Page 87 of Burning Heir

Naraic moved with quiet purpose, his snout brushing something I hadn’t noticed before—a golden ribbon, swaying gently in the cold breeze.

Flying through the Night realm forced my thoughts to whirl onhimas I soared through his mimicked land.“Why didn’t Archer tell me on the first day?”I asked.

“He was waiting for you. Patiently. Your brother was cunning. He knew I would find you. He just didn’t know how.”

“Archer is willing to let me die unless I prove myself,” I said, “willing to let me betray Damien for his own sick barter over his father’s title.”

“He knows your potential.”

“So, you are on his side. He forced me to lie to Damien.”

“You agreed.”

“I can’t see anything.”

Naraic sent a rumble down the bond, a laugh if I could call it that.“Your eyes will adjust someday.”

We plunged deep over the belly of the mountains, and I clung to Naraic’s scales to stop the motion sickness—to hold my breakfast down. Every breath was devoured by darkness, consumed by that sickening shadow. Even my quell had cooled to a soft vibration. We broke through the clouds and into Winter.

I grabbed the ribbon from Naraic’s snout, tying it with the others.

White engulfed my vision as Winter’s icy breath slammed into me. We narrowly dodged three hoops as hail lashed our bodies—sharp, relentless.

Hail.

I saw Everett. His veins bulged, dark and gorged, as he pulled Winter’s air into himself, grunting with every heave. Iridis’s wings flailed wildly, her movements erratic, like a bat tangled in a net.

“Everett!” I shouted, my voice swallowed by the storm as we drew closer.

His flushed face whipped toward me. “Severyn—I didn’t mean to attack Damien! Iridis—she lost control. I don’t know what’s happening to me!” His golden eyes were wild, pleading, as though I could help him.

“I think Iridis gave you a quell. A snow quell,” I said. “You need to leave this realm before it kills you.”

Ice rained down on us. I didn’t flinch but flared my quell to salvage the last remnants of warmth. A burst of blood vessels streaked his eye crimson as snow thickened, nearly knocking Naraic from the air.

Iridis suddenly surged forward faster than I’d ever seen a dragon fly.

“How is that possible?” I muttered to Naraic as we seized the last silver ribbon left from the wind, barely managing to peel it from the freezing metal.

“A snow dragon existed a hundred years ago,”Naraic said, his voice echoing in my mind.“The Forgotten killed them all. Everett must have Winter blood.”

Ahead, the ice wall loomed. My eyes traced the half-submerged caves where Myla and I had nearly drowned trying to recover those eggs. Gritting my teeth, I urged Naraic to veer right, bypassing the Spring realm entirely. There wasn’t time for all the ribbons.

And I had no idea if I was in first or last place.

Heat slammed into us. The muggy breeze carried the tang of salt and debris, a curling sea stretching into the horizon.

Naraic hissed sharply as two griffins appeared alongside us. Unbonded. Wild. The headmaster had warned about the rogue creatures.

One struck first, slamming into us with feral force. I lit my flame, smoldering a feather to the barb.

But I didn’t see the second griffin until its talons tore into me, ripping me from Naraic’s back by the claws. I flailed, reaching for Naraic.

And as those claws released me, Naraic’s thoughts filled my mind—not of me, but of Klaus. His screams reverberated, goldenhair streaming in the wind as he hurtled toward a glinting lake below.

“Release the bond, Naraic,” Klaus cried. “Release it now! Severyn will find you—I’ve seen it.”

Naraic obeyed, the bond snapping like brittle glass. Water rushed up to meet me, cold and suffocating.

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