Page 94 of Realm of Wind and Vines
The vines trapping my limbs abruptly disappear as the Dryad Queen yanks them back and slams them up to protect herself instead. I hit the ground hard and jerk back in shock as Lavendera starts attacking the Dryad Queen. Branches shoot through the air, slamming into the Dryad Queen’s wall of vines. I throw myself backwards as one of them bounces off and almost spears through my eye.
Across the forest floor, my friends stagger upright again when the trees stop fighting them to instead focus on Lavendera. Trees and branches and vines shoot up from the ground and flash through the air and crash into each other as Lavendera throws her magic at the Dryad Queen in mad fury.
I adjust the grip on my knife. “We should?—”
A dragon roars from the city.
Whirling around, I snap my gaze towards the city across the grass.
Four silver dragons have appeared above the rooftops. Their wings boom through the air as they climb higher, letting out another series of bellowing roars.
Lavendera shoots a tree into the air, right through the tree line and out into the open air outside. It sails gracefully through the warm summer air before crashing down on the ground.
All four dragons whip their heads towards it. Towardsus.
With a roar, they speed forward.
Oh shit.
“Come with us,” the Dryad Queen calls to Lavendera while still blocking her furious attacks. “They won’t?—”
“No,” she snarls back. “I’m staying with them! It will happen soon now. I know it will. They said so.”
“They’re lying.”
“No, they’re not! They promised. They promised.”
Wings boom through the air as the silver dragons shoot towards the tree line.
“Orion,” Draven yells over the cracking branches and snapping vines.
“He’s not opening the next portal for another half hour,” the Unseelie King calls back.
“Fuck.”
I snap my gaze between the rapidly approaching dragons and the woman I was supposed to have already killed. She said it herself. She’s going back to the Icehearts. I can’t let her do that. I can’t let her keep helping them with something as dangerous and important as dragon steel. This might be my only chance to kill her. I need to take it.
Adjusting the grip on my knife, I flick my gaze over Lavendera’s body and calculate the best moment to stab her while she’s focused on attacking the Dryad Queen.
There.
I lurch forward.
“NO!” the Dryad Queen screams again.
Vines shoot towards me. I dive to the side, barely escaping them. But the Dryad Queen can’t try again because Lavendera has increased the intensity of her attacks and begun backing towards the tree line. Towards the four silver dragons who are almost here.
Leaping to my feet, I get ready to make one last attempt.
“Don’t!” the Dryad Queen yells, desperation pulsing in her voice. “We’ll help you! We’ll help you if you don’t hurt her!”
I hesitate. We need the dryads on our side. But we also need to neutralize Lavendera.
“Draven!” Lyra calls. “Orders?”
Before he can reply, the four silver dragons reach the tree line.
Deafening roars echo across the landscape as they open their jaws and bellow. A shimmering starts at the back of their throats.
