Aflash of lightning leapt from the emperor’s shield and flew through the beautiful flesh ofAbraxas’ wing.Thecry he emitted shook another portion of the wall down, and then bright emerald-green flames erupted from him, engulfing the emperor.ButHadeon’smagic protected him, andIremembered that he had already slain multiple dragons.Abraxaswas not invincible.
Thesoldiers seemed to remember this as well and engaged more ferociously.Theswords mostly bounced off his scales, but a few found purchase, prying them off and eliciting more roars fromAbraxas.Hegave one more devastating roar filled with flames, then lifted onto his hind legs, and crashed into the ceiling, his wings and claws tearing through.Thenight air whipped into the room, clearing the dust asAbraxasshieldedAvlynand me with his body and wings.
Then, one giant claw gently wrapped around me, and another aroundAvlyn, as he spread his wings and gave a mighty beat, sending dust and soldiers flying.AsIlifted off the groundIscreamed, “Abraxas!Jun!WeneedJun, please!”Hislong neck turned to where he lay, andPallasthrew herself between them.Icouldn’t help but admire her audacity as she stared down a fully grown dragon, her arms outstretched to block my brother.Butanother flash of lightning struck us, andAbraxassimply gatheredPallasandJunup with one sweep of his claw before we launched into the sky.
Theforce of the lift pressed me into the claws and wrapped my arms around one massive finger.Orwas it a toe?Thewind threatened to pull me free, butIfelt him squeeze ever so slightly more.Myhair whipped my face, sticking to my mouth, butIturned my head back and sawKoronshrinking in the distance, thePalaceofEmberscrumbling on one side.Ittruly resembled its namesake as we rose, the black walls lit with the glowing orange of torches and fires as we lifted to the stars.
Theair grew ice cold, and goosebumps rose on my flesh, my breath coming faster and leaving me as sheets of ice.Itried to look around, to seeAvlyn, to see my brother, but black stole into my vision, and the last thingIsaw was the sheen ofAbraxas’ onyx claw.
Chapter68
Tori
Thefirst thingInoticed was thatIwas no longer cold.Iwas sweltering, in fact.Theair clung to my skin and lungs like a damp rag, andIcould feel it merging with the sweat already there.Myface lay on soft grass, and the smell of damp and rot and life was everywhere.Islowly opened my eyes and was greeted by a light blue glow.Ilay at the edge of a lake, lighter blue than the noonday sky.Willo’ wisps danced all over its surface, like a colony of fireflies on a late summer night.
AsIrose up,Ifelt the vines of the earth give way that had been enclosing my body, watched them crumble back into earth, their job completed.Butthis was not the grotto underXyr’scastle.Thelake was massive, andIwas just able to make out the other side.Ilooked to the sky to see pitch black, with only a few stalactites visible when a wisp would bounce up near them.So, a cave, but one larger than any roomIhad ever been in.Iheard the sound of dripping water falling from the cave ceiling into the underground lake, accompanied by a great rumbling, as the cave seemed to breathe in and out.
No, not the cave.Iturned to see him then.Hewas even larger thanIrecalled, his black scales covered in vines that had grown around him.Hehad curled in on himself, almost like a cat, his head tucked in under the end of his sharp tail.Iapproached, and wisps danced over him, their blue light reflecting off the mirror of his scales as they bounced over his haunches, and along the spikes of his back.
Iplaced a hand on his neck, and he felt cool against the warmth of the cave.Butthat wasn’t right.Heshould have been warm, burning.Iran my fingers over him, and he felt smooth and solid, as if he were carved from marble.Butjust the light movement of his breath told me that he still lived.Iran my hand up to his closed eye. “Abraxas, wake up.Please.”Nothingchanged.
Tearsleaked from my eyes, andIdidn’t try to stop them.Mybreath came in short bursts, andIwailed.Ilet myself release it all, every pent-up memory and pain.Ipounded my fist into him and screamed and cried and let the grief consume me.
“Howdare you?Howdare you lie to me?Howdare you leave me?”Ipounded my fist over and over, but it was like punching the side of a mountain. “Howdare you?Howdare you?Howdare you?”Mygrief and rage swirled together, ice and fire mixing to consume everything thatIwas.
Islid down to my knees, defeated.Asmy breathing steadied and the tears dried up,Iwas greeted not by that wallowing pit of darkness, but by a small golden light.Ireached out with my mind, and held it like a precious treasure, a small and fragile thing thatIneeded to protect at all costs.
“Youknew, you absolute asshole.YouknewIwas your mate.Idon’t understand it, but you knew and didn’t tell me.”Istood and laid a soft kiss on his snout. “Comeback to me, you arrogant domineering asshole.Please, my love, come back to me.”
Butstill, he slept, asIlay against his cold scales.Afew more dry sobs fled from me, but they barely had any heart to them.
“Hehasn’t moved at all, none of you have.”Iwhirled, reaching for a swordIdidn’t have.Nearthe edge of the lake, her beautiful blue gown, torn to shreds, wasPallas.Shesat, her knees curled up to her chest, as she rested her chin, staring out into the water. “Ithought you all might be dead, to be honest.”
Imoved my feet to a fighting stance and raised my hands, but then she turned her head to me, “They’reover there if you want to see them.”Shemotioned her hand, back to near whereIhad awoken.Now, on closer inspection,Isaw that there lay two more bodies, covered in vines likeAbraxas, the grass growing up around them like a blanket.Ikept facingPallasand moved my feet one over the other to reach the bodies, but she turned back to the lake, ignoring me.
AvlynandJunalmost looked dead, butIsaw their chests rise and fall, just likeAbraxas.Isaw thatAvlynhad a higher concentration of vines over their thigh, where they had been wounded, andJun’shead seemed to be cradled.Ireached down, they both felt warm, and their skin was bright, as if they were just taking a long nap.Iever so carefully pulled aside a vine overAvlyn’sleg and saw that their wound was almost completely gone.
Iran my fingers overJun’sface.Vineshad wound around his neck, andIsaw they had strangled the collar around him.Ireached in and at my touch, it dissolved until nothing but the broken violet gem remained.Ipicked it up and tossed it as far away asIcould.Theskin where the collar had been bubbled and oozed with sores.
“I’msorry,Jun.I’msorryItook so long.Butyou are free now.Please, please wake up.”Butjust as before, there was nothing, andIwas truly powerless here. “Please,Jun, you saidIwouldn’t be alone anymore.Ican’t.Ican’t lose you both.”Iwatched as new vines grew, covering his wounded neck.Iprayed it would be enough.
Itrudged over toPallasand sat down next to her.Shedidn’t move at all, happy to ignore me.Theminutes stretched by in silence untilIcouldn’t take it anymore.
“Whydid you stay whileIwas unconscious?”
“Yousee any place for me to fucking go?”Herswearing surprised me, coming out of that elegant mouth. “Ihaven’t been awake much longer than you, butIhaven’t found a way out of here.”Shegestured wildly to the cave.
“Andyou didn’t try to kill us?”
“LikeIsaid,Ithought you were dead anyway.”Itdidn’t feel like the truth.
“Whydid you try to protectJun?”
“Whydid you?” she shot back at me with ice in her eyes.
“Ok, look.Weare stuck in this cave together.Idon’t have a whole lot more information than you do right now, okay?Weshould at least try and help each other.”Sheturned to look atAbraxas’ sleeping form and made a huff that clearly said,Yeah, sure.Alright, she had no reason to trust me.MaybeIcould be honest first.
“Look,Ididn’t know about…that,”Igestured to the slumbering beast, “but we came toKoronto rescueJun.Ineeded to get him out.”
