Andra tightened the last strap of Janis’s saddle and stepped back from Tiri.
The violet dragon was practically wriggling with joy. Her tail twitched excitedly from side to side, and she ruffled her wings occasionally.
“Try not to take off without me,” Andra remarked with a smile.
Even across their limited bond, Andra could feel the dragon’s jubilation.
“Soon, sister,” Andra laughed, scratching the dragon under the chin. “We will fly soon.”
Once again, she shifted the sword that hung at her side, still growing used to its weight and the feel of it against her leg.
The Rider’s jacket and gloves covered her back and hands, making her feel like a mouse wearing the skin of a lion.
She slid a few inches of the sword from the black sheath, admiring the shimmering amethyst color that so perfectly matched Tiri’s scales. It truly was a sight to behold.
She let the violet metal slip back out of sight and looked toward Kael, who had finished saddling Eithne and was waiting for Andra with patient eyes.
The few soldiers who would be traveling with them—elves returning to their homes in Iterum—stood at the ready.
The rest, who would be traveling to the Mordis Range with Egan, had gathered to see the small group off before setting off on their own journey.
They would be skirting along the edge of the Shesol Mal for as long as possible before crossing it close to the mountains.
Syra and Alik separated themselves from the crowd, stepping up to the two Riders. The older girl took Andra’s black-gloved hands in her own and smiled at her warmly.
“You will be careful, won’t you?” she asked.
Andra forced a smile of her own and nodded. “Of course. Our journey will be much swifter and easier than yours. You’re the ones who must be careful.”
Syra laughed a little, glancing at Alik. “Oh, I feel that I won’t have much option but to be as careful as I can. Alik wouldn’t allow me to step into danger even if I wanted to.”
The large man gave her a loving smile, then looked at Andra. “I wanted you to know,” he said, “that Colmen believed in you—in your strength, in your abilities.
“He told me that he thought you could be someone great. He would be proud to see you in that jacket and gloves, with that sword at your hip. He loved you as he loved his own sister.”
Andra smiled tearfully up at the bearded man. “Thank you,” she said.
To her surprise, Alik stepped forward and pulled her into a rough embrace. Then he turned to Kael, and the two men gripped forearms for a moment.
“Fly swift,” Alik said. “Our hopes fly with you.”
“I’ll carry them as best I can,” Kael said with a tight smile. Andra could see in the rigid lines of his mouth that he felt the weight of those hopes already.
A few others stepped forward to say their farewells, and Andra searched the crowd for Talias, but there was no sign of his sandy hair.
A knot of disappointment formed in her stomach. Didn’t he want to say goodbye to her?
Then Kael turned and mounted Eithne in a single swift movement. Andra followed suit, settling herself into the unfamiliar saddle, tightening her legs into the straps as Kael had shown her.
Kael glanced at her, but before she could nod her readiness, a voice called out from the crowd.
“Wait! I’m coming with you!”
All heads turned toward the voice as Talias extracted himself from the crowd, his ever-present guard trailing behind.
Andra felt a small laugh forming in her chest as Talias joined the knot of soldiers on the edge of the desert.
“Well,” Talias retorted, shrugging his heavy pack higher onto his back, “I don’t recall being consulted on that, Captain. I’d prefer Iterum.”
His eyes moved from Kael to Andra, a spark in them as he said, “Andra and I always did talk of seeing it someday.”
Andra smiled, remembering those bouts of daydreaming, wondering what the elven capitol might be like. She turned her gaze to Kael, who glowered at Talias.
“Kael?” she asked in a gentle tone. “Surely one more in our numbers won’t change anything.”
His steely eyes met hers. “Or it could change everything,” he growled.
“For the better, of course,” Talias interjected, his tone cheerful, free of any doubt about his request being accepted.
One of the elves among their group spoke up. “I can keep an eye on him,” she said. “Act as his guard while you are both in the sky, Riders.”
Talias graced her with one of his radiant smiles. “Thank you,” he said before looking back at Kael. “So it’s settled then?”
Andra looked to the other Rider as well and found him looking back at her, his expression hard, but his eyes somehow pained.
Before she had the chance to understand the pain there, he looked away, eyes turning to the sky.
“Very well,” he answered gruffly. “Don’t slow us down.” Then, without waiting for a response, he called, “Move out!”
Without any apparent signal from her Rider, Eithne crouched and sprang into the air, her red wings beating heavily as she climbed into the sky.
A moment later, Tiri followed, her smaller form climbing rapidly behind. Andra held tightly to the straps, her legs clamping around the leather as they climbed.
Soon, they leveled out, and she caught her breath, relishing the sensation of the cool air on her face, the steady beat of Tiri’s wings on either side of her.
“It’s so beautiful up here,” she whispered, looking at the world stretched out below her. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek to the side of Tiri’s sparkling purple neck. “I love you, Tiri.”
She had never said the words before, except to her parents, and only as a child. But she felt certain that she did love Tiri, and that she had been destined to love her.
She had gone almost seventeen years without this dragon, but the thought of any future without her seemed impossible. No, she knew without a doubt that she loved Tiri with all her heart.
Andra turned her head, looking back at Bellris as it began to recede into the distance. In her mind, she said a silent farewell to the first place that had truly felt like home.
Then she turned her eyes ahead of her, toward Kael, and toward Iterum.
They traveled unceasingly throughout the day, the two dragons and Riders scouting ahead, then doubling back to the small contingent of troops before repeating it all again.
Occasionally, Kael and Eithne took a wider patrol scouting the Shesol Mal around them as Andra and Tiri remained over where the soldiers briskly marched through the desert.
Several times throughout the day, Andra wondered how Talias was faring.
The others with them were elves and half-elves; they could march faster and longer in the harsh conditions than a human with little training as a soldier.
But every time she asked Tiri to fly low enough for her to spot her friend, Talias simply looked up at her and waved, a broad smile on his shining red face.
When the sun descended and the cooler temperatures set in, they marched on. Kael didn’t wish to spend more time than necessary in the desert, so they would continue on until they reached the other side.
The dragons flew on into the dark, continuing as pink and gold painted the dawn sky.
Andra simply smiled and gave the violet scales another pat.
Kael, apparently having received the same report from his dragon, dipped down toward the troops and called out, “A few more hours, everyone! We’ll rest at the edge of the desert.”
She heard cries of relief from down below and peered over Tiri’s side to look at Talias. He remained amid the group, not trailing, his steps unflagging.
She shifted in the saddle, trying to relieve some of the tension in her legs and back. Though she undoubtedly was having an easier time of it than the others, she was also looking forward to getting some rest.
At long last, the soldiers arrived at the edge of the desert, and Tiri circled down to land beside them. Kael and Eithne flew a little further on, checking the immediate area for any signs of life.
As Andra dismounted, landing on her aching legs, Talias arrived at her side. Wind-blown and slightly sunburned, he still managed to smile at her.
“How was it?” he asked.
She laughed a little as she began unloading the supplies that Tiri had been carrying. “Long,” she answered.
“Oh,” she said with another breathless laugh. She looked at Tiri, who was watching the conversation with one glittering amethyst eye, and smiled broadly. “It’s incredible.”
“Maybe next time I can join you,” Talias said.
Andra tried not to cringe at the dragon’s response and held her smile in place as she answered, “Maybe.”
A gust of wind buffeted them, and they looked up as Eithne circled low, finally settling on the scrubby grass close by.
Kael hopped down, ignoring Andra and Talias, and approaching the other soldiers, who’d begun to set up camp.
“We’ll rest here for the remainder of the day,” he announced. “Now that we’re closer to the judges’ territory, we’ll be traveling at night and camping during daylight hours.
“Eat, get some rest. We set out again at sundown.”
The soldiers nodded in understanding, returning to their tasks.
“Not much fun, is he?” Talias remarked, his eyes following Kael as he began pulling supplies from his own dragon’s back.
Andra watched him as well, her lips pressing together for a moment before she answered, “He is a bit…severe, I suppose. But Kael has a lot on his shoulders. He takes his responsibilities seriously, that’s all.”
Talias grunted, then quickly changed the subject. “So? Supper?” he asked with a bright smile.
Andra nodded eagerly, fishing out their food rations from the supply bag.
They moved to the fire that was now crackling at the center of the camp, the soldiers gathering around it and chattering in low, tired voices as they ate.
“I’m ready for this all to be over,” one elf remarked. “The last thing we need is another war that lasts five hundred years.”
“Just give it time,” another said. “We’ve lasted this long. We can see this through. Right, Kael?” They looked to their leader, who’d been staring silently into the fire.
He didn’t look away from the flames as his eyes narrowed, dark brows drawing together. “The Kingsmen will get what’s coming to them,” he snarled. “And soon.”
“You mean the judges will,” Talias interjected.
The eyes around the campfire shifted to the young man who sat beside Andra at the fire.
Even Kael finally stopped considering the flames and looked at him. He said nothing, but his gaze was incredulous, obviously demanding an explanation.
“Half of them are innocent people who’ve been manipulated into fighting for a cause they don’t even understand, much less support. They’re not Kingsmen. They’re just pawns that Castigo is willing to sacrifice.”
Kael arched a black brow at him. “So say you.”
Andra shifted uncomfortably as Talias’s gaze hardened as well. “That’s right. Because I was in that army. I saw it. We had no choice but—”
“They’ve made theirs as well.”
Pain filled Andra’s chest at his hard, unfeeling words. “You’re wrong, Kael,” she whispered. His gaze moved to where she sat between the two men.
Not long ago, she would have wilted beneath the look that he gave her now. But she didn’t shrink away—he’d taught her that. Instead, she went on.
“You don’t understand what it’s like. You were raised among the judges, but not beneath them. I never believed I had a choice in my life. Not what I wore, what I ate, and certainly not what my future was.
“These men might not be indentured as I was, but their position now is hardly any better. They’re enslaved to the judges as much as I was.”
She held his gaze as he watched her, her voice softening as she continued, “You could have killed me when you found me in Castigo’s palace. A crueler man would have.
“But you didn’t, Kael. You freed me instead. If you would not kill me, why condemn them to death?”
Silence fell, the only sound the crackling of the flames. Kael held her gaze for a long moment. When he finally looked away, he stood, turning away from the group.
“I’m going to scout further ahead,” he said gruffly. “Make sure the path is clear for our march. If I don’t return before nightfall, head out.”
Without waiting for a response, he strode to Eithne, quickly mounted, and took off into the sky.
Talias watched Kael go with a slight feeling of gratification. Andra had certainly put him in his place. And as she always had, she’d understood his meaning, seen his heart, and been on his side.
He smiled at her, but she continued to stare after Kael, who was now winging off toward the forest on his red dragon.
“I can’t let him go alone,” she said quietly.
Talias’s jubilant heart sank a little as she stood, brushing off her trousers.
She strode quickly to Tiri’s side, stroking the dragon’s face briefly with an apologetic expression. The dragon rumbled in response to some silent words, and Andra moved to the saddle.
Talias quickly stood from his position by the fire, hastening to her side. “I’ll come with you,” he said quickly, trying to keep the hint of desperation from his voice.
He’d promised himself that he’d find a way to win her heart again, but he could hardly do so if she kept flying off without him.
But Andra shook her head. “I need to fly quickly to catch up to them. And Tiri’s tired. I don’t want her carrying any extra weight.”
Talias pressed his lips together grimly but nodded in understanding. “All right. Just…be safe, okay?”
She smiled briefly. “And you. I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be waiting,” he replied. Her smile returned, looking more genuine this time, and he pulled her into an embrace, daring to brush his lips across the top of her head.
When she pulled away, she made no attempt to linger in his arms. She stepped quickly to Tiri’s side and pulled herself into the saddle, the movement smooth and effortless—almost natural.
She looked down at him for a moment from her perch in the saddle, and he desperately wished she would say something.
But she only nodded at him once, then, at the same moment her dragon did, looked to the sky.
The enormous creature crouched, then leaped upward, wings snapping open and nearly knocking him backward with the force of the wind she created.
Talias stood and watched as Andra disappeared from above the treetops, chasing after Kael once again.
Tiri flew as quickly as her weary wings would carry her, but it still took them nearly an hour to draw near enough to Kael and Eithne for Andra to reach out with her mind.
She stretched her thoughts toward Kael’s presence, now so familiar to her. His mind remained closed to her.
With an irritated sigh, she turned her attention to Eithne’s warm presence. Gradually, she felt the dragon’s mind open.
It was Kael’s voice in her mind now, his presence against her thoughts. Of course he’d heard her speaking to Eithne; the minds of a dragon and their Rider were always connected.
His mention of that last night in Bellris, which she’d spent encircled in his arms, brought a flush to Andra’s cheeks, and though he still wasn’t looking at her, she found herself ducking her head to try to hide it.
But no sooner had the question left her lips than she sensed a shift in Kael’s mind.
She looked over at him and found his body had shifted as well. He was now sitting erect, head turned sharply away from her, looking down toward the forest below.
Kael looked toward the sun, which was beginning to set now. They’d flown a wide arc away from the Freemen’s temporary camp and had begun to head back toward the desert.
Andra nodded her understanding, and Kael leaned forward on Eithne’s neck. The red dragon swooped lower, Tiri following close behind.
When they spotted a nearby clearing, the dragons banked for it, settling onto the grass and quickly folding their wings in close to their sides.
Kael and Andra both dismounted, hands on their swords, eyes scanning the trees. And then Andra sensed it as well.
A terrifying chill crept down her spine, the feeling of something cold and dark close by. Her skin prickled as the feeling drew ever nearer.
Eithne and Tiri lowered their heads slightly, lips curling, smoke trailing from between their fangs. All four sets of eyes turned toward a single spot in the trees.
There. Andra was certain of it. Something was there, just in the shadows.
A glint of red caught her eye as Kael slowly drew his sword. Andra followed suit, beginning to withdraw her own blade.
But before it had fully left its sheath, before Andra could even think to react, a bolt of energy shot from the trees, aimed straight at her heart.
Eithne had seen the men before his human eyes could, just soon enough for him to react.
The instant he felt his dragon’s wordless pulse of warning in his mind, Kael tugged on his magic, drawing up a shield of air around the four of them.
In the same heartbeat, the bolt of magic shot from the trees, striking against his shield, sending out red sparks directly in front of Andra’s chest.
A surge of fury rose in him, and he gripped his blade’s hilt in both hands as he watched three men rush from the trees.
Two of the men wore thick leather armor, distressed from travel. The third wore a dark cloak, and Kael could feel the cold energy radiating from him—the Dark sorcerer he’d been able to sense from the sky.
He should have known what that feeling had been, should have known to stay as far away as possible. Instead, he’d led Andra straight into danger.
She drew her sword, standing close to his side, clearly ready to follow his lead.
As much as he wanted to tell her to hide behind the dragons—or, better yet, flee on Tiri immediately—he knew better than to try.
Instead, he asked, “Can you handle the swordsmen?”
She nodded quickly, and he prayed she wasn’t lying.
“I’ll take care of the sorcerer.”
He gave a silent signal to his dragon, and Eithne released a stream of flame at the three approaching men.
Tiri’s fire quickly joined hers, and Kael waited tensely, hoping against hope that it would be as simple as this.
Of course, it wasn’t. The three men burst out of the flames, unscathed, shielded by the sorcerer. Kael drove forward, catching one of the soldiers by surprise.
He drove his blade at the man’s middle, but the soldier sidestepped just enough that the sword only cut a deep furrow beneath the edge of his armor rather than running him through.
Kael didn’t wait to try and finish the man. He kicked him aside, turning his attention to the sorcerer.
The man’s hands were raised toward the dragons, and it was only then that Kael noticed Eithne and Tiri were both on the ground, bodies rigid under invisible bonds.
Kael raised a hand, preparing to attack with magic of his own. And then his mind erupted in pain, turning the edges of his vision black, locking his magic away behind a wall of black and cold.
Desperately, he tried to throw the attack off, tried to retaliate. He forced his eyes to open, searching for his attacker.
Instead, he saw Andra.
She stood between him and the men, sword raised. The first soldier charged at her, swinging toward her middle.
She jumped back from the strike, then brought the amethyst sword down in a shining arc. The man screamed, dropping his blade as blood streamed from the bone-exposing wound.
Then her eyes lifted toward the remaining two men. Kael felt the crackle of energy in the air around him, even with the haze of pain that clouded his mind.
Andra raised her blade and swung it through the air with a furious scream. Forked lightning streamed from the sword, racing toward the soldier he’d injured and the sorcerer.
The soldier’s body jerked and fell as the lightning reached him. But the sorcerer raised his arms, and black, roiling smoke seemed to envelop him. The lightning evaporated as it touched the blackness.
But that moment of distraction was enough. With the sorcerer’s concentration broken, Kael felt the grip on his mind weaken, the pain ebbing, allowing him to seize at his magic once again.
The warm energy surged through him, driving out the cold pain, and he scrambled to his feet, raising his sword.
The dragons, too, seemed to have been freed by the sorcerer’s distraction, rising to their own feet with menacing snarls.
“Are you all right?” he heard Andra ask.
But he didn’t answer. The sorcerer was racing for the trees, escaping—likely back to the judges.
Kael swore, starting after him. He’d hardly taken two steps toward the tree line when the sorcerer glanced backward over his shoulder.
Kael barely registered the orb of crackling black energy, hardly had time to raise his hand to try to deflect it.
It struck his upraised palm before he could draw on his magic. And then, all he could do was scream.
Andra expected some kind of explosion, a blast of sound and light. But it didn’t come. Kael’s hand seemed to absorb the shadowy ball, the writhing tendrils of Darkness sinking into his skin.
Suddenly, Kael screamed, the sound tearing across the clearing. Eithne let out a roar that sounded more like a pained howl, and both dragon and Rider collapsed on the grass, writhing in agony.
Whatever the sorcerer had done to him earlier, it was nothing compared to this.
While he’d trembled and groaned under the sorcerer’s torment before, now, Kael screamed as if his very soul was being shredded inside of his flesh.
Panicked, Andra dropped beside Kael’s thrashing form. Her eyes fell on his arm, and terror seized her.
From his hand to his shoulder, strips of his skin seemed to have been torn away, baring deep red muscle, blood spilling onto the grass. The smell of burned skin invaded her nostrils, and Andra covered her mouth with horror.
Kael continued to scream, his body arching against the grass, and Eithne howled in unison.
“Tiri, what’s wrong with him?” Andra shouted above the ear-splitting noise.
Andra’s breaths became short and panicked, her eyes roaming the empty clearing around her for some kind of aid.
“The Freemen,” she cried breathlessly. “They’re not far. They—they… Surely one of them can help?” Her voice sounded high-pitched to her own ears, desperate.
“They should be starting this way soon. Maybe I can—.”
A sharp pain in her hand drew her gaze away from her futile search of the surrounding trees. She looked down to see Kael’s hand clutching hers, his entire body trembling with agony.
His eyes were on her, his lips pressed together to try to hold back his own screams. Instead, he moaned, whimpering as tears slid down his cheeks. His eyes were desperate, pleading.
In that moment, Andra knew that he would die. And she knew that he knew it as well.
