“I don’t mean the dragon behind you,” the god clarified, smirking at my confusion as the tip of my sword began to fall toward the ground. “I mean the one who has already offered to sacrifice himself for you.”
My breathing turned shallow, coming in small, panicked gasps as the realization hit me.
Theo.
The dragon spoken about in the premonition had been him.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
SIYANA
“Stay back, Kaida,”I demanded, my tone far more harsh than I’d ever been with him.
It was necessary—I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted by his involvement. He was mine to protect, and that was exactly what I was going to do.
His trill and stomps behind me told me he would do as I said, though he wasn’t happy about it. I didn’t need the dragon to be happy–I needed him to be safe.
My heart raced as I launched forward, my sword gleaming in the dim light. With all my training and skill, I aimed the blade straight for the god’s neck, hoping to end his life quickly. But as I drew closer, I couldn't help but wonder if a beheading would even work on a being this powerful.
Yet I couldn't hesitate now—my movements were swift and precise, honed from years of dedication. In mere seconds, I stood before him with my blade inches from his skin. But he was just as quick, effortlessly evading my attack with a grace that defied his immense stature. His ice daggers clashed against my sword as he parried. No matter how many blows I landed against the icy weapons, the divets I managed to make in them were healed almost instantly by his magic.
Not for the first time, I couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could stand a chance against a magical deity. Hadn’t Theo proven to me time and again that I could hold my own, until magic was involved? But I couldn't give up—there had to be a weakness I could exploit somewhere. Everyone had one, right?
A mocking laugh escaped him as I paused my assault, gasping for breath in the frigid air. Each breath was a brutal torture to my lung, and as loose strand of hair fell into my face, I blew it away as I carefully studied my adversary. There had to be a way to disarm him, but it dawned on me that he could simply conjure up more weapons with his magic. It was apparent then that I had to stop him from summoning them in the first place. But how?
He didn't use any gestures or incantations to cast his spells—it was as if he commanded the elements with merely his thoughts. So then, how could I prevent his thoughts? Was it even possible?
"This has been unexpectedly entertaining," the god admitted, letting his ice weapons melt away and drip onto the ground. "It has been a long while since I've felt the urge to meddle in the affairs of those in my topside domain. You have impressed me by not faltering, even after being pulled into my mirrored realm, where my powers are at their strongest."
For a moment, the revelation interrupted my thoughts of disarming him. A thousand new questions sparked in my mind, and I swallowed thickly around the urge to ask all of them at once.
"I couldn't help but notice that your castle is in the same location as the drackya's," I observed, noting the glint in his eyes. "Do all elementals reside in this mirrored realm?"
"Mmm," he murmured, tilting his head as he regarded me. A slow smile spread across his face, and my stomach twisteduncomfortably at the sinister twist of it. "I did warn you that more answers would cost you, mortal."
Shit.
My body froze, encased in the grasp of frigid magic that twisted around me like a deadly serpent. My sword, once an extension of my arm, now lay useless at my side, held in place by the same icy tendrils that bound me so effectively.
The god stood before me, his eyes blazing with triumph as he surveyed his helpless prey. I could feel the cold creeping into my bones, threatening to turn me into a frozen statue from the inside out. Panic began to claw its way up my throat as I realized the gravity of my situation. I hadn’t come this far to become a forgotten relic of the time a mere mortal had challenged the undine god.
"Such bravery, but you are no match for me," he taunted, his words sending shivers down my spine. I grit my teeth, defiance burning in my chest as I refused to back down. “You’ve put up much more of a fight than any other mortal before you, so for that, you have my begrudging respect.”
I didn’t want his respect–I wanted his defeat.
A surge of defiance rose within me and I gritted my teeth, refusing to back down. "If I die here, Theo will avenge me, tearing you limb from limb," I spat, already imagining the god’s death in return.
I may have seen the warm side of Theo that he kept locked away deep within his heart, but I also knew the ruthless and feral nature that lurked within him—and even that was just a fraction of what he was truly capable of.
In the midst of our standoff, a small roar echoed from behind me—not that of a full-grown dragon, but one that was representative of Kaida's first attempts at using his true voice.
“Forgive me, Sia,”a sweet voice spoke into my head.“I cannot sit and watch.”
“No! Kaida!” I yelled just as the god’s eyes snapped to the space behind me, switching focus. To my horror, I was bound tightly in my prison of ice, unable to turn toward my dragon and urge him with my eyes as well as my words. “Fly away!”
Shards of ice began to rain down as a shadow flew above me, cresting over my head and toward the god. A wall of impenetrable ice lifted with ease, a shield that encased the god from my dragon’s futile attempt to protect me.
“Kaida, please,”I begged as my eyes stung with tears, causing my vision to blur.“Please leave me.”
