Auraand I flew to the sinking islands as fast as we could, using thewind to our advantage. It was the last thing I wanted to fucking do right now. I wasn’t convinced Elion was even telling the truth.
But if he was—Nollie could be in trouble.
Some civilians in Ryaranthia claimed they saw a black dragon flying above the islands. The same civilians who thought the information would be rewarded by Elion. Their fucking reward was him forcing me to murder them all on the spot.
Four people were now dead over one damned rumor about a black dragon. Elion wouldn’t even let me check if it was true before he made me slice through their necks.
“No one else can know there’s an Ater so close to our shores,” he ordered, his voice wavering.
“What do you want me to do?” I seethed, keeping my expression schooled. I needed to hurry the fuck up so I could get back to searching for Nollie.
“I want you to kill it.”
Shock coursed through me. “Drakins don’t kill dragons,” I said, restating our laws.
“I’m aware of the laws,” he snapped. “Kill the Ater or your Crepito dies instead.”
My back straightened, Aura’s emotions of coiled rage instantly radiated through me as she realized what King Elion ordered.
I strapped my sword across my back, not bothering to wipe the blood off of it. I was only going to get more on the blade.
“And Hael,” Elion drawled, stopping me from walking out of the room. I ground my jaw as I waited for what else he wanted. “If any other civilians see the dragon, I want them gone too.”
Fuck.
The civilians were right. Aura and I kept a shield over us the moment we reached Perinth, making two laps around the sinkingislands before we circled in on the Ater. We had a barrier shield over our invisibility while we scoped out the place, but we wouldn’t be able to maintain the barrier for long. It was too draining, and we were both already too exhausted from flying.
Shit. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time…
I could sense that Aura had no idea a black dragon was still alive, and there wasn’t relief in her emotions, but fear.
The Ater was nearly twice her size. Larger teeth, bigger talons, barbs covering nearly every inch of its onyx scales. Aura had spikes running down her spine, but the Ater’s were all consuming, making it impossible to penetrate its skin without hitting one.
We go for the head,I thought to Aura, knowing she could read my mind.Keep our invisibility over us the entire time and only use the barrier if absolutely necessary.
Reluctance flowed through me in answer.
I don’t have a better plan,I thought.Do you?
We made another lap, scoping out the islands. I thanked the Moons, the Ater was deep into the Triovian, away from Ryaranthia’s coastline, but that was the only thing I was thanking them for right now.
Aura’s exhaustion coursed through me, and I realized why she was hesitating.
Your well is almost depleted?I thought, needing confirmation, even though I could feel it now. I wasn’t paying attention to how much I’d drained her these past couple of days, too consumed in my own panic.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I hated myself for asking too much of her. I should have looked for Nollie on my own, should have let Aura rest, instead of constantly flying. Guilt ate through me as I realized I made her use her invisibility over Soffikane and the Grigg. I didn’t want Elion to know I was searching for Nollie, but now I made her vulnerable.
Okay. Same attack, but we go without any shields,I said, knowing this plan was fucked.Only use your powers when you absolutely need to. I’ll use my own well for invisibility and shields before you use yours.
I wouldn’t be able to maintain anything for long. Aura was toolarge, it would drain too much of my own well to use my powers for the both of us, but it was all we had.
Acceptance coursed through me as I got her answer.
We were in this together, like we were in everything we did.
Okay, let’s kill this fucking thing,I thought and the moment Aura dropped our invisibility, she soared.
