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The young male protested, but his words were drowned out as several other dragons volunteered. I glanced helplessly at Ylena, torn between gratitude and hesitation. “Are you okay with this?”
She didn’t answer at first, and the others grew silent, waiting for her to speak. She slowly scanned the crowd, meeting each of their gazes and the rainbow of emotions—excitement, anger, fear, and everything in between. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling bonfire and the waves crashing against the surf in the distance.
“I won’t lie and say that I’m happy about it,” she finally said, “but Diyani is right. Einar needs help, and while I cannot abandon my position here, if there are those among us who are willing and able to go, I will gladly allow it… so long as their families are in agreement.”
She gave Keenan a pointed look, who sulked in response. The parents who’d been listening gave sighs of relief, and hastily dragged their children off to bed while the ones who’d volunteered cheered. As they began to talk excitedly amongst themselves, Ylena laid a hand on my arm.
“I am leaving my people in your care,” she said in a low voice. “Are you ready to lead them, unflinchingly and without fear, into this battle?”
“I am,” I said, for once without hesitation. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d had a full meal and ten hours of sleep, or if it was the newfound power flowing in my veins, but my previous fears seemed to have vanished. My entire being brimmed with power and purpose, and I’d never felt more ready for anything in my life.
“Good.” She pulled her hand away, but the hard gleam in her stare pinned me to the ground. “Keep them safe, Adara. Your icefire may be powerful, but it won’t make them invincible. Make sure the sacrifice they are about to make is not in vain.”
32
Einar
By the time I made it across the border and into the Gaoth Aire, I was exhausted. Even with the boost of energy I’d gotten from the hot springs, the flight was arduous and fraught with danger, the shadow creatures out in full force at night and hungry for a meal. It had taken everything I had to fight them off, and when I finally made it to safety and found a mountain cave to take shelter in, I’d collapsed, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.
A blizzard hit in the middle of the night, and I was forced to hunker down in that cave for three days, using my dragon fire intermittently to melt the snow piling up outside the entrance. By the time the snowstorm passed and I emerged, I was so hungry I could barely see straight.
Leaving the primal stones hidden in the cave, I took off, desperately searching for food. There was nothing in the immediate area, but a few miles east, I found a mountainside littered with mountain goats. The animals panicked when they saw me coming, jumping from one precarious ledge to another in an attempt to get to safety, but I plucked two of them from their perches with my claws and devoured them whole, then grabbed another before the rest fled.
Satiated, I took a moment to rest, then went in search of a place to bathe the weeks of dirt and grime off my body. I lucked out, finding a hot spring a few miles away from a mountain village, and after circling the area to make sure there were no nearby predators, I shifted into my bipedal form and waded in for a long soak.
I was half-asleep when a shadow fell across me, blocking out the weak winter sunshine. Opening my eyes, I startled at the sight of a shepherd standing over me, wearing heavy robes and a thick fur cloak, a staff clutched in his burly fist. I nearly attacked him, but our eyes met, and I froze at the familiar green and gold irises staring back at me.
“Kiryan.” I relaxed into the water again, but only a little. I hated the way the Radiant always seemed to sneak up on me without warning. “What is it?”
Kiryan squatted by the hot springs, bringing himself closer to eye level. A sense of unease began to spread through me as I looked closely at his features, which were pinched with worry. “Nox has captured Mavlyn and tortured her for information. She’s scheduled for a public trial in a few days' time, after which she’ll be executed.”
Kiryan’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Is there anything I can do?” I said, getting to my feet. Steam rose in thick curls from my bare skin as I climbed out of the water and hunted for my clothes. “Perhaps if I leave now, I might be able to—”
“If you go to Domhain now, you won’t make it back to the portal in time to open it for Adara,” Kiryan interrupted. “She is the priority, Einar. You must not forget that.”
“But there must be something we can do, at least to stop her from being killed.” I raked a frustrated hand through my hair. “Can’t you break her out, like you did for us in Kaipei?”
Kiryan shook his head. “The only reason I helped you in Kaipei is because Nox was still adjusting to her new body and too weak to attack me,” he said grimly. “My presence in this world is the only thing keeping the balance of light and darkness from tipping—if I were to enter Castle Ithir now, she would strike me down and tip the balance in her favor, and then all our plans will be for naught.”
“And what about Leap?” I demanded as I pulled my clothes on. “Was he captured as well?”
“No, thankfully. He attempted to rescue Mavlyn, but after he was almost caught, he prudently fled the area. I told him to return to the Gaoth Aire and convince his uncle to aid in our efforts to defeat Nox.”
“I can’t believe this.” Guilt and horror gnawed at my insides. Mavlyn was Adara’s best friend. She would be absolutely devastated if they killed her. “There has to be something we can do.”
“Adara will have the power to save Mavlyn,” Kiryan said. “You must bring her back, then fly her to Domhain as fast as you can if you hope to spare her life from Nox’s wrath.”
“When is Mavlyn’s trial?”
“In four more days.”
I did some quick calculations in my head. “I don’t see how that’s possible,” I said, hating every word that came out of my mouth. “Adara isn’t due back for another three days. Even if I fly as fast as I can, I won’t be able to make it all the way to Talamh.”
“I know,” Kiryan said. “That’s why I’ve come, to give you a boost.”
“A boost?”
“Yes.” He glanced around, his brow furrowing. “Now, where are those primal stones you collected from the mines?”
