Page 4 of We Steal The Flight

“I made a spell to bind her life to mine, if she did fall for me. A failsafe. I always remembered the spell, even when they wiped our memories year after year. I remembered out of pure desperation never to see her die.” I squeeze his shoulder. He loves her and I don’t blame him. I’ve always loved her too, and I kept a distance for as long as I could.

“You used the spell.” I fill in what he isn’t saying.

“Yes, but not on Juniper.” He looks at me now, his eyes broken. “You were dying and no spell would have stopped that creature from killing you. You were literally fucking dying, and I couldn’t let you die, so I used the spell on you. I intended to bind your life to me. But instead, the spell took both our lives and bound them to the castle, or maybe the island. I think the creature messed with the magic; I felt it woven into the spell. It didn’t want us to leave.”

“I felt it in my soul, Vale. I’ve never felt anything as evil as that thing.” I shake my head. It’s still here, at the bottom of Bloodstone Academy.

“We can’t leave here. That was the price for your life,” Vale cautions. “We are trapped here with it, with the Umbral Authority on the way and the Mindless outside. This island is our home now. I’m not sure how far exactly the spell stretches, but I’m going to take a wild guess that we won’t be able to fly our dragons off this island without dying.”

“Well, that’s fucking great when she’s not here.” I stare at the ceiling. “She needs us.”

“I’m glad she’s not here, aren’t you? She would be as fucked as we are, and I can’t do that spell again… There is no other failsafe. She needs to stay far away from me.” He clenches his hands into fists.

That is a problem for a future where we have a chance of surviving. “Where are Black and Maz?”

“They took the shifters, all of them, off the island. I told them to go. The Umbral Authority are going to get here soon, and at least I can die knowing they are out there and going to find Juniper. She will have them at least.” He has given up. Vale, the most stubborn fucker I’ve ever known, has given up. “I hope she doesn’t come back. I hate to say it, but…Bloodstone Academy’s been taken and we’re fucked. Completely. But you can survive what is coming.”

He puts his arm underneath my shoulders, and he helps me stand up. Everything in my body screams as he lifts me to my feet and starts moving me towards the bathroom. He sits me down on the floor in front of the cabinet, heaving as blood pours from his leg. “You need a healer.”

“We both do,” he says, straightening. “I’m going to use the last of my magic to weave spells in this room and make sure that no one gets here. They won’t see you or sense you.”

“You’re not—” I barely get my words out before he says a spell, chains appearing and binding me to the wall by my ankles.

“You’re in no fit state to fight, and I can feel that you’re not. Whatever that creature drained you of nearly killed you, Kane. She’s going to need you if she does come back, but the Umbral Authority are going to want to find someone here to focus on in the meantime. That someone will be me.” He looks at me one more time.

“Vale, has anyone ever told you that you’re shit at being the hero? Don’t go out there and do this. We can fight together,” I plead with him. I can’t watch him die and do nothing, trapped in here, even if he is right. Someone needs to be here for when Juniper returns, because she will. There is nowhere, no world, that would stop her from coming back.

Vale laughs. “See you in the afterlife, brother.” He shuts the door behind him with a click as I shout his name and slam my head back against the cabinet.

For a while, I listen to him weaving spells as I try to get up. Vale is right; I can barely stand, I have no magic, and with the chain on my ankle, I can’t go anywhere. Vale definitely has a nasty temper and a wickedness for spells that shouldn’t be allowed, so when the Umbral Authority get here, there will be a fight on their hands. Vale won’t go down easily, but he shouldn’t be fighting alone.

Using the wall, I pull myself to my feet, my legs nearly giving in, but I refuse to collapse. I straighten up and blink at my reflection in the mirror. My skin is so pale I’m nearly blue, and blood coats my clothes and face and hair. I look like Vale dragged me out of hell itself to come back here. Maybe he did. I owe the asshole my life, and I can’t just sit here.

I look down and see a small creature scurrying across the counter. It almost looks like a mouse, but its fur is silver. It blinks up at me with bright blue eyes before scurrying away, leaving a broken watch on the counter. A watch that’s very familiar. It’s Juniper’s. I lift it to hold in my hand, running my finger over the glass, and wince as it cuts my fingertip. My blood drips into it, and it begins to glow. I barely have time to focus on my strength suddenly returning as I hear a roar. I grip the watch tight in my hand and pull the door open, eyes widening as Mindless flood into the room.

Vale is like a machine. Stabbing. Killing. Ripping heads off until there’s nothing but body parts and magic floating around in the air. I step forward to help him when the chain clinks, stopping me inches from the doorframe. Mindless run past me, not seeing me at all. Vale doesn’t get far, not when the Mindless are not alone. What is left of the Umbral Authority walk in, and the three fuckers are stronger than Vale.

Gritting my teeth, I grab the chain and tug at it, never taking my eyes off Vale as he collapses to his knees. Bael steps forward, the new leader, I assume, now that Fasrah is dead.

“Where the fuck is your little bitch, dragon?” he snarls into Vale’s face. “We found Fasrah’s body, and I know one of you killed her. You burnt her son, and we will be lucky if he survives.”

“I really fucking hope the prick doesn’t,” Vale says with a laugh, and Bael punches him again.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is she?” he demands of Vale.

“Gone.” Vale, the fearless bastard, protecting the woman he claimed as his enemy until his last breath. “And if she does come back, you’re fucked. She will kill you all.”

Bael pulls out a dagger quicker than I can blink and stabs him straight in the stomach. I shout, yanking on the chain as Vale groans, clutching his wound. Red blood pours out past his fingers, and he falls to the side, his eyes locked onto me. The chains fade with Vale’s strength, and I finally step up to try to make a spell, only to stop. Vale shakes his head, just once. He did this to make sure I wasn’t captured, and if I go out there now, it was all pointless.

“Check the rest of the castle and make sure there’s no one else here,” Bael commands, kicking Vale. “Take him to my room, and I’ll get the information we need. They all speak in the end, and I will see how long it takes to break a dragon.”

Chapter 4

Ipace up and down in front of the fireplace and try not to think of the million ways this could go wrong and instead think of the ways it could go right. I could be with my bonded by the end of the day, and they are worth any risk. I know they are in trouble—I can feel it.

I stop mid-step, closing my eyes and letting myself think of what they’d tell me to do right now. Maz and Black would tell me to go for it, that I know what I’m doing and they believe in me. Black would tell me that we can fix anything that goes wrong. Vale would complain about my self-doubt and tease me that I couldn’t do it, and therefore I’d have to get the spell right to prove him wrong. Kane would hold my hand, be my best friend, and never let me down. Maz would somehow make me smile and laugh, even when I’m freaking out. I knew a long time ago there wouldn’t be a limit to what I’d do to be with them or to what I can do when they are at my side. The Umbral Authority was right to try to keep us apart because together we can stop them. We have been forbidden since the beginning, but that has never stopped us. It never will.

Lyra clears her throat and puts down the glass of water she was holding. She keeps looking around the room as if a Nexus is going to pop up and attempt to kill her. She doesn’t trust them, and I’m not sure I do either. The leaders, Gwenieve and her mates, are not exactly the hero types, but I do believe her mates love Gwenieve something fierce. Zeph is seated on one side of Lyra, and on the other is Mellach, her other mate, who looks at me like he is only seeing the ghost of my dead father.