Page 102 of MidKnight
“I’m covering us from behind.”
I bit my tongue. I didn’t ask how the sard he was going to stop anything from attacking us midair. Yes, he had a sword. But they had a dragon. And bombs. And every sarding weapon known to man apparently. And spies. In our network. And nobles they’d bribed or threatened.
Countess Malia was part mermaid. I assumed Isla or Raj or their mystery sea fairy threatened the mermaid side of her family. How or when they’d killed one of her fathers, I had no idea.
My mind raced as I tried to work out what the hell we could do when we caught up with her.
“Donaloo, if the dragon’s there, do you have a plan?” I asked the wizard.
He grinned at me and patted his green vest. He pulled a ring with a dark band and blue stone out of his pocket. So the dragon was a djinni!
Donaloo said, “A djinni and his ring are inseparable things. Not to fret, not to fret, I’ve—”
He dropped the ring.
He dropped the sarding ring!
I dove. I didn’t blink. My eyes roamed everywhere. But I didn’t see it anywhere. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough. The ring wasn’t glinting.
Tears of frustration came into my eyes.
Fear.
Utter fear.
It hammered at my insides, turning them to mush.
Declan. If they took my knight anywhere near the dragon, we’d just lost the ring that might stop it.
Ryan’s arms enveloped me. He pulled me upward in the sky, away from the lost ring. Away from hope.
I turned into him. I needed his comfort. I needed reassurance that things were going to be okay. Ryan pulled me in tight. Blue got squashed between us and let out a squawk of protest. Ryan loosened his grip slightly, so my bird friend could breathe.
“We’ll find another way,” Ryan reassured me.
Quinn thought,They can always freeze the dragon like they did everyone at the castle.
The ache in my heart eased. I nodded, then rested my cheek against Ryan’s solid chest. I took a few breaths to calm myself.
Then I forced myself to turn on queen mode. The mode my mother had tried to beat into me year after year. I tried to evaluate our enemies’ weaknesses.
“Malia’s part mermaid. If she stays out of the water, she can’t access her powers.” Even as I said it, more of my childhood made sense. Avia had never gone abroad. She’d never gone to the christening of a new ship. Mother never even had her taught to swim. She’d always said my swimming lessons had been so disastrous she couldn’t stand to repeat the experience. Lies. All moves to keep my sister away from water. Where she might be discovered. Might be found.
I shook off my anger at mother. Now wasn’t the time. I had to focus. Declan’s life was at stake.
“What are the chances Malia goes underwater?” I worried.
Ryan shrugged. “Dec can turn water to sand. Quinn can give him a signal. Keep faith.”
I nodded. My heart unclenched the tiniest bit. “That’s right.” I tried to stay analytical. “Opponents: Dragon, to the wizards. Water creatures to Dec. What about soldiers? And we need to expect winged bears. How are we going to fight them?”
Ryan grumbled, “I can take one on. But hopefully we can freeze the rest? Or you can stun them with peace?”
I’d forgotten the wounds on my arms and legs. Adrenaline had kept me from thinking about them. With the cloak, Ryan and the other knights couldn’t see them and fuss over me. But I was battered. The wolves and then the exodus at the castle had taken a lot of blood. My arms still throbbed. “Um … about that. I used my power at the castle.” I didn’t mention the wolves. It didn’t seem like Ryan needed any more stress right now. Not with what we were about to face.
Ryan ground his teeth together. “How bad is it?”
I bit my lip. “Not so bad,” I lied. It was probably worse than I’d ever been, minus the fight with the dragon.
