Page 20 of The Dragonrider and the Void
Support emitted from White Eye.
“If we had been together, our wards never would’ve allowed this spell to take effect,” Lark frowned.
“But you can end it now,” Nix assured her.
“When I do this, my counter spell will send a signal to any magic wielder in the area. It will be like sending a flare to Barrik and will help him find this place.”
Her hands formed fists. She shook with rage. “I can’t believe Barrik has done this to us. He’s violated our connection for the last time.”
White Eye hummed, attuning with Lark’s urgency to leave.
“I know,” she said, leaning into him. “We can’t stay here. And we can’t let him find this place. Not with what we know about the Entity and the Realmstone.”
Another ward chimed, the warning siren louder this time. Barrik was probing the mountains. If they didn’t leave soon, he would discover this place and what the rimeshade had coaxed them into releasing. She couldn’t take that risk, but she couldn’t escape without causing a signal beacon that would give away their exact location.
Her heart hammered against her chest as she prepared to reach for her magic. The bond she’d wielded while in the vault had shared a striking similarity with the power that therimeshade had used. That unsettling similarity, and the fact that White Eye hadn’t seen her use it before, still lingered at the edges of her consciousness. Yet, that gave her an idea.
Barrik is trained in picking up Hyalite- and Yogo-borne magic, but can he sense us if I use my bond with Nix?she considered.
White Eye was hesitant. The option was tempting. Heat swelled across Lark’s chest as she prepared to tap into the fae bond. Overhead, Killaborden’s head appeared to snap toward their location. He couldn’t see them or the sanctuary, but it was clear that he was picking up on the on the energy between Lark and Nix.
“No,” Nix warned. “They forced me to coerce and act against you once before. They will recognize the ripples in energy when you pull the tether anchoring us to the fae realm. If you use it, they’ll know it’s us.”
“Barrik already knows we’re here,” Lark said in frustration.
White Eye urged Lark to move, noting Killaborden’s advanced senses. The dragon might pick up on the magic of the sanctuary. White Eye didn’t want other dragonrider pairs to find this place either.
“I’ve got a plan,” Lark said, moving into a run.
White Eye’s breath was hot against her back as she sprinted across the sanctuary to the towering archway. The runes here still emitted the old dragonriders’ magic. The wards were powerful enough to divert centuries of riders.
“What are you going to do, Lark?” Nix asked.
“I’m going to refortify our personal wards and break this tracking spell.”
“You’ll be showing them our exact location,” Nix replied.
“Killaborden is already suspicious. We’re going to fly out from under the archway and hope that they think we’re escapinga mountain crag. By exposing ourselves, we can draw them away from here before they look too closely.”
“You’ll risk another fight,” Nix said.
“It’s our only hope if we want to keep Barrik from discovering the secrets that lay here.”
Lark drew on her connection with White Eye, letting their bond guide her in tearing apart the strands of the tracking charm.
“Atherion cadnasium,” she said, felling the pull on their magic.
Indigo light bloomed beneath her fingers. White Eye’s muscles tensed, but he held still, trusting her even as the magic burned through his blood. The first signature she detected was his power fueled by the Hyalite when they had bonded. It was cool and fluid to her touch, as always. It yielded easily. But the tainted energy from Joc’s experiments was deeply rooted in him. Lark gritted her teeth. The dark magic fought back, trying to maintain its hold.
A shadow passed over the sanctuary’s southern wall.
“Lark,” Nix hissed, “they’re locating us.”
Lark pushed harder, sweat breaking out on her forehead as she struggled to force whatever binding Barrik and Joc had placed on her dragon. White Eye bolstered her, increasing Lark’s power. Together, they seized the magi’s signature andpulled.
The brismil arrowhead shattered.
Energy exploded in a pulse of purple light. White Eye’s wings snapped open as Lark scrambled onto his back, her fingers finding their familiar holds on the saddle. Lark and White Eye focused solely on their escape.
