Page 178 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“Let me try something,” Solflara insisted. “Don’t worry—I’ll walk Beck through it first.”
“Solflara wants to try something,” Alaire relayed. “She’ll explain it to Beck before she begins. Are you alright with that?”
Dawson’s eyes widened, raw fear for his griffin plain. “Anything that could help.”
Alaire nodded to Solflara, giving her the go-ahead.
Her phoenix approached slowly, feathers glowing incandescently. She extended her wing, wrapping it around Beck’s scorch mark. A soft, white light enveloped them both. Beck let out a relieved sigh.
Warmth flooded their bond like honey.
When Solflara drew back, the scorch mark was gone.
“Thank you,” Dawson said thickly, emotion roughening his voice.
Fatigue swelled through the bond, nearly buckling Alaire’s knees.
“You healed him,” Alaire whispered, awestruck. She hadn’t known, hadn’t anticipatedthis.
Her gaze lingered on her celestial. She would never again underestimate the depth of what Solflara could do. The power of both destruction and life. Fire that could burn to ash yet spark something new from its embers.
“It is not something I offer lightly. I can only use that power on myself, my bonded, or other creatures. The difference is that as my bonded, you may bestow it on others—but not without great cost.”
Alaire let out a tiny gasp, recalling the time Sofllara told her she couldn’t do anything when Alaire demanded she use her magic to help Kaia. After the bloodravager attack, Solflara hadinsisted she tried, but the poison hadn’t reacted to her magic. It wasn’t magic the poison resisted but her healing power.
It explained so much.
No wonder Solflara was depleted. Healing Beck must’ve taken an immeasurable toll.
Alaire’s chest tightened. “Solflara,you didn’t have to?—”
“Yes,I did.Our error caused Beck’s injury.I could’ve absorbed the arrow,but I was distracted,too focused on you.I should’ve caught it.And we must continue with the trial.It is not safe to linger.I’ll be fine.”
“Thank you,” Dawson said softly to Solflara, bowing his head to hers in the same gesture he often gave Beck.
Beneath them, the ground began to shake. Magma geysers erupted, spitting lava in every direction. Solflara raised her wings to shield the group. The ground buckled and split.
“Back in the air! Now!” Kaia shouted. They scrambled onto their celestials, desperate to gain altitude as the cavern cracked beneath them.
Just as the geysers subsided, another wave of arrows rained down. Dawson took lead formation, with Alaire on the right flank.
“Dive,” Dawson ordered. The group plunged, barely avoiding another casualty.
Alaire’s eyes caught the last arrow streaking toward Caius and Onyx. “Caius, watch out!” she cried, keeping Solflara close to the group to preserve formation. Onyx screeched in terror, bracing for impact.
Solflara let out a piercing cry and dove in front of the arrow. It struck her—but instead of piercing through, it disintegrated on impact. Her flames merged with the fire-tipped shaft until nothing remained.
The group tilted to compensate for Solflara’s dive. Hadrian let out an indignant huff.
“Everyone okay back there?” Dawson asked, turquoise eyes scanning Alaire.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. “All good,” she stammered.
Caius stared in stunned silence, then met her eyes. For a moment, appreciation—almost respect—flickered there before it was gone.
“Alright, let’s move.”
With Dawson at the helm, they pressed on, dodging magma eruptions and arrow volleys. The tether no longer felt suffocating.
