Page 62 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Mira frowns, clearly fighting against my godmother’s attempts to soothe her worries. “But… my daughter has never fainted a day in her life.”
Reggie smiles, falling prey to Velda’s magic without a moment’s hesitation. After a blink, he finally seems to notice the pixie affecting his mood. “My word! You’re one of the fae folk.”
Aboomthunders in the near distance. Friedemar. He must be trying to bring down the door.
“Enough,” I snap, speaking over them all. “We need to leave.Now.” I pace the floor in a tight circle, studying the walls, the ceiling, trying to map out the necessary trajectory to fly us out of here.
This space is far too small for my shift. But we have no time to double back for a better exit point.
Velda’s brow furrows. “I believe Glorana would caution against jeopardizing the integrity of the palace’s foundation,Theryn’kai. Think of the civilians still inside these walls. The human servants.”
Velda is right. I must think of the innocent. My gaze slips toward Aurelia’s face, so serene in her forced slumber. I know she would want me to spare them, too.
My muscles tremble as I step forward and draw in threads of Earth, reinforcing the walls and ceiling of the dungeon, ensuring they are stable. Ensuring the entire structure will not collapse after I blast through the ancient stonework.
I work quickly, my breath turning ragged. Sweat pools beneath my clothing.
I have woven too much this evening already. Even with the power of the Corona, my strength is not infinite. Only the Great Weaver can make that claim.
But my job here is almost done. Soon, we will be free.
I no longer know what comes next. I no longer know how to best save Aurelia from Friedemar’s retribution. Where is safe for her now? I don’t even know if I will have the strength to fly home after this, to face Malice on the battlefield tomorrow, to save my people.
I have no answers.
But as I finally give in to my inner dragon, as I finally allow myself to shift in this too-small space despite Mira’s screams of terror and Reggie’s gasps of wonder, I surrender myself to my God.
My fate is in His hands, as it always has been since the day I was born.
Since the day I was cursed.
Since the day I metNa’theryain a garden filled with roses.
“Fly with me,selira feyra,”I weave to Aurelia’s unconscious mind as I gather her, her mother, and her intended onto my back and fasten them tight with cords of Air.“One last time.”
Chapter 19
Aurelia
Now
Apeal of thunder snarls in the distance as I jolt awake. Clouds roll in, blotting out the moon, the stars. A raindrop strikes the bridge of my nose.
Confusion swells within me as the last vestiges of sleep depart my thoughts, leaving me painfully aware of my current situation—the wind whipping through my hair, the ground falling away beneath me, the lights of the palace swiftly fading.
I sit astride Bene’s back as we surge toward the heavens, his powerful wings cleaving the wind. Threads of Air bind me to his form, keeping my seat secure. Blessedly so, as in the next moment, he abruptly tucks his wings and dives, narrowly avoiding a large projectile—like an oversized crossbow bolt—that whistles past.
Behind me, a woman screams.Mama.I swivel about as best I can to face her ash-pale visage. When our gazes meet, tears mist her eyes.
“Aurelia,” she chokes out. “You’re all right. I thought that…dragonhad done something to you.” She nearly spits the word as if that very dragon is not currently carrying us to safety.
Behind her sits Lord Reginald, who whoops with delight despite our clearly precarious situation. “Mira, calm down. We’re flying!”
Relief floods me at the sight of them both. Bene saved them. He didn’t have to, but he did.
Forme.
And then it all comes rushing back. The corridor. Bene’s pain. His Shade. The prophecy. The curse. My birth mother, Liora. Queen of the Fae.
