Page 84 of Queen of Legends and Lies
His jaw tenses. “Agreed. Let’s do this.”
I blink, and the swirling drachen are gone. Whether they’re invisible or they’ve left or Xenon drained them of their power, I have no idea.
I’m not about to wait around and find out.
With the sinister creatures gone, Xenon refocuses his attention on us. “You said do my worst. I hope you’re ready,Dragoncaller. Prince.” He twirls a finger, and the wind vortex reaches a nauseating speed.
A barrage of stones, ice, and fire shoots out at us, and we have to shift our concentration to dodge the onslaught of projectiles.
I pop back up and unleash a torrent of flames. Xenon only needs to glance at me for my fire to die. It’s like he’s somehow controlling my magic with his mind.
I’m powerless.
Enough of this.
Just because I can’t fly out of here doesn’t mean I have to stay on the ground or be a stationary target. With a soft snap, my burgundy, gold-tipped wings unfurl. Sterling follows suit, releasing his magnificent silver-streaked plumage.
We launch upward in unison, leaving the treacherous ground behind.
For a moment, we soar free.
Then the chaos pursues us. A dizzying spiral of fire, ice, earth, and air assaults us as Xenon’s magical vortex rises. More drachen burst from the shadows in pursuit, their membranous wings churning the air. The nightmarish beasts lunge forward with glinting talons and glowing red eyes.
Sterling and I dance through the air, leading the drachen on a wild chase around glittering stalactites and over luminous pools. All the while, we spin and whirl, attacking and defending, our fire and ice flashing.
They seem more focused on capturing us than killing us, which gives us an edge.
I dodge a set of slashing talons and fling a fistful of white-hot embers at a drachen’s leathery wings.
And still, our magic remains frustratingly separate.
Why isn’t it working? Sterling and I fight in perfect sync, understanding each other’s intentions without hesitation, yet our powers refuse to unite.
As I swoop beneath a crystal outcropping, realization splashes me like icy water.
Sterling is mad at me. Furious, even. And beneath that, hurt pulses like a bruised and bloody wound. The bitter sting of betrayal.
The wind funnel runs out of projectiles.
Below us, Xenon snaps, and the air settles. His crazed, unhinged eyes rove over the space, like he’s searching for a weapon. Unfortunately, this cavern is full of sharp objects. As if he read my mind, the Aclarian king considers the unlimited supply of stalagmites and stalactites.
Nature’s daggers.
A volley of the wicked-sharp weapons hurtles past, and I barrel roll to evade them. We can’t keep this up forever. Sooner or later, one of us will trip up. Slow a fraction too much. Dodge a hairsbreadth too little.
I need to do something, before it’s too late.
Desperation claws at my insides as I swing around to face Sterling. His wings beat in powerful strokes, keeping pace with mine, but his unyielding eyes are hard as flint.
“Sterling, please.” The words emerge ragged, threaded with urgency. “Your anger is keeping us from connecting.”
For a sickening moment, I think he’ll ignore me. That he’ll keep flying and fighting while lost to me in every way that matters.
So quick I almost miss it, his gaze flicks to mine. “Sorry.” His throat bobs as if he’s trying to choke down a piece of dragon fruit whole.
One word, but I have to trust him.
This time, when I stretch my awareness toward Sterling, his power rises to meet mine. Water and fire. Frost and flame. They twine together, two halves of a whole, and the resulting surge of energy steals the air from my lungs.
