Page 136 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
Why did you come to me first when my mother was closer?he asked.
Ozara must have left shortly after sunset to reach him when she did, but it would have saved her thirty minutes to go to Sanger instead. He appreciated that she recognized him as her child’s father and gave him priority, but it just didn’t make sense.
Because I could only save one of you,she replied with sorrow.
A chill ran through Lorcan, and he started to ask what she meant, but then he got a good look at the land ahead. The place where the shield should have been on the western side of the town was gone. A moment later, the section they were passing also fell, tumbling to the earth like a curtain of shimmering diamonds before vanishing altogether.
Dragons were fighting fiercely everywhere, with fire ravaging the land. Before long, he and Ozara had to battle through the throng of Kandoran, pure dragon allies, and Faegud, clashing in a ferocious fight. Lorcan and Ozara took down a few before a brawl below caught their attention. He blanched in horror.
Hildegard, his mother, had six dragons tearing into her from all sides. The shifters closest to her were battling several each themselves and could not help. He zoomed toward the melee with his heart in his throat. The Faegud pendragon bled from wounds everywhere on her body, half her tail was torn off, herwings hung in tatters, and two enemies bit into the sides ofher stomach. She let out a shrill roar of pain that filled the night air.
Terror filled him. Not once in his life had she ever made a sound like that when injured.
Ozara followed close behind him as he zeroed in on the Kandoran killing his mother. Aiming at the one on his mother’s left side, Lorcan bit into the back of his neck. His rage was so great that he snapped it in one bite. Then he raised a talon and punctured it into the back of the dragon’s skull. It died instantly.
One by one, he and Ozara finished every Kandoran who’d attacked the pendragon until no more remained alive. Other shifters joined them and kept the rest of the incoming enemies at bay. Lorcan kneeled next to his mother’s head.
I will get a healer for you,he said. It was all he could do to keep the despair and dread he felt at seeing her in such horrible shape hidden from his voice.
The strongest female he’d ever known looked at him with pain-filled eyes.Stay. I am beyond a healer’s help now.
She was right, though he hated to admit it. How she still breathed was beyond him.
You fought well,he said, because that was what she’d always told him she wanted to hear should she fall in battle. It was the honorable way to handle a valiant death. It had seemed like a faraway possibility then, and he’d never dreamed it would happen this soon.
Do not stop fighting until we’ve won—whatever you must do, son.Hildegard stared at him, a hint of the fearless female not entirely gone yet.Allow the elders’ council to rulethrough the winter so our people can rest and recover from this war. Wait until the spring to hold the Bitkal.
He noted that she was speaking not only to him but also to the other Faegud nearby and Ozara. They all needed to hear her last words so that they would be honored, especially when it came to the timing of choosing their next leader through the bitkal trials. Anything a pendragon said while dying on the battlefield was considered sacred.
Lorcan nuzzled her neck where it wasn’t injured.We will do as you ask, Mother.
You must follow Aidan’s orders until the Kandoran are defeated. Not only because we swore an oath to him but also because I believe it is the only way we can win this war. He has a plan that will succeed if we work together,she said, her eyes drooping and breathing becoming labored.
It wouldn’t be long now. All around him, the Faegud and their pure dragon allies fought to give them this moment, and the Kandoran burned the town around them in retaliation. Flames flew at every structure. He hoped the people who lived in Sanger had taken shelter underground because the enemy appeared determined to demolish the place.
His mother looked between him and Ozara.Take care of my grandchildren and make the world a better place than the one we were born into—that is my greatest wish.
Of course,Ozara replied, sadness filling her golden gaze.
I love you,he whispered telepathically only to her.
The last expression he saw was pride before her eyes drifted shut. A moment later, she expelled her last breath. Lorcan wanted to rage at her loss. She was such a strong figurein his life that he never dreamed she would fall now or anytime soon.
Ozara put a taloned hand on him.I must go warn my people of this. You are in charge here now, and you must form a southern line of defense where the shield still stands. Grieve later, Lorcan.
Of course, she was right, but one thing niggled at him. He straightened his shoulders and looked at her.You said you had to choose between me and my mother.
Yes. Kade’s tome foretold that I could only warn one of you in time. If I’d gone to your mother first, you would have been dead before I got there. I want my daughter to know her father, and the same for your child with Phoebe. He or she should not be born without knowing you. Judge me if you wish, but I will not apologize for it.
He would have to work through those feelings later. There was no time now.
Go. Please take Galadon and Rayna as well.
Lorcan didn’t like her traveling alone through this battle without backup.
Thank you.She dropped her hand.We will need many to protect the fortress from what will happen in the coming days.
He watched Ozara take off into the air, and then he forced himself to rise. He would bury his mother later, but right now, he had enemies to kill. Hildegard’s death would not be in vain.
