Page 210 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

Samkiel went to his knees next to her, silver light glowing on his hand as he placed it over her gut. She groaned, and he looked up at me.

“Excellent work,” he said, smiling at me as he healed her.

I shrugged. “I suppose. Commander Poison-Hands nearly caught me.”

“That was my mistake,” he said as Veruka groaned again. “I should have warned you.”

I shrugged. “No big deal. You saved me.”

Veruka sat a little straighter, and Samkiel shifted Orym to an upright position. He moved his hand over his head, the silver light glowing brightly. The sky split with a loud crack, and we all looked up as three ryphors appeared, one of them carrying a general. They hovered above us, staring for a moment before fleeing.

“Fuck.”

“Dianna.” Samkiel surged to his feet as I watched them race away.

“They saw you!” I snapped. “Saw that silver power. They will tell her.”

My body didn’t even ache as I reached for my beast form, the change coming faster than ever before. I shot back into the sky, leaving Samkiel standing beside the destroyed carriage with Veruka and Orym.

“Dianna.” His voice was filled with fear. “Do not go after those ryphors!”

“If they reach her, we are fucked,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

A screech pierced the air as I forced the flame from my throat, scorching the closest ryphor. Its burning body spiraled toward the ground like a flaming ribbon.

“See?” I smiled in my head, and I wondered if he felt it.

“I did,” he answered.

I streamlined my body and pushed harder, beating my wings against the air, gaining on the remaining two. I had flown far enough away that I couldn’t see him, but I still felt him. It was like a tether linking us, and even though I couldn’t see or hear him, I felt it pull tight, thrumming with the essence of him. That part of me that was hollow and lonely all those years was finally filled. It was just another perk of the ring he’d made me. Maybe this marriage thing was all it was cracked up to be.

The ryphors split, one going left and the other right. Fuck. I couldn’t let them get away. They knew he was here, and now, they knew what I’d been protecting all this time. If they made it back to her, everything would be over. I flew hard, cutting across the wind as I darted left. If I could just catch one quickly, I could circle back.

Smoke bellowed up, blocking my view within snout reach, so I relied on sound instead of my eyes. I extended my wings, gliding on the wind, and listened. A soft whistle of the wind to my right had me pivoting, and I saw the legless beast whip into the clouds. My wings beat once, twice, and I gained speed, forcing myself against the wind, its shape coming into view. The general glanced back, his eyes widening when I opened my jaws. Flame bubbled up, the heat caressing my throat, but his surprised look quickly turned into a satisfied smile, and he dove.

I snapped my jaws shut, preparing to follow, when a reflective shine caught my eye. The smoke separated, and two more ryphors appeared on either side. A net stretched between them, attached to their saddles. It wasn’t made of rope but pure silver light meant to slice me to bits. They stretched it tight, and I realized this was a trap. All of this was a trap made for me.

Fuck.

We can only be mortally wounded in our true forms. Tobias’s words echoed in my head. Nismera knew.

I was flying too fast, and I couldn’t stop. This time, my arrogance may truly be the death of me. I flung my head and mantled my wings, trying to slow my forward momentum, but it was too late.

“Sami.” I hadn’t realized I had reached out to him along our bond until his terror flooded me. He felt my fear, my apprehension, and I heard him scream my name.

I took a deep breath, preparing for the pain of hitting that net, but it didn’t come. Instead, a massive gray and black form slammed into my chest from below, forcing me up. It screeched in pain, a hollow, deadly sound. I echoed his cry, the edges of our Ig’Morruthen wings shedding embers from where they’d touched that net.

His eyes met mine, and my breath caught. It wasn’t just any Ig’Morruthen. It was Cameron. We were both flightless now and spiraling toward the ground, our wings damaged. The air ripped at us, and despite my anger and hate, I curled my damaged wings around him, cocooning us both. We crashed to the ground in a heap of dust and gravel.

EIGHTY-SIX

CAMERON

A soft hum filled my ears, and blistering, raging pain shot up my spine and into my arms. My eyes opened, and I blinked them, trying to get the room to come into focus. I lay on my stomach, the cot beneath me covered with thick comforters and furs. I stared at the cerulean bars with their spinning runes and knew where I was.

“And what would you have me do?” Dianna snapped, her voice hoarse as if she had been screaming for hours. We had fallen a long way, so maybe she had.

I had almost been too late. The portal I had used to get there opened and spat me out into chaos. The entire war camp was ablaze and smoking, but I hadn’t hesitated when I saw her take flight, heading straight into their trap. I had never transformed before, not once, but some innate power rose in me, and I just followed my instincts. My body stretched, power filled me, and then I was airborne, rocketing toward her. I had no idea what those nets were. I had never seen them before today, but now I knew why Nismera had been working late, why she and Vincent had not smelled like each other for months. Dianna was her main priority now.

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