overhead. The hatchling was tumbling through the air, spinning head over tail, a speck of brightness against the void of the Vortex. Remy saw him try to flap his wings, to fly as he must’ve known he was meant to do. But he continued to plummet, and around him, strands of purple flickered ominously through the darkness. Almost as if they were following the dragon as he tumbled through the sky.

Faster than thought, a strand of lightning lashed out from the clouds and struck the hatchling dead-on. Remy gave a wordless cry, but his voice was drowned out by the Vortex and he couldn’t even hear himself. Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision as he watched Storm continue to drop, barely visible now through the swirling clouds.

Another fork of lightning lashed out and struck the dragon, but this one didn’t immediately vanish. More strands appeared, attaching themselves to Storm, until the dragon resembled a glowing ball in the center of a flickering web. As Remy watched, the dragon drew farther and farther away, seemingly frozen within the lightning web. Until he was nothing but a speck against the darkening sky, and lost from view.

Remy felt numb, and not from the icy wind freezing the tears to his cheeks. His dragon was gone. Storm had been special, a True Dragon, maybe the first hatchling to ever rise above the Maelstrom. He had trusted Remy; Remy had promised to keep the dragon safe, and he had failed. And now they would both perish in the Maelstrom.

Remy slumped, not even feeling the cold wind anymore. He had lost his dragon, but at least in a few moments, it wouldn’t matter. The roar of the Maelstrom was deafening. Chunks of wood and other debris spun around him, and lightning seared the air, so bright it was nearly blinding. Remy covered his face and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that—however it happened—the end would be quick.

Hang on, Remy!

The voice flashed through his head, so fast he thought he had imagined it. Cracking an eyelid, he peeked through his fingers and saw two pinpricks of purple light coming toward him through the darkness. The spots grew brighter, brighter…

And then a dragon exploded through the darkness and swooped toward him.

Remy’s mouth fell open. It was Storm, only…bigger.Not as large as a True Dragon, but bigger than Cloud. He had the same deep blue scales, the same silvery mane, the same lightning-shaped stripes down his back and wings. Those wings were certainly much larger now; Remy felt the wind buffet him as the dragon dove past. Now beneath Remy, Storm flared his wings, hovering in midair, and Remy braced himself as he dropped onto the dragon’s back. His arms encircled the dragon’s neck, and he squeezed with his legs as Storm gave a bellow of defiance and surged into the air, flying up toward the edge of the Vortex.

Shaking, Remy sat up, watching ship chunks drop past them, watching the rise and fall of the dragon’s lightning-marked wings.

“Is this real?” he whispered. “Am I dreaming?”

Storm looked back at him, the expression on his reptilian face one of amusement and exasperation. It was that look, instantly familiar and completely Storm, that told Remy that he wasn’t dreaming. That he was on his dragon’s back, and somehow, impossibly, Storm had become the size of an adult dragon.

But they weren’t safe yet.

Above them the clouds parted, and theWindsharkloomed overhead, grinning and ominous against the sky. In the distance, Remy could also see theQueen’s Bladecircling awkwardly with its shredded wing.

“Cutlass is still there,” Remy muttered. “She hasn’t left yet. That’s means Gem and Bart must still be on theWindshark. With Jhaeros.” He clenched his fists in Storm’s mane. “They must be in trouble! Let’s go, Storm!”

Storm let out a bugle, making Remy jump with how loud the dragon’s voice was now, and flapped his wings, surging up toward the enemy ship. As they rose toward the hull, Remy saw flashes of lightning coming off the deck, and his stomach clenched. Rising above the side of the ship, he looked down and saw Gem sitting against the railing, looking hurt and scared. Jhaeros stood in front of her, arm raised, his eyes glowing with power. The mage dropped his arm, gazing up at Remy and Storm, and his face went slack with shock.

“A…True Dragon,” he whispered. “At last, one has appeared. Your power will be mine!”

Raising his hand again, he sent a streak of lightning at the dragon, and the bolt slammed directly into Storm’s chest. Storm bellowed, and Remy cried out as crackling strands crawled over the dragon’s body. But they didn’t seem to hurt him. They crawled over his scales, buzzing and flickering wildly, and sizzled out. Storm shook his head, glaring down at Jhaeros, and for the first time, a shadow of fear crossed the pirate mage’s face.

The dragon roared, his booming voice rising over the Maelstrom. Blue light glowed between his jaws, and a streak of lightning arced toward the pirate mage. Jhaeros was flung back, hitting the deck and twitching frantically as strands crawled over his body. Bile rose in Remy’s throat, and he turned away as Storm gave a bellow of triumph and surged into the air.

Chaos broke over theWindshark. Seeing their captain fall, the pirates abandoned whatever they were doing and scrambled for cover as the dragon swooped over the deck. Storm turned on the pirates with a snarl. Lightning shot from his jaws, slamming into the ship and igniting the wood in a flash of heat and light. In the confusion, Remy watched Bart grab a discarded cutlass and run to Cloud, slicing through the ropes tying the white dragon down. As they circled back, he saw Gem racing across the deck toward the sky knight. A pair of pirates chased her, swords raised above their heads, and Remy gasped.

“Gem, look out! Storm, help—”

Storm was already diving. As Gem passed beneath them, he landed on the deck with a crash and a roar. The pirates immediately skidded to a halt, their eyes wide with terror. They threw themselves aside as Storm spat lightning, igniting another section of the ship.

“Remy!”

He turned. Cloud was on his feet, with Gem and Bart already on his back. The princess’s eyes were huge, filled with amazement and a little fear as she stared at them.

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