Page 257 of Heat of the Everflame

“She’ll be fine,” Luther said, quieter. “I know how to wound without killing.”

Shadows crept into his eyes. His careful mask slipped, giving a glimpse of a tortured darkness that lurked deep inside.

A group of army soldiers came riding on horseback through the palace gates. Atop the lead horse sat the red-eyed commander I’d battled in Mortal City.

“Stop her,” he yelled, pointing toward me. “She attacked my battalion!”

Luther raised an eyebrow, and I swore under my breath. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He nodded. “What about Sorae’s chains?”

“Oh, she’ll take care of those all on her own.” I untied the bags Luther had secured to her side as he sliced away the last of the muzzle’s leather straps. The second the iron cage slid from her snout, her thunderous roar exploded over the palace grounds.

“Go,” I shouted at the soldiers holding her chains. “If you want to live,run now!”

A low rumble built in Sorae’s throat, and the air turned blisteringly hot. Remis staggered backward, his face turning a sickly pale.

“Run,” he hoarsely echoed my order. “Run!”

As one, their eyes grew wide. The soldiers dropped the chains and scrambled to get away. I grabbed Luther’s arm and threw my body on top of him, ignoring his grunts of protest as I built the thickest blanket of ice I could craft and stretched it to cover both us and Alixe.

A sapphire inferno erupted from Sorae’s fanged jaws, a cataclysmic deluge of flame that charred every surface within reach. The world disappeared within its violent, blinding glow, though I felt only a calming warmth—as her Crown, her dragonfyre could do me no harm.

Everyone else was not so lucky.

My ears rang with horrified screams, bubbling ice evaporating to steam, and, to my relief, the hiss of melting iron. When the flames receded, I didn’t dare look at the damage Sorae had wrought—only a brief glance at Alixe to confirm that her clothes were singed, but her skin was unburnt.

Luther wasted no time. He hauled me to my feet and dragged me at his side in a sprint for Sorae, snatching our bags along the way. We carefully avoided the molten red ooze puddled beneath her as we vaulted on her back.

“Go, Sorae!” Luther shouted.

She held still, awaiting my command.

I spied Taran huddling by the palace walls. Zalaric crouched behind him, peering out from Taran’s protective grip.

“Jean will come for him,” I called out to Taran.

He growled, fists clenching. “If he does, Hanoverre blood will run in the streets.”

I smiled. “Take care of him for me?”

Zalaric rolled his eyes. “I’m more powerful than him, you know. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of mys—”

“I will, Your Majesty,” Taran shouted back. “I’ll protect him with my life.”

We exchanged salutes, and I sent a silent command to Sorae. Her wings shuddered as they flared out, the lingering pain from her capture echoing in my body through the bond. But my fearless gryvern pushed through her pain and leaned back on her haunches.

“I pray you remember my warning, Remis,” I yelled to him as we leapt for the sky.

His response barely reached me over the whistle of the wind.

“I pray you remember mine, as well.”

Chapter

Fifty

“Ican’t believe you stabbed Alixe.”

---