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“I don’t know,” I replied. “All I know is we need it. Maybe the answer will come once we get there.”
Bayleon placed his hand over mine. “Let us accompany you.”
I kissed him deeply, feeling his warmth seep into me. “No,” I said softly. “I need you to stay here. This won’t take me long.”
Turning to Bastian, I locked my lips onto his, savoring the bittersweet tang of our passion. “I want both of you to meet me in our special grove when I return with the cure,” I murmured, glancing at them both. “Tonight, everything changes.”
My heart fluttered as Lerissa and I descended toward Aidan’s dragon form in the field. My dreams were finally about to come true.
* * *
Aidan flewus up to the front of my palace and I rushed in to grab my weapons—strapping my dagger and sword to my belt and my bow and arrows on my back. Then, lastly, I fetched an empty glass decanter and held it tightly in my arms before Aidan took us back into the sky. Lerissa’s grip was tight as she clutched my waist while her face pressed against my back. Now and then, she’d dare a glimpse of the ground below but quickly retreated into my warmth. I hadn’t flown on Aidan’s back in years, so the rush of wind was invigorating as we raced through the sky.
We took a direct path to the elvish kingdom that led us directly over the Winter Court—the snow below sparkled in the moonlight like millions of little stars. Soon we reached warmer air, and I could see the twinkling lights from Aelfric and Rhoswen’s palace in the distance. Unfortunately, there was no time to warn them of our visit, so I could only hope they would understand why we had to come in such haste.
Even though it was dark, I could see the barren lake below. Aidan’s dragon wings whooshed in the air as he lowered us to the ground.
Holding the decanter in my arms, I slid off his back and Lerissa joined me by the edge of what used to be the lake. The land was dry and cracked, and had not changed since the last time we were here. I thought I could use my water magic to draw some up from within the ground, but I couldn’t feel anything. Aidan’s thunderous dragon footsteps pounded on the ground and when I looked back at him, I watched him shift back into his normal form. He walked past Lerissa and me onto the dry dirt and placed his hands on the ground. I wasn’t the only one with the magic to control water; he also had it. I tried to hold onto hope that he could pull some from the ground, but when his troubled gaze focused on me, I knew it wouldn’t be so.
“I’m assuming the lake was filled up in the vision?” he asked.
I nodded. “It was. But I can’t feel a single drop beneath the soil.”
Aidan stood and sighed. “I can’t either.”
I watched him walk around the bed of the lake, his face betraying the same frustration that gnawed at my stomach. We had come so far and yet we still stood empty-handed.
After setting the decanter down in the grass, I trudged to where he stood, digging my fingers into the damp soil. Even though I knew it was useless, I channeled my magic into the ground one last time, begging with every ounce of me for even a tiny drop of water to appear. But none did, and all that remained was the bitter tang of disappointment.
“Please,” I begged. “There has to be a few drops somewhere.” But again, there was nothing.
Aidan’s hand settled on my shoulder. “Maybe it’s not the right time,” he said softly.
“When will it be?” I asked, glancing at him.
His gaze was heavy with sadness. “I don’t know.” We stayed there for a few more moments, and then he squeezed my arm. “Let’s go back home. We can try again another day.” I nodded in agreement, and we started back toward Lerissa, who had a worried expression on her face. “What do you want to do about her?” Aidan asked quietly. “You said she had to get the cure if she wanted to stay. We don’t have it yet.”
In light of what she did by betraying Diawen, there was no way she could go back to the mortal realm, and she was obviously scared for her family as well.
“She deserves to stay,” I answered firmly. “When you drop me off tonight, let her go and get her family so they can come here, too. They’ll need your protection.” Aidan nodded and there seemed to be an excited gleam in his emerald eyes. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” I probed.
He gave me a mischievous smirk. “What? Lerissa’s beautiful and I find her interesting.” Despite our night not being as planned, I couldn’t help but smile at his words.
“Just remember,” I cautioned him with a grin, “she’s a siren. I would hate for you to end up with a broken heart!”
We were almost to Lerissa when a tiny glimmer of light caught my eye. It was coming from the trees and seemed to be getting brighter. Suddenly, Diawen emerged from the shadows. She had a silver blade clutched tightly in her hands. Everything felt still and slow, like I was stuck in a dream. I wanted to scream out for Lerissa to look behind her, but before I could, Diawen threw the blade with such precision that it seemed to hang suspended in midair. Lerissa’s eyes widened in shock as the blade made contact; she let out a whimper of pain. My body shook with anger as I glared at Diawen’s menacing figure.
“That’s what happens when people betray me,” she snarled.
Aidan’s roar reverberated through the night sky, sending chills down my spine and driving me to action. I reached for my bow and notched an arrow with practiced precision before releasing it toward its target. The arrow flew true and embedded itself in Diawen’s chest, her eyes wide with shock as she fell back against a tree. Suddenly, time slowed, and Aidan and I raced toward Lerissa, who was lying on the ground with the blade sticking out from her back. We both dropped to our knees beside her, my gut clenching at the sight of the blood pooling around her body.
“Can you heal her?” Aidan shouted desperately, his body radiating heat as his dragon threatened to be unleashed due to his mounting rage.
Tears filled my eyes at Lerissa’s stillness and emptiness; I had been unable to protect her. “Take out the knife,” I ordered, feeling my magic swell within me.
Aidan did as I said and tossed the blade onto the ground just as the light exploded from my hands and into Lerissa’s body, consuming her. Tears streamed down my face as I felt my strength ebbing away. No matter how much energy I put into healing Lerissa, it wasn’t enough: her eyes were still dull and lifeless.
Crying out in desperation, I called upon the last of my power. More than anything, I wanted to retrieve the cure—but even more than that, I wanted to save Lerissa because she had been so unselfish. She had gone through so much to help me, the Tyvar and the men I loved. Stretching out with one final burst of magic, my body shuddered with effort.
