Page 76 of A Court of Darkness and Dragons

Kaelith’s voice brushed against my mind, steady and commanding even as the battlefield roared around us.

Step away from the chest.

I froze, then glanced back at her massive purple frame, her eyes glowing brighter than any flame. The certainty in her tone made my stomach drop. She meant to end this.

I raised my hand and motioned for Zander and the others to back away. “Move,” I ordered, my voice harsher than I intended, but they obeyed, retreating in slow, reluctant steps.

Veralin’s head snapped toward Kaelith, his expression twisting as though he’d heard her thought. His scream split the courtyard, jagged and furious.

“Kill the purple!”

Hein reared up with a roar, his wings beating hard enough to stir the rubble at our feet. Fire licked across his fangs before he unleashed it in a torrent at Veralin. But the Blood King lifted his hand, weaving a shield of warped energy that shimmered like broken glass. Hein’s flames struck it, scattering sparks that ricocheted across the courtyard, but Veralin stood unscathed. His laugh was cruel, inhuman.

Above, the rest of our dragons answered with fury. Temil dove first, his orange Swordtail carving the air with lethal grace as Naia’s cry rang out. He sliced through the flank of a black dragon, sending its rider spiraling to the ground. Koddos charged head-on, his heavy armored body colliding with another, his roar vibrating through my bones as Jax cheered him on. Narvea streaked past like a green blur, her reflexes honed, her clubbed tail smashing into a black dragon’s side with bone-crushing force. Kieren flanked them, his green wings banking hard, Tae’s sharp laughter echoing as he seized the mind of a rider, turning his blade on his companion mid-flight.

The sky was chaos—a storm of wings, flame, and clashing steel. They were holding them back, but only barely. There were too many, a tide of darkness bearing down. And our dragons were at a disadvantage with us on the ground.

And then the earth trembled beneath a heavier landing.

Severeth.

Her dragon’s obsidian wings folded tight as its talons dug into the courtyard stone, its black scales glinting red where the firelight kissed them. She rose, tall and terrible, her robes moving in the breeze as she dismounted. Her eyes blazed crimson as they locked on me.

“You cost me the war, Ashlyn.” Her voice dripped venom, but beneath it, a thread of twisted admiration. “It was devious and underhanded. Under different circumstances, I would have been proud of you. But you threaten our immortality, our way of life… so I’m afraid you need to die.”

Kaelith roared, her fire building in her throat until it burst forth in a violent stream aimed directly at the chest. The flames lit the world gold and violet, searing the air. For a moment, I thought it would work—thought the artifact would melt beneath her fury.

But Veralin’s hand snapped upward, blood magic swirling from him like a living storm. His shield coiled tight around the chest, absorbing the brunt of Kaelith’s fire and snuffing it out before it could touch the artifact. Smoke curled off the barrier, but the chest remained untouched.

“Stop playing, Severeth, and kill her!” Veralin’s scream was ragged, desperate. His composure fractured, revealing panic beneath his cruelty.

Severeth’s gaze slid toward him, then back to me. Her lips curled into something that was almost a smile. “With pleasure.”

The courtyard disappeared in a rush of black smoke, swallowing me whole. I spun, sword raised, but the mist closed in on every side, thick and suffocating. The sound of battle, the clash of steel, the roar of dragons vanished into silence. My heart pounded as the realization sank in. I was cut off.

Kaelith?

I am here, her steady voice filled me, anchoring me to something real. Do not fear. Severeth does not have the power to sever our bond. The others still fight. They will keep the dark ones from the chest, but you must end her. She possesses as much power as Veralin, and she will not hesitate to use it.

The mist shifted, and then she was there—Severeth, her form solid while everything else dissolved around her. Her crimson eyes glowed like banked coals, and her smile was vicious enough to cut.

“You could have had it all,” she said, her voice smooth, dripping with cruel pity. “A realm. Dragons at your command. The kind of power mortals dream of and fae kill for. All you had to do was choose me.”

I squared my shoulders, blade steady though my arm trembled. “I already have it all.” My voice didn’t waver. “Love. Friendship. Loyalty I’d die for. You’ll never understand that.”

Her laugh echoed in the smoke, low and mocking. “Love fades. Friends die. But true power?” She spread her hands, shadows coiling off her fingers like venom. “Control is eternal. You could have ruled beside me. Instead, you waste yourself on a boy playing at king and a clutch of misfit riders.”

“Control,” I hissed, “is the real illusion. And power doesn’t bring happiness. It brings emptiness. Just look at you—so desperate to matter, you chained an entire species to your throne.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits, the glow in them pulsing hotter. “Weak. Naive. Stupid girl. You’re nothing but a vessel for your dragon’s magic. A half-blood mistake that should have died in the trials. I’ve broken queens stronger than you. You will be no different.”

My grip tightened on my blade, fury burning away the chill of her words. I met her gaze head-on, refusing to flinch. “Stop stalling, Severeth.”

Her lips peeled back into a predator’s smile. “Gladly,” she said as she rushed toward me with her sword raised.

Steel screamed against steel as our swords collided, sparks flying in the heavy mist. Severeth moved with a grace that was unnatural, every strike calculated, every feint designed to draw me off balance. My arms ached as I parried again and again, her blade sliding close enough to kiss my skin.

I shoved her back and reached for my magic, desperate to unleash even a flicker of it—only to find the power sputtering like a candle in the rain. A gasp escaped me as Severeth’s sword bit across my arm, hot pain searing through flesh.