Page 103 of Of Scale and Blood

Then the drakkons swept in; two, not three.

They opened their mouths and roared, but the sound was chased by fire, a thick, deadly stream that cindered everything in their path. The Mareritt on their ladders desperately shifted position and tried to re-aim, but drakkon flame caught them in midmovement and cindered them.

It cindered combatants on the wall, as well.

I pushed upright and ordered an evac. The shout went up and down the line, and soldiers began to run for the various steps. The deadly rain of arrows and spears continued, but none touched me. None could. My flames were a wall of heat that surrounded me, cindering anything that close.

Control, where the fuck was control? Why the hell had I?—

The Prioress’s words rose like ghosts:the binding might make it necessary for drakkon and rider to act as one fighting unit to be at their most powerful.

Perhaps what she’d been talking about wascontrol.

Kaia, I shouted,land so I can mount you. It’ll help control our joint flames. Tell Yara.

She did so, then swooped overhead, thrusting her claws forward as she landed, scouring the black stone. I ducked under her wing and scrambled up her leg, quickly seating and clipping on. She crouched, then launched, her wings pumping hard as she fought for height. The rain of arrows and spears continued, thudding into her leathery wings and bouncing from her scales. Her spines protected me from the torrent of wood, which was a good thing, given the moment I’d mounted, my shield of fire evaporated.

I was once again in control.

Right, I said grimly.Let’s send these fucking bastards to Vahree’s realm.

Kaia roared in agreement and swooped down, the sharp movement throwing me back hard. The Mareritt on the ground below raised their weapons but never had the chance to unleash the acid; drakkon flame caught them, erased them, before their fingers ever touched the release.

Move on? she asked.

Move on, I confirmed.

Yara flew in and, wing tip to wing tip, they scoured the valley with their flames, ashing everything and everyone in their path. It wasn’t in the Mareritten nature to run, and they fought until the flames hit them, sending a continuous deluge of arrows and spears and even acid into the air. I flung fire at anything that approached us, cindering again and again, until the mote in my eye popped, my brain ached, and only ashes lay on the valley floor far below. Until the utter fury that had consumed me bled away, leaving only grief.

I pushed it aside. I couldn’t acknowledge it.Wouldn’tacknowledge it. Not until I was sure, absolutely sure, that everyone I cared about, everyone I loved, had been in the war room.

Fog?came Kaia’s question, her weariness a pulse I felt deep inside.We search?

I hesitated. The two of us—and no doubt Yara and Kele—were approaching our limits, and while I knew we shouldn’t risk pushing beyond them when we were still healing from the aftereffects of the spell, we also couldn’t leave without pressing into that fog, if only to see what had launched those flaming orbs and destroy it if we could.

Fly in, but don’t go too low until we know what’s there.And don’t flame.

I signaled Kele what we were doing, though in truth it was no longer necessary, given her connection to Yara, then hung on as Kaia swooped down into the fog. Thankfully, it was just fog, and not the acidic stuff raised by the gilded riders’ mages.

The air became cold and tacky, clinging to already soaked skin and clothes. Visibility was zero for too many seconds, then gradually, it lifted.

There were hundreds of Mareritt on the ground below. We flew over them, unseen, unheard, partially covered by their mages’ unnatural fog. They appeared to be readying for retreat, perhaps to regroup and refortify. I couldn’t see any of those mounted tubes we’d destroyed in the Barrain Ghost Forest, suggesting that maybe they hadn’t had time to rebuild. What I did see was a good dozen enormous catapults.

Have you and Yara enough flame to destroy them?I asked Kaia.

Can. Will. Then go home?

Then go home. And discover if I had anything to go home to.

Grief surged. I swallowed heavily, fighting it even as I knew it was a battle I would lose. Vahree had come to Esan and even now danced with the souls of our dead. Not even Túxn could forever stop his skeletal fingers reaching deep into the heart of my family.

Kaia swooped around, into the full force of the rain, and began her fire run, Yara behind and to one side. Their flames lacked power and heat now, but still set the catapults alight. I flamed down, spraying what fire I had left at those running or raising weapons. Then we were done and flying up through the foggy muck, into open air again.

I swiped at the blood pouring over my lashes, smearing its warmth through the torrent of rain streaming down my face, then sighed.Kaia, could you tell Yara to land on the wall so Kele can dismount? Tell her to get some food and rest.

And we?

I’ll dismount in the palace courtyard.

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