Page 141 of Wrath of the Dragons
Oh, gods, but it makes sense. Cayden is the most protective man, and Sorin is the most protective dragon. Sage spoke of balance. I saved one protector only to lose another.
Not Sorin.
Sorin cannot be my price.
I will not let anyone take Sorin from me.
“I’m with you, sweetling, just hold on,” I manage to say through the pain and focus all my power on the bond, trying to pull it away from whoever is toying with it. A wyvern with the first rider I’ve seen in this battle aims straight for us. “Zayèra!”
Dragonfire spills from Sorin, but the force is blocked by the same kind of wards that protected Garrick as he ran from the castle. I reachfor my crossbow and fire it, but the shield shoots up again. I don’t want to risk summoning dragonfire myself right now knowing that Sorin needs me to grasp the bond, and I can’t do both. My hand tightens on the saddle horn as we gain speed, and once we’re close enough, my suspicions are confirmed.
Atop the wyvern sits Nykeem. I remember seeing his face through the wards, and the horror that coated his features as I melted them. Each time I’ve fought a wyvern and their mount, the rider had white eyes like I do when I slip into my dragons’ minds, but Nykeem is fully conscious.
Flames won’t work here. Sorin needs to attack. I command him to discard Garrick’s body, and the king of the conquered kingdom crashes into a watery, unmarked grave. My crossbow will be of little use, so I attach it to the saddle and tighten the strap around my waist. “Vetàs.”
Sorin’s front claws shoot forward, tearing through the shield as he blows more dragonfire. His bottom talons lock with the wyvern’s, rendering it immobile given that it has only two legs. It bites Sorin, utilizing its only defense left, but Sorin rakes his other talons down its chest and belly as we tumble to the ground. Neither the mage nor I can reach for our weapons as they plummet.
The pain in my chest lessens, and Sorin’s scales begin to warm in Nykeem’s distracted state. I shove his hold out of us. Sorin unlatches his claws from the wyvern’s and throws it to the ground before taking to the skies again, but Nykeem isn’t with the corpse of the creature when I look down. My head throbs painfully in the aftermath of the manipulation and I summon Calithea as another wyvern rides for us without a mount. Something is still wrong with Sorin, and I don’t see Nykeem anywhere. I need to get Sorin on the ground and behind our lines. The battle isn’t far, but it’s impossible for me to spot anyone I love from this altitude.
Pain shoots through my chest again, and I look down to ensure I haven’t been wounded. Nothing is there. It’s burning hot, like someone is pressing a brand fresh off the fire into my ribs. Sorin screams along with me, his flight faltering, and my stomach rises as he sharplydips. He thrashes his head again, crying out like he’s in more pain than me, and his scales arefreezing.
Calithea is too far away for me to wait. I know I’ve been caught in a trap, but I can’t lose Sorin. If I slip into his mind, I won’t be able to defend myself, but I know that’s the only way I can help him fight off this assault. Thirwen’s magic is rooted in mind control and manipulation, and they often slip into the minds of their familiars. My dragon will not pay the price for saving Cayden—I will, no matter the cost.
I look to my wedding ring and drag my thumb over the stone before pressing it to my lips. Sorin cries out again, and I can’t take it anymore. Sorin would never abandon me, and I won’t abandon him. If he plummets to his death, then he’ll be taking me with him.
“I’ve got you, sweetling,” I say soothingly and Sorinwhimpers.“I’m right here.”
I take one last glance at the battle still several yards away and let the world fade around me. I follow the bridge between our minds, which looks like a forest made entirely of emerald-green wisps. Where Basilius’s mind was tranquil, Sorin’s is chaotic, made even more so by the unwanted presence spreading like decay. It withers the vibrant green as Nykeem tries to take hold of Sorin’s mind by smothering his soul.
I send out a wave of power and light to fight off the darkness trying to swallow him. Nykeem is no match for our bond now that I’ve fully immersed myself and can throw him out. The colors of my markings fill the space—silver, gold, lavender, and blue—and shield the green wisps that curl around me. Sorin’s always protected me fiercely, and I will not leave him to fend for himself. I slice through the black webs, forcing the mage back in this battle that nobody else can see.
Something pulls at me and tries to force me out, but it’s not Nykeem. It’s something beyond Sorin’s mind. I don’t know what it is. I don’t even care. I stay until no trace of an intruder remains and fortify it with a shield of my own to prohibit anyone else from entering again. I’ll have to do it with the other dragons once the battle is over—and after I kill this fucking mage.
I uncurl myself from Sorin as I retreat into my own mind, but theworld rushes around me when I regain my sight. Wind whips through my hair as Sorin fliesatme. The severed straps of my saddle flap around my waist. The ground quickly rises up to meet me as I plummet toward the battlefield. Blood rushes from Sorin’s neck from the previous puncture wounds and arrows jut out of his wings. He’s the fastest dragon, and if he can’t catch me, none of them will. He screeches, pained and panicked as I spread my arms out on either side of me and keep my eyes locked on his.
It’s okay,I say down the bond.I love you. No matter what happens.
He screeches again as his claw wraps around me, and I cry out. My chest and side throb painfully as he hugs me to his body, and we fall from the sky together.
Chapter
Seventy-one
Cayden
No.
No.
Elowen has never fallen, but she is now. She tumbles through the air with her hand outstretched to Sorin who flies faster than I’ve ever seen him as arrows protrude from his wings. The other dragons flock to her, but they’re too far away to catch her before she hits the ground. Her torn saddle straps hang around her waist in scraps. I don’t know what happened. One moment she was flying back on Sorin, and the next she was falling.
Darkness rumbles beneath my skin as I watch the woman I love fall to her death. I need to reach her. I need to help her. Sorin extends his claw and manages to wrap his talons around her, but they’re too close to the ground. He curls his body around Elowen and levels out his wings, but all it does is slow them slightly before they crash through the treetops of the forest beside the battlefield.
A battle cry climbs up my throat and a red haze coats my vision. I swing my blades, fighting without precision or mercy, and leave a massacre in my wake. I barrel through the lines, fighting my way to the trees in a violent frenzy. I’ll take on the whole fucking army with my bare hands. I’ll rip them apart limb from limb and leave them clawing their way through the mud.
Desperation lights the fire within me and rage like no other breatheslife into it. I’ll cleave this world in two before I let anyone take her from me.
I break through and my blood-covered chest heaves as I sheathe one of the blades on my back, keeping the other in my hand as I run into the woods. I ordered General Gryffin to mount Koa when he was wounded, and I’m wholeheartedly regretting that decision now.
