The guards were determined to break down my barrier. Relentlessly, they pounded against it, first with their body weight, then again with their weapons. Hands clutching the edge of each step, I pushed myself steadily backward until I reached the top of the staircase, maintaining the protective barrier in front of my body all the while. Blindly, I reached behind myself until I gripped a handle.Please, please let the study be empty.
Shoving the handle down, I launched myself out of the hidden passageway. In an instant, I was back up and running out the study door, not stopping to look around. I burst out of the room at breakneck speed. Whipping around the hallway corner, I slammed into a servant carrying a pile of linens, causing her to drop them all over the floor with a startled gasp. I didn’t stop to explain myself; I kept right on running for the front door. “What in the—” I sailed past Rogam’s butler, ignoring his exclamations and yanking the front door open.
“Grab her!” somebody shouted behind me.
Outside, I looked around wildly. Was Corvin here? Did he leave? Was he recaptured? The possibilities tumbled frantically through my mind. There were precious few moments to waste. The ocean tide crashed ashore, drawing my attention.There.Corvin was crouched down near the shoreline, some distance from the manor. Healing the phoenix’s wings? I resumed running, but not before I heard the sounds of angry shouting. Halfway to Corvin, I stopped in my tracks and whirled around, trying to determine how many guards were actively pursuing us. My heart sank in my chest—it wasn’t a few people anymore.
A dozen or so guards spilled out of Rogam’s manor.
What was my backup plan again?Oh, right—burn it all down.
Flame was a powerful deterrent. If I could summon it here, outside, I could buy us some more time to escape. For it to work, there would be no holding back. We needed a wall of flame stretching all the way to the shoreline. I looked around. At the manor in front of me. At the manicured lawn to my right. At the ocean shoreline to my left. I held my arm out, gazing at the ring adorning my thumb.
Another temperamental magical artifact.Right, magical.It didn’t contain regular flame; it containedthe flame of a dragon.How could I make it work for me? The answer came to me:dragons were fiercely protective. You did not harm or steal or tarnish what was theirs to protect—if you wanted to live.They breathed fire when the things under their care were threatened.
For those dragons disinterested in human affairs, that might be knowledge or treasure. For those dragons whowereinterested in what human society had to offer, it might be the people under their rule. King Malgath of Uvrakar was a dragon who lived as a human. He had a wholekingdomunder his protection. The flame wouldn’t summon for me. But maybe it would summon for those under my protection. And right now, that was Eterna. Would it be enough to convince the ring to burn for me?
My window of opportunity was rapidly closing. Soon, the guards would close the gap. Soon, I would be in Rogam’s clutches once again. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I stared the guards down, face pale but unyielding.I have a duty to protect against these enemies, I told the ring, visualizing a protective wall of flame in front of me. The ring grew warm. Will you burn for me? I asked it fervently. For those undermycare? Rogam would harm what ismineto protect—will you allow it?
A deep, throaty laugh rumbled unexpectedly through my head. At the same time, an image of a grinning dragon flickered behind my eyes. Grinning or baring its teeth? Either way, pearly white teeth shimmered against emerald-green scales. I shook my head, clearing the strange vision from my mind. The ring grew hot and began to glow. My body grew feverish as a stream of golden-red flame burst from its center.
Fast—too fast—
I tried my best to rein it in, to prevent it from pouring forth too greedily, but I had no practice containing the ring’s flame and it snaked quickly out of my control, unfazed by my attempts to contain its spread. Once freed, it required no further direction from me. It knew how to burn. And so it did. The wall of flamewasn’t like I’d planned at all. It was much, much taller and stretched for much, much longer than I dared to envision. I saw a few astonished looks before the flame blocked Rogam’s guards entirely from my sight.
For a terrifying moment, the ring’s heat threatened to consume me. To burn. And keep on burning. My body growing more feverish by the moment. But moonlight had recently becomemydomain. I would make myself be cool, as tranquil as the moon’s gentle glow. I would not let the ring consume me too—
The ring grew cold, then abruptly ceased to release any more flame. A series of jagged cracks appeared throughout its metal band. Broken.I don’t think it was meant to be used only once.Why didn’tanythingever come with a guidebook? I was growing tired of getting by on intuition alone. At least I hadn’t quenched the fire by severing my connection to the ring. The wall of flame blazed just as brightly as before.
Now to take advantage.
Corvin was still crouched near the shoreline. Resuming my escape, I turned away from the warmth of the flame and ran toward his location. When I reached him, I could see Eterna standing on the ground at his side. The salty tang of ocean air filled my nostrils as the tide lapped at the shore.
The next part of our escape plan depended upon whether or not he had been able to heal her wings. “Were you able to fix her wings—” At the sound of my voice, Corvin turned his head, his eyes seeking mine, evident relief etched across his face. “You made it out.” Then, more softly, “I was about to go back inside. I couldn’t stop worrying about what might be happening to you.”
“I’m alright,” I said, surprised to find it was true after everything we had just been through.
“I was able to mend Eterna’s wings.” His gaze landed on the wall of flame. “How did you…?”
“An artifact from the island. Dragon flame.”
“Arson? Who has criminal tendencies now?” he teased.
I shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance. “Haven’t we established that no prison cell can hold us?”
“Us? So we’re partners in crime then?” Corvin asked with a laugh.
“Partners in crime,” I affirmed. My intention was to match his humorous tone, but we had just overcome so much together, and the words came out sincere. Corvin’s eyes lingered on mine a moment longer, and he lightly brushed a finger over the ring on my thumb. “You should be careful with this—dragons can be ruthless. It was a dragon scout, patrolling the skies, who tricked me into trusting him before turning on me and killing my mother.”
“Oh,” I replied. “I’m so sorry. No wonder you’re worried. But I think it’s broken now anyway.”
“Good,” he grunted. He turned his attention back to Eterna. “Ready to fly home?”
A phoenix flying overhead in Kothia was akin to a dragon flying overhead anywhere else. “Wait, do you have anything to help disguise her identity? She’s too conspicuous. It won’t be safe.”
Corvin brushed his cloak. “Let me think. Disguise…something to disguise…” He started to touch a purplish-brown feather before quickly withdrawing his hand. “No, not that one.” He chose a blue feather with a single green stripe next, but abandoned it almost as quickly as his first selection. “I’ve got it!” he finally exclaimed, tugging on a predominantly black feather with rows of large white spots. “A cuckoo feather. They can mimic the eggs of other birds. Experts at impersonation if you will. Horrible habit of tricking other birds into raising their young. I might be able to take that ability further, disguiseEterna so she looks like a common bird instead of a phoenix. Kind of like a glamour.”
“Perfect! That would certainly draw less attention,” I approved.
