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My breath echoed harshly in my ears as I climbed the steps of the passage leading from the temple into the heart of Mount Furian. Kiryan had filled the primal stone hanging around my neck with Radiant magic, giving me a much-needed boost. But even with that infusion of energy, I’d barely made it back here in time to open the portal.
“Come on,” I told myself as my legs trembled beneath me. I braced my hand against the wall and pulled in a deep breath of sulfuric air, wishing Quye could be here to purify the air like she'd done the last time I’d traversed the passage. As a dragon, I could withstand the scorching air and the poisonous fumes, but that didn’t make it pleasant to endure.
I closed my eyes and turned my attention inward, toward the bond. I could feel Adara on the other end, her anxiety thrumming, and it pushed me onward, giving me the strength to climb the last hundred steps to the entrance. She was worried she’d missed the timing, that the portal wouldn’t be there, that she wouldn’t be able to come back.
I couldn’t let her down.
My legs buckled as I stepped onto the stone bridge that spanned the heart of the volcano, and I collapsed to my knees against the hard surface. A sea of magma hissed and bubbled below me, and to my exhausted mind, it almost sounded as though it was scolding me for stopping now, when I was so close. Gritting my teeth, I crawled to the center of the bridge, then reached into the pouch at my waist and pulled out the other primal stone Kiryan had charged for me. I placed it on the ground, then sliced my hand open, dripped my blood onto it, and recited the ancient chant from last time.
The bridge rumbled beneath me, and the portal opened with a violent burst of energy that sent me flying backward. My claws and wings sprouted, and I used them to stop myself from falling into the abyss, gouging my fingers into the stone and spreading my wings wide to catch the stiff breeze generated by the open portal. I planted myself in the middle of the bridge again, a safe distance away, and held my breath as I waited for Adara and Quye to return.
One minute ticked by, then two, then five. Anxiety bubbled inside me, and I glanced at the primal stone fueling the portal. Its bright white light was dimming—what would happen if it shut? Would I have to fly back to the Gaoth Aire and find Kiryan again, then come back? And would Adara still be waiting on the other side if I did?
Come on, Adara,I called through the bond.Come back to me.
As if summoned by my very thoughts, Adara stepped through the swirling violet vortex. My heart swelled with joy and relief at the sight of her, disheveled and scuffed, but gloriously alive. Her entire being glowed with power, and I leaped to my feet, my body buzzing with renewed vigor.
But before I could rush toward her and scoop her into my arms, Quye stepped out of the portal behind her… along with another dragon.
“Yaggir!” The name of my deputy burst from my lips, my shock cutting through the roaring winds that whipped through the room. I took another step, then stopped again as another dragon, then another, and another came through the portal. My knees buckled again, but I barely felt the pain as I hit the ground and stared open-mouthed at the growing crowd before me.
“Hello, my love.” Adara knelt before me, a tender smile on her face. She lovingly cupped my cheek loving, and as she swiped a thumb across my sooty skin, I realized I was crying. “I brought you a surprise.”
“I’ll say,” I croaked, barely able to speak around the lump in my throat. I wanted to pull her into my arms, to kiss her like I’d been dreaming of doing every night since she’d left, but the portal snapped shut, drawing my attention away. I looked over her shoulder, struggling to comprehend the sight of the two dozen dragons standing before me. I knew almost all of their faces—Yaggir, Diyani, and Isador had been my closest comrades in the army, but I’d served with most of the others. The few I didn’t know were young and fresh-faced, their Umnar tattoos newly inked on their skin, and I realized they had to have been born in the new world.
Yet they’d left the safety of their homes and followed Adara and Quye back here. To me.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Diyani said, arching her brows at me. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at me. “Aren’t you happy to see us?”
“Of course he’s happy to see you,” Quye smirked. “He just wasn’t expecting it. He also looks like he’s about to die of exhaustion. Give the poor guy a minute to take it all in.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Adara grabbed my face and kissed me. A firestorm of emotions exploded as our lips touched, and I gasped as a rush of energy flooded into me from the bond, burning away the fog of exhaustion and revitalizing me. My arms banded around her, and I crushed my mate into my chest as I kissed her back with everything I had. All the pain and fear from the last few weeks evaporated beneath the scorching passion that flared within us both, and I lost track of time as I soaked it all in—her scent, her touch, the taste of her mouth and the salt of her tears. I hardly registered the dragons whooping and cheering in the background—in this moment, she was the only thing in my world that mattered.
“I missed you more than words can say,”she said in my mind, her nails digging into my shoulder blades as she clung to me. Pure delight filled me at the sound of her voice in my head—a sound I wanted to hear every day for the rest of my life.
“I missed you too.”I nipped at her bottom lip, uncaring of our audience.“I can’t wait to see your dragon form.”
She grinned, pulling away. “And I can’t wait to show it to you,” she said aloud.
“Show him what?” Yaggir asked saucily. “Are the two of you going to complete the bond here? Shall we give you the room?”
I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself to my feet, helping Adara up along the way. “You’re just as impertinent as you always were,” I said, striding across the bridge. The two of us grasped hands, and I pulled him in for a hug.
“And you’re just as big as a softy asyoualways were,” Yaggir said, hugging me fiercely. “It’s good to see you again, old friend.”
My heart felt like it was going to burst with joy, and I was nearly overcome by the urge to hug everyone who had come through. “Why have you all returned?” I asked them. “Don’t you know the dangers here?”
“We do,” Diyani said, “and we couldn’t let you face them alone. Besides,” she said, giving Adara a sly smile. “Your future mate isn’t the only one who can use this new power. We discovered we can wield it too, using the primal stones.”
I stared at her, uncomprehending. “What?”
“It’s true,” Adara said. I turned to see her tapping the primal stone on the cuff wrapped around her bicep, and as I looked closer at it, I noticed a violet iridescence swirling within the gem. “I accidentally filled this stone to the brim when I unleashed my power during the Umnar, and I let the other dragons test it out. They were all able to draw on the magic within and produce icefire.”
“This… this changes everything.” I hefted the pouch of primal stones, glancing at Quye. “Is this why you asked me to gather these things?”
“Of course,” she said, a little smugly. But the self-satisfied look in her eyes faded as worry crept across her expression. “There’s something wrong. I can feel it.”
Guilt slammed into me as I remembered the reason I’d rushed here in the first place. “Let’s get back to the temple,” I told her. “We'll debrief each other, then discuss next steps.”
