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Iona stared at her, and then Leah gathered her courage and said, “I want help in Frostlake city, and later. Against the one you call the Breaker.” Hopefully it was indeed Cynon. “But no harm to humans. The inhabitants from here, the ones you said can help me, can then live in the southmost islands.”
“I fear they’ll deem those islands too cold.”
Likely. Leah was out of ideas. In fact, she could hardly think, that emptiness inside her becoming unbearable. And yet she had to do something. “Find a solution then. One that doesn’t harm humans. And get them to Frostlake as soon as possible.”
Everything was turning black and Leah barely heard what Iona said. I sounded likedeal, but she could be imagining things, perhaps hoping for an easy solution. How easy, when she was basically putting the fate of Aluria in a stranger’s hands?
* * *
Fel couldn’t believeLeah had just gone into the hollow. “Don’t go,” he wanted to tell her. “We’ll figure it out.”
He had many more words to assure her that they had it all under control, to assure her they would protect her city, to assure her that she could just wait, wait in safety, while it would all be fixed.
The words never came out, as there was no point, since she was already gone. Gone to the nowhere between realms or another dangerous realm, where she knew so little, and where evil didn’t only lurk, but roamed unchecked. And yet he was powerless to stop her, powerless to convince her to stay.
The dome. He had to focus and at least do his part, hoping Leah would return.
Tzaria then said, “Don’t blame her for also wanting to use her magic.”
“I’m not blaming her.” His voice came out a lot more strained than he had expected.
“I know.” Tzaria’s tone was kind. Fel then sensed that her words were no longer for him. “You can leave me on that hill. I wish I could help more.”
“You brought us here, Tzaria,” Ekateni said. “Your knowledge played a great part.”
He placed her softly on a rocky part of a hill near the city. They were still far enough not to be seen. From this distance, Fel could already connect with the metal of the dome, but he would need to get closer to be able to move it more easily.
“I’ll have to approach the dome,” Fel said.
“I’ll be right behind you,” his uncle replied. “Once it’s ripped, be ready to fight.”
Fel had fought these creatures once. Burned them with his fire, and there had been many of them. The prospect shouldn’t frighten him now, considering he and his uncle were two huge dragons.
And yet it did.
This time, something was different.
As they got closer to the metal and glass structure, Fel reached out with his magic. He wanted to break the dome with the least possible damage, as he imagined that the falling glass could have disastrous consequences, not to mention the metal beams. But then, those creatures were disaster enough, and he had to break the circle quickly, before anyone had the chance to stop him.
Sitting atop the city, the structure looked like a cake dome, but in fact, there was a lot more to it, buried deep in the earth, long rods of iron stuck like roots in that frozen soil. Perhaps he could rip out the entire structure at once, but then the ground would tremble. He could bend the top, but that would leave the circle intact. No, he’d have to rip it out as carefully as he could, hoping the vibration wouldn’t damage the city too much.
The night sky didn’t provide as much cover for Fel as he wished, and yet he got close to the city without facing any resistance. So much iron, in and around it, so much iron everywhere, but what he focused on were the roots of the dome, those long filaments—and moved them up.
Long ago, he had realized that the weight of the object he moved didn’t matter as much. When he had control of metal, it was like being able to float something in water. Still, this time, the soil held back the dome, as if unwilling to part with this long-time companion.
It wasn’t more strength that Fel needed, but focus, focus on the metal only. He could feel it being lifted, until something, again, held him back. It wasn’t the frozen soil, it wasn’t the weight of the structure. It was something working against him, keeping the dome firmly stuck. It was… magic.
Ironbringers.
“They’re keeping it down,” he told his uncle. “With metal magic. But I’ll try—”
“I’ll go in,” Tzaria said. Fel was stunned that he could still hear her, when she’d been dropped off far away, and when she was still in her human form. “And stop them.”
Fel wondered how she was going to find the ironbringers, but assumed she knew what she was doing, just by the certainty in her voice. As a dragon, she was likely capable to sense magic and sense whoever was wielding it. Still, going into the dome on her own, when she could barely stand, sounded quite dangerous.
She added, “I’ll let you know when you can try again.”
He thought his uncle would warn her against it or at least tell her to be careful, but instead his words were directed toward Fel. “Be ready when she tells you to do so. And then leave. Go. Let me deal with whatever has come through.”
