Page 63 of Progeny of the Cursed Egg
I gaze at the position of the rising sun and sigh. “Before it reaches its apex, you need to get Cora and her clutch up here.” My eyes shift, diving back into the vision. “Six black dragons must be stationed up here, ready to cover the lower courtyard in acid. Especially along the mountain’s rock face—set it on fire at the right time, and the attack will end swiftly.” I blink several times, emerging from the vision, and turn to Leander. “You will be the one to signal when.”
“What was that? You sounded detached…” Vox steps back, nervous about what I just revealed.
I shake my head firmly. “If you love your son and want to see his progeny thrive, you will stop asking questions that could get me killed.” Swallowing hard, I move closer to Vox. “They will kill everyone in my nest—or in my part of the continent—just to be safe. I am the weapon my mate wields.” I say it in a measured tone, hoping to settle Vox’s worries. As long as he believes the males of the nest are in control, he will remain calm.
Vox steps forward, kissing my forehead before leaping off the cliff and shifting. I can tell by the direction he’s flying that he’s heading back to Blackhaven to retrieve the black dragons first.
Leander steps in front of me and cups my cheeks gently in his hands. “What did you see?” he asks, his voice filled with a mix of concern and quiet understanding.
“Vox meant well, but he made the mistake of mentioning the visions in front of an elder,” I admit, drawing a deep, steadying breath. “The elder suspected Vox wasn’t telling the whole truth and went to Arameth—the grand dragon council. They immediately ordered the extermination of the Risedale nest.” My gaze shifts to Klauth as I continue, “Mages intervened between them and the dragons they’d brought... and we died together.” I pause, the weight of loss heavy in my words. I won’t mention that he fell first—those massive spears knocked him from the sky. Klauth was struck down first, thinking himself invincible, while I lived long enough to die knowing all my mates perished before me. My body fell from the sky, landing atop Klauth, and we took our last breaths together.
Suddenly, I feel a mental gasp.Oh, shit... I think I accidentally shared the vision.‘You did, mate. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to save us all,’comes a whispered apology through our mental bond.
“Will Vox say anything?” Ziggy asks as he moves closer, apparently unaware of what I just revealed.
“I said I was a weapon for my mate to wield. I didn’t specify which mate. Let him believe it’s Abraxis if it keeps us safe. He won’t risk not having his name go on to another generation,” I reply, staring at the ground for several moments. Then I lift my head and ask, “What’s the biggest thing you can move, Ziggy?” I tilt my head, eyes challenging him.
“Balor shifted—why?” he asks, puzzled.
“Because when Klauth and I go in to level the field, you and Balor need to protect Abraxis. When he’s able to shift back, you need to get him out of there,” I instruct firmly.
“What will Leander and I be doing?” Vaughn’s gaze shifts between us, seeking clarity.
“Protecting my nest and Thauglor. Leander will signal for the fire to rain down and ignite the acid,” I say, locking eyes with Leander, who nods in understanding. He knows the vital role he must play in this operation.
I glance once more at the rising sun, its light growing bolder as the shadows of the nest stir. We have hours left before everything is set in motion, and every moment is charged with the weight of what’s to come.
The guys keep shovelingfood toward me while I devour every bite, the tang of spiced stew mingling with the bitterness of dread. The surge of lightning I need to summon courses through my veins—a force more immense than anything I’ve ever drawn upon. Klauth too is gorging himself, every bite charged with grim determination for what is coming.
I pause mid-motion as I feel Abraxis shift; a cold tremor ripples through me. My hand clenches so tightly that the glass in it shatters, scattering tiny shards that sting my skin. I freeze, breath catching, and watch in horror as the vision changes. The third option—the one I have dreaded—is unfolding in real time.
“We need to go now…” I roar, my voice echoing off the cold walls as I dash from the room. This is the vision that if I don’t move fast enough, Abraxis dies.
I burst through the front door into our courtyard, where the night air is thick with the scent of damp stone and distant smoke. Six black dragons sit perched on the edge of the cliff, their dark eyes glinting in the sparse light. “The enemy is coming. Leave nothing to chance,” I yell at them, the urgency in my tone mingling with the metallic tangof impending danger. Klauth, Balor, and Ziggy finally catch up with me. “Cover the courtyard in acid, then watch it burn,” I command, my eyes hard as I meet theirs. “I’m going to shift and get us there fast. Tuck in close to my frill and hold on for dear life.”
My gaze flits between Klauth and Ziggy as I continue, “Klauth will tell you when to phase to Abraxis—it’ll be when we’re directly over him. Get out as fast as you can after that; there won’t be much left of the valley once we’re done.” I stare into Klauth’s crimson-flecked amber eyes, and he nods without a word.
“Won’t Klauth get us there faster?” Balor asks, edging closer with concern in his tone.
“No,” I reply with quiet confidence. “I’ve learned what being a veil walker means. I can bend time—that’s how I move so fast.” I lean in to kiss him deeply—a moment of tenderness amid the chaos—before pulling away to shift. I gently lay my dragoness down in the courtyard, waiting as my mates scramble to climb on. The instant they are securely in place, I rise and sprint toward the cliff’s edge. My wings snap open, their leathery surface whipping against the cool night air, and I feel the low hum of lightning thrumming in my veins.
‘Here goes nothing,’I whisper.
I reach deep inside, finding the tether to Abraxis pulsing like a lifeline. Instead of pulling on it, I follow its call. Pure power floods through me, and the sharp scent of ozone fills my nostrils—reminiscent of the aftermath of a lightning strike. I feel no pain from my mates clinging to me, reassuring me I’m not harming them. The ground below blurs into a dark smear as each powerful flap of my wings carries me leagues in mere seconds. The burning heat of Abraxis’s tether intensifies, urging me on.
Ineedto be faster.
CHAPTER 35
Klauth
I feelthe shift in my mate the moment she senses Abraxis is in trouble. The air crackles with the intensity of her fear and rage. That stupid young drake—always trying to prove himself by running headlong into danger. His recklessness is a constant source of concern. We race to catch up to Mina, my heart pounding in my chest as I strain to hear her barking orders to the black dragons along the cliff’s edge. Her voice is sharp and commanding. There is something in her gaze that makes them bow their heads in deference, a power that emanates from her very being.
Never in all my years have I seen a female treated with such respect as my mate. The reverence in their eyes is a testament to her strength and wisdom. From what Vox told me, this began long before I even hatched. There’s an unspoken quality about Mina that makes others feel compelled to listen, a magnetism that draws them to her. When she shifts, she orders us to climb on. We obey without question, our bodies moving in sync with her commands. Her words echo in my mind, reverberating with a truth I can’t ignore. She has discovered that she indeed bends time—not a trait of the veil walkers, but of theiron dragons. It’s an ability long forgotten, a power that sets her apart from all others.
Mina launches off the cliff into a momentary free fall, the wind whipping past us in a deafening roar. The instant she beats her wings, I catch the sharp tang of ozone in the air, the scent electric and alive. Along her flattened frill, I watch lightning race down to her tail. It pulses first at her horns, then leaps along her frill before streaking to her tail, a dazzling display of raw power. With every beat, the cycle of power intensifies, the air humming with energy, and the ground below melts away into a blur of colors and shifting shapes, the world falling away beneath us.
“Are we safe here?” Ziggy asks, his voice barely audible over the rush of wind as the clouds smear past us, his words nearly lost in the chaos.
