Page 13 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

“Take the east wing. I’ll take the left,” he murmured.

Gunfire erupted, shattering the silence and chasing everything but the fight for survival from his mind.

ChapterSix

Through the Ring of Power: Nysus

“Wynter, wake up,” Pow-pow urged, nudging her with the tip of his nose.

Wynter didn’t want to wake up. Her whole body vibrated as if she were about to explode. Power unlike anything she had ever felt before was flowing through her veins. Her hair was practically standing straight up from her head. The strands of blue pulsed.

Forcing one eyelid open, then the other, she saw straight up Pow-pow’s nostril. She made a face and rolled over onto her side. The room spun.

“Wha—what happened?” she asked.

Pow-pow was curled protectively around her. As he looked around the room, she followed her dragon’s gaze and noticed the absence of the white and blue lightning that had brought her here.

She stared at the bed and trembled as memories flooded through her. Holding onto Pow-pow, she pulled herself to her feet.

“I… know this place. I… remember, but I don’t know how,” she croaked.

Her heart hammered against her chest at the sight of a fragile woman lying on the bed. She kept one hand pressed against Pow-pow until she felt steady enough to take a step.

Next to the bed was a cradle. Dried flowers turned to dust when she touched them. Wynter watched the dust swirl, growing denser. The room changed.

Ghostly apparitions moved as if she and Pow-pow weren’t there. White blossoms on a leafy-green vine adorned the cradle. An infant girl, only a few minutes old, lay sleeping in the cradle. She had an olive complexion and platinum hair. An old woman was cleaning blood from her tiny body while another tended to a woman who bore a striking resemblance to the baby. Her green eyes were identical to the child’s, her complexion was only a few shades darker, and her hair was as white as snow. She lay exhausted on the bed, her face flushed, her hair soaked with sweat, and the lower half of her nightgown covered in blood.

“Larenta!”

Wynter turned as a tall man with pale skin burst through the doorway. Blood stained his clothing and dripped from his temple. He carried a long staff. Each end glowed a brilliant gold. Wynter instinctively reached for the staff at her waist. They were identical.

“Everes, you’ve returned! What is it? What’s happened? You’re hurt!” Larenta gasped, struggling to sit up.

Larenta waved her attendant away and slid from the bed. She pulled on the purple dressing gown. The man rushed toward the bed, passing right through Wynter as she attempted to stagger out of the way. Larenta swayed and would have collapsed but Everes caught her.

“You’ve given birth.” Everes’ eyes closed as if he were in pain. When he opened them, his eyes were teary before he blinked the moisture away. “The castle will be under attack soon. I must get you and our child to safety.”

Larenta shook her head as if to clear it. “What are you saying? How can it be under attack? By whom? Who would dare?”

Everes cupped her cheek. “The cities of Strom and Fairs have fallen. So have the lands to the south and east. There are creatures unlike any we have seen.”

Larenta stared at him in confusion. “Our magic—”

Everes shook his head. “There are too many. My heart, you must take our daughter and seek shelter to the north.”

Screams rent the air, and Wynter jumped. She walked over to the doors leading to a balcony and stepped out. Inhabitants not fast enough to reach the stone walls surrounding the castle fell under a black hoard of advancing forces. Wynter lifted her fist to her mouth when she saw a red beam of light turning people to ash.

She turned when Larenta stepped out beside her. Anguish twisted the woman’s beautiful features. She swayed again and the man wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I must stop them. I must protect our people.”

“No, my love, you are weak from giving birth, and there are too many. It would destroy you!”

Tears coursed down Larenta’s cheeks. “They cannot breach the walls, Everes. You know that. If they take Erindale Castle, there is no distance we can run and be safe. We are the stronghold. Erindale is the birthplace of our magic. I must… do what I can. You must call the protectors to the walls.”

Everes stiffened and paled. Finally, he whispered, “I will love you for all eternity, my beautiful Queen.” He caressed Larenta’s cheek before tenderly kissing her.

Everes walked over to the cradle. When he brushed his knuckles tenderly along the babe’s cheek, Wynter touched her own cheek, gasping when she felt the King’s caress.

---