Page 175 of The Bond That Burns

Without thinking, I rolled forward and plunged the dagger downward with all my strength. The blade sank into the vulnerable flesh and Molindra let out a deafening screech, her entire body jerking back and away from me.

I scrambled forward to retrieve my knife and gasped. The dagger was pulsing with a dark energy. I pulled it out and the glow vanished.

Finally,Orcades hissed, her voice sharp.Let me in, you golden bitch. That’s it, let me in.

Mother! What the hell are you doing?I demanded.Where are you?

But part of me already knew.

Saving you and your sister.

Molindra reared back, her body trembling violently. I could hear Catherine and Marcus shouting commands from up above.

Marcus’s voice rang out, shrill and furious. “Get her up! Take off! Get in the air! Now!”

I glanced back at Blake just in time to see him fire a bolt from the crossbow.

Molindra let out a shriek of rage as the bolt penetrated her scales just above the knee.

“How many bolts do you have?” I screamed to him across the courtyard.

But he only shook his head grimly. My heart sank.

Orcades’ voice filled my mind, calm and determined.Get away from the dragon, Daughter. She is mine now.

Molindra’s screeches filled the courtyard, a symphony of fury and agony. Her body convulsed, claws gouging the stone. I stumbled away from the dragon, sensing that something was shifting.

Let me in,Orcades commanded, her voice still resonating in my mind.She is not whole. She’s twisted. Broken.She sounded shocked.My poor beauty, what have they done to you? This creature doesn’t even know herself anymore.

You’re inside her.I looked down at the dagger in my hand. The tarnished blade was lifeless and empty. My mother was gone.Can you heal her? Help her? Are you speaking to her?

Speaking is a generous word for it,Orcades replied dryly.She is barely holding onto thought. A terrible corruption has her.

But you’re in there. There has to be a way. Can’t you try? I pleaded.

No.Orcades voice was final.I cannot save her. But I can save everyone else.

I gasped as Molindra’s body jerked violently, her head swinging low as if she were trying to shake off the voice in her mind. Above her, Marcus and Catherine were shouting frantically, clinging to the dragon’s back, clearly panicked.

I stumbled back, shielding my face from the gust of wind as the golden dragon leaped into the air. Her massive body rose, but her movements were wild and erratic.

She was fighting the toxins. It was taking everything the dragon had left just to get into the air. On top of her, Marcus and Catherine’s screams echoed faintly as they clung on.

Only Lunaya was silent. She looked down at all of us as she held tight to Catherine’s waist, her face empty and remote. I was filled with pity.

Lunaya,I called to my mother.Can you look after her?

But there was no response. As the golden dragon flew away, my mother went with her.

Orcades was gone.

The tension in the courtyard was thick as blood. Every breath I took felt heavier than the last as I looked across the stones to where Florence lay on the ground.

Theo’s eyes met mine, full of something terrible. Something I refused to accept.

“No,” I whispered, stumbling forward. “No, no, no—"

I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. My mother was gone. I couldn’t lose Florence, too.

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