Page 109 of Silver Claws, Crimson Tears
—There is no time to get help. We have to try! My first offspring are among them.Zephyros’s desperation floods through me.If we wait for others, it will be too late!
—It is suicide,Fragor argues.We should gather the others.
But Zephyros doesn’t wait. He tucks his wings and dives, a deadly arrow aimed at the mountain pass. The wind screams past his scales as he plummets. I feel every second of his descent, his determination burning likewildfire.
—Damn you, Fragor, for your cowardice,Zephyros shouts.
He hits the first land dragon with full force, talons extended, tearing through tough hide. The beast bellows, black blood spraying across stones. Zephyros whirls, breath hissing between his teeth as he faces the others. With no rider to complement him, he has no wind powers to speak off. The beasts turn toward him, red eyes glinting with hunger and hatred.
Five. Ten. Fifteen. Too many to count.
Zephyros fights like he’s possessed, wings beating. He claws, bites, and whips his tail, sending boulders crashing down the mountainside. Three land dragons lie dead, but more keep coming. One catches his wing, teeth sinking deep. Pain lances through the memory, making me gasp.
“Fragor!” I scream aloud, though I know he can’t hear me across time.
The battle becomes a bloody blur of claws and teeth. Zephyros manages to free himself, only to be surrounded again. A massive land dragon, larger than the others, lunges forward. Its jagged claws rake across Zephyros’s face, tearing through his right eye. The pain is blinding, excruciating.
Zephyros roars, a sound of rage and agony that echoes through the mountains. Blood pours down his face as he desperately beats his wings, trying to gain altitude. The land dragons snap at his tail, his hind legs. He barely escapes, climbing shakily into the sky.
Below, the land dragons continue their march toward the nesting grounds. Through his good eye, Zephyros watches in horror as they reach the hidden site, as they smash eggs and devour the contents, glittering shells scattered like broken dreams.
—No!The anguish in his cry tears through me like a physical wound.
I wrench myself free from the memory, slamming mental walls between us with such force I feel something tear inside my mind. The connection stops with brutal efficiency, leaving me gasping.
My body collapses. I curl into myself on the damp grass, arms wrapped tight around my knees. Sobs rack my chest, but no tears come—just dry, heaving gasps that burn my throat.
“Your children,” I sob. “I felt it. I felt everything.”
The pain isn’t just his. It’s mine too, a scalding wave that crashes through my chest. I can’t separate myself from what I witnessed. The betrayal. The loss. The helplessness.
Zephyros doesn’t speak, doesn’t move. He stands perfectly still, like a metal statue in the morning mist.
“Fragor abandoned them,” I manage, fury building beneath my shock. “He left them to die. He?—”
A voice cuts through the fog in my mind, calling my name. There’s a hand on my forehead, an arm under my neck cradling me. I blink rapidly, struggling to push away the haze that clings to my mind like cobwebs.
“Rhealyn? Rhealyn, can you hear me?”
I focus on the face above mine. Vaylen. His mesmerizing blue gaze stares down at me. A crease of worry marks his forehead.
“Let me go.” I try to push away, but I have no strength in my limbs. The agonizing memories left me weak.
“You were screaming. I found you convulsing on the ground.”
“Get off me,” I snap, shoving at his chest again. “This is private.”
“Private? You’re half-dead from whatever you just did!”
I look past him to where Zephyros stands motionless, his horrible grief still palpable in the air between us.
“What do you care?” I bite the words out.
“Don’t lie to yourself, Rhealyn. You know I care, but you shouldn’t be out here, shouldn’t sneak out of the fort. It’s against the rules.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the rules.” I manage to push away from him, scooting backward on wet grass.Damn this physical weakness!“Which apparently don’t apply to you.”
“Of course, they don’t. I’m the High Prime,” he snaps and rises to his full height to glower at me. “Fragor sent me a distress signal,” he adds. “That’s what prompted me to come.”
