Page 22 of Queen of Legends and Lies
They nod, peeling away with practiced ease, their loyalty a staunch flame in the tumult. Two of them stay by my side, watching over me.
I descend faster, the heat of responsibility singing through my veins.
“Dammit.” My wings beat hard against the turbulent drafts as I descend. My feet touch down at the edge of the unexpected pool, ripples lapping over my boots. “What in the realms is happening?”
The clamor intensifies as more figures spill into the chaos from every corridor and archway. I spy several people I know.
Bastian, his face twisted with focus, holds the fire of a burning building back while Agnar pulls an elderly man into the middle of the street.
Leesa, her magic weak without eyril, drags a scarf through the flooding water before wrapping it around her head in preparation to help.
Alannah’s form emerges from the crowd, her gait unsteady but determined. For all her quirks, when the world tilts, she isthe rock balancing the scales. “Air users, to me.” Her firm voice slices through the frantic throng like a calm breeze.
I wonder if she used her magic to make it so.
Several people leave the swarming crowds and follow her.
I marvel as Alannah reaches the heart of the flooded courtyard and raises her arms.
With graceful movements, she works her magic while guiding the others.
The air stirs, gathers, and solidifies into an invisible conduit. The floodwaters hesitate. Then they rush through the air-made channel, curving and twisting as if delighted by the new course set toward the base of the closest fire.
Using air magic to control water. It’s brilliant.
Though the awed murmurs from onlookers are swallowed by the panic around us, something akin to hope flickers within me.
Until my gaze lands on the cloudy, gray woods.
“Focus on getting that water to the base of the smoke!” Alannah directs the air users who have corralled around her.
New channels form, scooping up standing water and pushing it toward the other fires.
For a few seconds, I’m rooted to the spot as I take in the mayhem. This is beyond my abilities. I have no clue what to do. How to help. How to stop the blaze.
The dowager queen’s eyes find mine. “Lead them. That is your duty. Tell them what to do and make them listen.”
Lead them? How can I lead when I’ve never done anything like this before? What will I tell them? What if they don’t listen?
Get your shit together.
Something snaps inside me, spurring me into action.
“Fire users, hold the flames up so rescuers can get underneath them.” I spin to face the crowds. “Earth users, shore up the walls. Do not let them fall. In town and for thebattlements. Water users, keep putting the fires out. You’re doing great.”
I square my shoulders and dive into the thick of it, my boots splashing in puddle after puddle.
The water elementals conjure barriers and wrestle the flood into manageable streams. Alannah’s air-guided river channels the excess away from the palace’s critical points.
It’s a dance of elements, one I’m learning on the fly.
Without words, I relay a request to the dragons. Focusing so my message is clear, I picture the alicorns in the burning stables, then send that image down the collective bond.
Chirean responds first. When I sense his dawning understanding, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Along with Tanwen, Kaida, and Ryu, Chirean steps over the wall of the paddock, careful not to crush any people running about. The stablemaster of the alicorns nearly falls over as the dragons approach, his strong arms covering his head.
Tanwen, amused by the man’s actions, uses his massive clubbed tail to swat at the blazing roof. Taking a more direct approach, Kaida simply sits on the flaming mound of hay outside the stables to smother it. Then he starts shooing the spooked alicorns to freedom. Unbothered by the flames, the other two scoop up trapped and terrified alicorns, tossing them to the safety of the air.
