The bigger black dragon drew away from Eltanin upon hearing his name. He turned to me, and Nyte stepped forward a little more, bracing with the frightening attention on us now.
“You will not harm him. You will leave, now.”
Rastaban’s growl rattled through my bones, and he stepped closer, bearing his teeth.
“Astraea,” Nyte said my name like a warning that we should run.
I stayed put, challenging a beast over a hundred times my size, and maybe I was delusional to think I could influence something as mighty as the dragons.
“Leave,” I warned a final time.
Faith and instinct were all I had in this deadly standoff. It might be the death of me but…
Rastaban’s headbowed.
It wasn’t friendly, and his malice still rippled through me, but he submitted. When he straightened, preparing to take off, my heart slammed to a thunderous beat.
“How the hell did you do that?” Nyte said, incredulous as we watched Rastaban fly away.
“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, dazed with the reality sinking in as the adrenaline cooled.
Nyte sighed with relief, cupping my nape and resting his forehead to mine.
“You can be incredibly reckless sometimes.”
“I never thought releasing any of the dragons could be a bad thing. They’re powerful allies when they’re with us, but against us… they could be catastrophic.”
“There are battles for power and dominance in every species. It was a fairytale to think that awakening the dragons again would be without any consequence or conflict. I’m sure Drystan will have more reports on the other freed dragons, which we’ll hear about when we catch up with the others after this trial.”
“Do you think we have to worry about Rastaban?”
“You can predict that more than I could. I’m still trying to process how you found his name and managed to command him. I could feel it through your voice as you spoke to him… even I felt a certain compulsion of obedience from it. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
“I didn’t know I could do that.”
“You continue to amaze me.” He kissed my forehead.
Eltanin’s rattling wails had us running to him. He was bleeding from his neck and front leg, licking the latter wound.
“Let’s be quick. Eltanin needs help from Nadir and Lilith to heal these wounds faster,” Nyte said, distressed over Eltanin’s injuries.
I nodded. “Let’s see what wicked final game the key has in store.”
41Nyte
Our final trial had me and Astraea opposite each other. I lurked in the shadows, which snaked and primed around me, so familiar, while she bathed in brilliant light casting from behind her.
Nightsdeath was gone, yet I glanced at my hands with the creeping sensation of that dark power within taking me over. My fingers were dipped in charcoal, and I laughed, darkly gleeful, letting Nightsdeath return.
With my repulsion of bright things, it made my deadly glare fall on the being opposite me. Not just Astraea…Lightsdeathhad come out of hiding.
“It’s about time we faced each other,” I called to her.
We were separated by a wide gap in which I could only see intermittent black tiles, like a two-line checkerboard missing the white squares, which would lead Lightsdeath to the middle platform. Over the side of the rock I stood on it was deep and dark, a the faint glimmer revealed water would catch my fall.
“We have met many times, Nightsdeath.”
“Yet you refused to play with me. Do I frighten you?”
