Page 42 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

I hesitate, scanning for Drayveth. He’s pinned behind a boulder, two of his allies covering him while the brood circles for another pass. Part of me hates him for what he’s done, but another part still clings to the memory of the mentor who once protected me. My heart twists.I can’t leave him to die like this.

Kaelith sees my turmoil. “He tried to kill you,” he says, voice taut. “Do you really want to risk your life for him?”

Tears line my eyes, but I set my jaw. “He’s still… my family, in a twisted way. I can’t just watch him get torn apart.” Guilt wracks me.Is this foolish compassion, or the last shred of humanity?

The ledge shudders again as one of the twisted gargoyles lands with a thunderous impact, blocking the path we came from. Its sinewy wings fold, claws skittering on rock. It roars, drooling black saliva. My stomach lurches.This is no normal gargoyle.

“All right,” Kaelith grinds out, “but we do this fast. If Drayveth tries to kill us again, I won’t hold back.”

I nod, heart pounding. Together, we lunge forward, weaving between the scattered purna. One tries to strike Kaelith with a reflexive spell, but I deflect it, shouting, “We’re helping you!” The purna gapes at me, confused, but doesn’t attack again.

We reach Drayveth, who crouches behind a boulder, face streaked with dust and raw fear. He looks up, expression slack with shock to seemerushing to him. “Sariah?” he gasps, eyes flicking to Kaelith. “Why would you?—”

A screech overhead interrupts. One of the brood dives, claws extended. Kaelith roars, meeting the attack with an upward slash of kinetic energy, sending the beast spiraling off course. I seize Drayveth’s arm, helping him to his feet. “We need to get off this ledge. Now.”

He’s trembling, staff shaking in his grip. “You… you’re not killing me?” His voice cracks.

I glare at him. “You might be a bastard, but I’m not a murderer.” Even as I say it, part of me rages at how close he came to slaughtering Kaelith. But the ledge quakes under another blow, dust swirling in my throat.No time for righteous fury.

One of Drayveth’s subordinates is pinned by a twisted gargoyle, shrieking as the beast’s claws dig into flesh. Before I can react, Drayveth hurls a necromantic blast that tears the creature away, freeing the pinned purna. “Fall back!” Drayveth orders, voice scraping with panic. “We can’t hold them on this terrain.”

Shouts ring out, confusion mounting. Some purna attempt to retreat, but the brood overhead cuts off the escape. Another chunk of the ledge crumbles, falling into the chasm. Pebbles bounce around my boots. My brand pulses with alarm.

Kaelith hisses, wings partially extending as he surveys the sky. “We might have to fight our way through them. Or risk the cliff’s other side. I see a narrow path that might lead down.”

I follow his gaze, spotting a precarious route snaking along the cliff face. One misstep and we’d plummet. But staying here means certain doom. “Let’s do it,” I say, swallowing my terror. My voice shakes but I push forward. “Drayveth, come with us if you want to live.”

He hesitates, still reeling from the fact I’m offering him any aid at all. But another gargoyle swoops in, forcing the purna to scatter. Drayveth clenches his jaw. “Fine,” he spits. “We regroup on stable ground.”

Chaos reigns as we dash across the trembling ledge. Kaelith stays close, deflecting stray attacks from the brood with pulses of his stone-laced magic. Drayveth does the same on the other side, staff blazing. I’m caught in the middle, flinging a ward or two to keep necromantic flames from crossing. The other purna scramble behind us. I can’t even see how many remain alive. Screams echo, overshadowed by the brood’s shrieks. My heart feels like it might burst.

We reach the narrow path Kaelith spotted. It clings to the cliff face in a hairpin turn. Without hesitation, Kaelith steps onto it, his wings pressed tight to navigate the cramped space. I follow, gulping at the sheer drop below. Drayveth and two of his subordinates come after us. Another purna lags behind, pinned by debris. She screams for help, but we can’t turn back. It kills me to ignore her cry, but the brood descends again, ripping the ledge apart.We have no choice.Tears burn my eyes.

The path slopes downward, each step precarious. Drayveth’s allies cling to the rock, panting. A savage wind tears at us, kicked up by the gargoyles’ wings overhead. Dust and small stones rain down. My brand throbs, every nerve fraying.We’re alive—for now.But the price is horrifying.

At last, after a tense scramble, we descend to a marginally wider plateau. The brood above is busy ripping apart the ledge, turning its wrath on whatever remains of Drayveth’s forces. Screams echo, then fade. My stomach twists. We’re cornered still, but the twisted gargoyles might not see us hidden by the cliff overhang. Our group huddles, gasping for air.

Kaelith sets me down gently (I hadn’t even realized he was half-supporting me). My shoulder throbs, bruises sting, everything spins. Drayveth collapses to his knees, staff clattering. The two purna with him are wide-eyed, trembling. Silence wraps around us, broken by the distant roars above.

For a long moment, nobody speaks. Then Drayveth lifts his head, eyes pinned on me. Fury and confusion swirl there. “Why?” he croaks. “Why help me after I… after I demanded you kill your gargoyle?”

My voice trembles. “Because no matter what you did, I can’t stand by and watch you get torn apart by Nerezza’s brood. We have bigger foes to worry about.”

He exhales a shaky breath. “You remain naive as ever, Sariah.” But there’s a quiver in his voice that suggests relief. “They truly are her spawn,” he mutters, shuddering. “I’ve never seen such monstrous gargoyles.”

Kaelith rumbles softly. “She corrupted many. Now they serve her without question. You’d do well to realizewearen’t your true enemy.”

One of Drayveth’s subordinates glares at Kaelith. “But… you’re—” She falters, glancing at the wreckage above. “Gods, I don’t know. Maybe we all die anyway.” She buries her face in her hands.

I clench my fists. “We need to get out of these mountains. Or at least find cover from the brood. Snowfall Glen is our aim. They might stand a chance. But if you still want to kill Kaelith, we’ll just part ways here.” My voice wobbles, but I force conviction.I can’t go back to the coven.That door is slammed shut. They labeled me Nyxari.

Drayveth drags himself upright, leaning heavily on his staff. His face is a mask of turmoil. “You truly believe these purnas will help us?” he asks, surprising me with his uncertainty.

I shrug, tears burning the corners of my eyes. “Better than wandering aimlessly until Nerezza or her brood picks us off. They might not be allied with our coven, but they despise monstrous threats that devour entire enclaves.” I stare him down. “Come with us or don’t. But I’m not betraying Kaelith for you.”

His jaw works as if he wants to protest. The woman behind him shifts uneasily. Then Drayveth bows his head, voice hollow. “Perhaps we have no choice. The coven wants your blood, yes, but right now, half our forces are scattered or dead. That brood caught us off guard.” He meets my gaze, shame flickering. “I can’t even muster the energy to condemn you further. We barely escaped.”

A swirl of conflicting relief and heartbreak courses through me. My mentor, broken and uncertain. I whisper, “Then you’ll let us be?”

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