Page 149 of Crown of Wrath

Lysara smiles at the dragon, completely unafraid. “I would never dream of raising a child. You and his parents can have himfor the next eighteen years, but I will come for him, and if you lay claim to him, then I will come for you as well. Eighteen years, and then he is mine. I’d had my doubts about him being the first dragon rider when Saelira had pronounced her prophecy. Now… I’d like to see a dragon and rider leading my armies.”

She gives the dragon another last smile before disappearing, and Inni’s growl shakes the very walls around the courtyard.

Without another thought, Maeve moves to Azric, wrapping him in a blanket and pulling him to her breast. Then she sees that his eyes have changed. No longer bright blue like his father’s, they’re deep violet. And he doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything that’s happened.

Tears well up in Maeve’s eyes, and Cole tries to comfort her even though his heart is as heavy as a stone. They both know that there is nothing either of them can do to keep Lysara from claiming Azric.

I will keep him safe.Inni’s voice rumbles through both of their minds, and they turn to her.I knew Lysara would claim him, and while she had first claim, I connected with him first. I will always be closer to his heart.Smoke rises from her nostrils.He is mine first, and I will keep him safe just as you kept Nyth safe. I swear by my teeth and claws and flames that he will come to no harm, and when our battles with the hunters are done, his allegiance to Lysara will end.

Maeve and Cole look at the dragon, who might be the only thing keeping their son safe. “Thank you,” Cole says solemnly. “You have…”

Inni shakes her head.I do not do this for you. I do this for him. I do this because I chose his soul for his body, knowing that Lysara would have claim to him. I will not let him go to her alone.

Maeve grips her baby tightly against her breast as if she could keep him with her forever if she holds him tight enough. “Thank you. Regardless of why,” she says softly.

Inni nods at them and moves back to Kasan. Maeve looks at her husband silently, and then she walks away, carrying Azric in her arms. Cole follows after his wife, and while today had started as a celebration of the baby’s birth, it had turned into something very different.

Maeve and Cole had known that Lysara’s appearance was possible, or even likely. The dragons, though? They knew it was certain, and all of them had prepared for her presence. Saelira is not the only being capable of prophecy.

Inni reaches out to touch Azric’s soul, mind to mind, and she smiles a toothy smile. A bond between a High Fae and a dragon has never happened. The images that play through the child’s mind are chaos, and Inni revels in them. While Maeve and Cole fret, the child sees images of butterflies chasing cats. And he laughs.

As the world worries around them, only Inni and Azric laugh. They have eighteen years before anyone can interrupt their smiles, and that is a very long time, indeed. While all of Nyth is becoming harder and stronger, Inni hasn’t forgotten a very important lesson from the war between the Great Houses fifty years ago.

Sometimes the strength of a man doesn’t matter quite as much as we all assume it does. Sometimes the strength of a heart is what changes the tide of battle when no amount of power can do so.

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