Page 64 of House of Embers
“Yes,” Audria said, her voice a croak. “We can do this.”
“Now reach across and grab my hand.”
“I can’t…”
“Do it,” Kerrigan yelled at her.
The ancient Fae was still at their back. And on the wind, a new sound joined the fray—wings. She could hear wings on the horizon. But she couldn’t break eye contact with Audria to see who or what was approaching them.
“Now, Audria!”
Audria swallowed hard and then lifted her arm with what looked like the weight of a dragon. She brought it forward, pushing across the divide. So close and yet so far.
Kerrigan took a step forward. Their fingers brushed. Audria cried out as more magic drained away from her. Tears collected in her beautiful lashes. Kerrigan had just gotten her back. She wasn’t going to lose her to a stupid ritual that they should have realized came with a cost. All magic did in its own way.
“A little farther,” Kerrigan demanded of her.
Audria pushed forward with a scream, and then her hand was in Kerrigan’s. They laced their fingers together, pressing palms flat and screaming in unison as their magic joined. The elemental cyclone they’d created burst from them, scattering across the holy lake, whipping the water into a frenzy. It raced across the once-smooth surface, creating roaring waves that splashed against the bank, soaking them from head to toe.
Lowan abruptly stopped chanting. Kerrigan and Audria fellforward into the sand, clinging to each other. Audria shivered under her waterlogged clothing. Her blond hair had been half tied up and now framed her face in limp strands.
“Are you okay?” Kerrigan asked.
“I thought it was the end,” Audria whispered. “I thought my magic was going to burn out.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen.”
Audria met her gaze. “Thank you. I don’t feel like I deserve it.”
“You were there for me. You did the right thing.”
Audria’s head suddenly snapped up, looking to Evien. “Ev?”
It was then that the bond between Kerrigan and Tieran drew taut. He hadn’t said anything, but she could feel the fear, uncertainty, and fury settling between them. The wings in the distance. Dragons. Dragons were on their way here.
“On my back,”Tieran rumbled.“Now.”
Kerrigan and Audria scrambled to their feet. Kerrigan vaulted up Tieran’s flank before throwing her leg over the back of the dragon and settling into place.
“Be ready to fly at any moment,”Tieran said.
“What about Lowan?”she asked.
“He does not have a dragon. He remains if the vanguard decides to attack. I will protect you. Evien will protect Audria.”
Kerrigan shivered at the hardened commander in his voice. He was prepared to leave the scholar behind to be burned alive. Anything to be able to retreat in a moment.
“I’m thinking this might have been a bad idea.”
Tieran snorted but said nothing else.
It was a tense minute as the dragons in the distance came into view. They were both larger than Tieran though about the same size as Evien—large enough that she wasn’t sure what a fight would look like with their magic low. Not to mention she didn’t actually want to leave Lowan behind, whatever Tieran said.
“You called. We have arrived,”the first dragon said as he settled into the sand before them. He was a shimmering, multicolored dragon that was a kaleidoscope of colors with spikes along their back and golden, appraising eyes.
The second was a blinding gold hue with a whiplike tail and red eyes. Between her enormous talons, there was webbing that indicated she must be partial to the water. Kerrigan had been a Dragon Blessed in the House of Dragons. She’d helped with the upkeep of more dragons than she could count, and she had never seen any that looked like this creature.
“What is your purpose for returning?”the golden dragon asked.
