Page 145 of Lady of Ashes

Sorin had gotten to his own feet. He was about to ask if shehad any ideas, when a loud roar had them all reaching for weapons. The sound shook the pit, small pebbles shaking loose from the stone archway. Sorin was reaching for Scarlett, pulling her into his side, while Cyrus and Eliza closed in around them. Even Nuri had moved to their back, her fangs snapping out.

Another loud roar pierced the air, and shadows were swirling around them all, shields of ?ames joining them.

“What is that?” Scarlett murmured, her eyes darting around, searching for the source as intently as the rest of them.

“I do not know,” Sorin answered. “Nothing should be able to get in here. Not with the wards around the Black Halls.”

Another shadow fell over them that had them all looking towards the sky, where the sun was being blotted out by something massive gliding on black wings. It banked, clearly circling around to come back to them, and Sorin was pulling Scarlett in tighter.

“Is that …” Scarlett asked, the shock on her face matching what Sorin was feeling.

“That is not possible,” Cyrus muttered, but he had lowered his weapons, just as Sorin and Eliza had.

The ground shuddered around them when a huge, scaled body landed on the ground several feet away from them. Sorin gripped Scarlett’s waist, steadying her as she stumbled at the rocking of the earth beneath their feet.

There was a snort and huff that had smoke furling from the giant reptile’s nostrils. Its vertical pupils were surrounded by glowing yellow irises, and they were ?xed on them. It had to be at least twenty feet long, and the creature tucked its wings to its side as its barbed tail thumped the ground behind him.

“It’s a dragon,” Scarlett breathed.

“It is Ranvir,” Sorin corrected quietly.

“You know the dragon?” Scarlett asked, looking up at him.

“He is Sargon’s spirit animal. His brother, Ejder, is Arius’s,” Sorin replied.

“Why is he here?” Scarlett asked, disentangling herself from his grasp, her head tilting as she studied the dragon before them.

“My best guess is that he is here for Cassius,” Sorin answered.

Scarlett’s gaze swung back to him. “You think he is Cassius’s spirit animal?”

Sorin shrugged, the others standing in shocked silence around them. “It will not surprise me if he is.”

Scarlett’s gaze went back to the reptile. His deep green scales glinted in the sun, and it huffed again. She took a step forward, but Sorin gripped her arm, halting her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to say hello,” she answered, looking back at him.

“You are not touching a dragon, Scarlett,” Sorin replied, giving her an incredulous look.

She looked back to Ranvir. He was watching her intently, and he lowered his head slightly, as if inviting her to pet him. “I think he’d like it,” she said to Sorin, trying to tug her arm from his grip. “Maybe he would take me ?ying.”

“By the gods,” Sorin swore. “No, Love. You are not riding a spirit animal.”

“But I’ve ridden Rinji,” she argued.

“Yes, but Rinji is Luan’s spirit animal, and he was with us.” “So if Cassius is with me, I can ride Ranvir?”

“He is not here for Cassius. Not in the way you are thinking,” came the High Witch’s stern voice. They turned to ?nd her standing several paces behind them, her lips thinned as she looked upon the dragon before them.

“How do you know?” Scarlett asked, her gaze returning to the dragon, who was watching them all carefully.

“Bonding takes place in Shira Forest, not here,” Hazel replied, ?nally moving forward. “But Ranvir is already bonded to another. Unless he has passed, Ranvir is not here for a bonding ritual. However, his business here is likely Cassius.”

Scarlett tried to take a step forward again, but Sorin’s hand tightened on her arm. She shot him a glare over her shoulder.

“He will not hurt the queen, Prince,” the High Witch said. “He knows who she is. He knows whose blood runs in her veins.”

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