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Joachim’s mind opened to both of ours and we plummeted inside. His thoughts were soaked in hatred and cruelty and pride. One of the things he was proud of was his new sky tower cells—a gift from Kallus using magic the isle had never seen. In his memories, we watched as Kallus raised the stone from the ground and floated it up, up, up until it hung hidden in the sky.
He’d had Lynx carried up there. He’d gloated knowing it would remind Lynx of that old tower where he had imprisoned him for his childhood failings. He had hated Lynx every time he thought Lynx faltered compared to Pend’s sons. He couldn’t stop comparing himself to Pend.
He’d been so proud to get Teris’s stone. To hang it where Lynx could see the thing he needed but couldn’t escape his shackles to help us.
I yanked my mind away from Joachim.
“We know where Lynx is,” I called to Branok, flashing the images to him.
“I’ll fly,” Branok said.
“Bring him back to me,” I said.
“The Scourge stone is there too,” Damyn reminded him. “Bring it back, Bran.”
Branok charged out the door, transforming into a dragon already. He soared into the sky.
The Scourge pressed in on us.
CHAPTER39
Lynx
Alina fell,her arms and legs spiraling wildly through the air. Until she met Lucien Finn, my sister had been a spirited but perfect princess, untouchable and cold with anyone outside our family. Now she fell, her golden hair fanning out behind her, her mouth open and eyes wide with horror. She didn’t look untouchable anymore, and my heart raced. The ground crumbled beneath Lucien’s feet and mine and I had to grab his arm to yank him back away from the edge, because he was so fixed on Alina he seemed likely to leap after her.
Then suddenly, wings snapped from Alina’s back. Her wings fanned out, catching the wind, slowing her descent. She slammed into the ground, but not with her full velocity.
Lucien shouted at her. I turned to him thinking he’d just lost his mind in fear, but he was pumping his arm in the air. “That’s my girl! I knew you could do it!”
He hadn’t known that ten seconds ago, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. I was grinning too.
She soared up toward us. She had a grin on her face, exposing her teeth. She looked just like Branok as a dragon—golden and sleek—but she was smaller.
“It still seems wrong to see a female dragon,” Lucien said.
“It seems great to me,” I said.
Then Alina seemed to slam into a wall. She careened end over end through the air, her wings flapping wildly as she tried to regain her balance.
“We’ll have to jump to her,” I said.
Lucien watched her drunken lurching through the sky as she tried to recover from the dragonsbane. “Um. I think we could have discussed this plan in more depth…”
“Buck up, Lucien.” I tried to call to her, but I wasn’t sure she could understand what I was trying to tell her.
Finally, I told myself she’d figure it out. “Lucien, grab Joachim’s stone and throw it to me.”
At least I’d have it with me. If this didn’t work out, Joachim would have to search through my blood and guts to find the stone, and I knew how prissy my father could be.
Lucien broke the glass case and withdrew the stone. He handed it to me. “How are you going to get to your sister?” he asked skeptically. “You’re still shackled.”
“I have faith in her,” I said. “You might want to back up.”
He did, frowning.
Then I leapt in the air, driving down into the already flimsy floating stone. He scrambled away as he realized what I was doing.
A crack split the stone. It was too late to be afraid.
