Please, Nessium—I pleaded to the Necessity Goddess, even though I knew it was futile—if you’ve ever cared about me, please don’t let him die right now…
Hael pierced the sword through the Ater’s temple, running up its neck to find the real one. Fire exploded from its mouth as it roared, then spiraled around the circular shield still trapping it inside.
Hael swung, dropping his weight, before letting himself fall, using the sword as an anchor. The fire was too close. The heat was trapped within the shield, the temperatures rising…
I watched in complete horror as Hael slid down its face, cutting down its thick scales as he went.
Fire erupted again at the same time Hael dropped into its mouth and the entire projection was clouded in flames.
No. No. No.
I ran to the railing, half of my body hanging over it so I could get a better view even though all I was staring at was a projection from miles away.
A crushing thud echoed across the islands as another roar sounded, but I still couldn’t see anything.
Please. Please. Please.
The fire slowly started to recede, but it took too long. The flames dissipated as the projection showed glimpses of black barbs through the smoke.
Hael was still inside the Ater’s open mouth, but there wasn’t a burn on him.
I sagged, relief fluttering through me as I realized he kept a shield around himself. I finally tore my eyes away from him to take in the dragon when I realized it was lying on the ground, water covering the under half of its body as it was submerged in a lower part of the sinking islands, the waves lapping over the barbs.
Its head was split in half. Large chunks of black scales and barbs were scattered around him.
I was still leaning over the railing to get a better look, like it’d transport me closer to him, even though he wasn’t inside the castle ruins.
Hael was alive. He survived. He actually did it. He killed Dahes’ dragon. I hadn’t realized I was crying. That I’d been clutching the eroded banister so hard my knuckles were white.
I never felt so relieved about anything before…
I was ripped back from the railing. Dahes had gripped my forearm before I had the time to use my transparency, and I realized my mistake a second too late.
I hadn’t realized I’d been smiling until my face pulled. The relief immediately vanishing as trepidation set in.
I let my emotions slip.
It was written all over my face, never mind that Dahes could read my thoughts.
Wait…
Could he still read my mind? If his dragon died, did that mean his powers died with it? It was the one thing I forgot to ask Hael about.
Dahes was staring at me like he wanted to kill me. I’d never seen him so enraged. So livid. His breathing was uneven as his grip tightened around my arm to the point of pain. I swore bones were breaking…
“New plan,”he growled into my head, answering my question about the bond, and I knew it wasn’t just his dragon dying that had him seeing red.
Fuck.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Weakness
MAGNOLIA
Ididn’t blink. Couldn’t before I was ripped up by a thatcher and flown out of the abandoned castle. I hadn’t even realized one was with us, hadn’t registered the smell of rot, or heard the crunch of wings—I was too caught up in the fight, too paranoid that Hael might get hurt in the crossfire, that I hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. And now I let everything slip in front of Dahes.
It dragged me over the ocean, its talons digging into my ribs, until I was thrown onto semi-submerged ground, the water reaching my thighs as I righted myself. My heart pounded against my chest as I realized I was on the sinking island with Hael… The second thatcher was flying over crumbling stones that must have been a structure at some point, still clutching the prisoner in its vice-like grip.
