Page 94 of Wings of Frost and Fury
I give him a noncommittal shrug. “You’re here now. We should head for the Capital.”
We take to the air again, rising above the Resting Cliffs into the cloudy sky.
We’ve only been aloft for a moment before we see a lone black dragon. I think it’s Kyreagan, though I can’t be sure in the gloom, at this distance. But Ashvelon can see more clearly with his dragon eyes, and he rumbles his enthusiastic delight.
“It’s the prince, then?” I ask.
“With Serylla on his back… and the King of Vohrain in his claws.”
“Fuck me,” I murmur, awed.
Kyreagan alters course to meet us, and as we swerve to fly east alongside him, I call to Serylla. “Are you alright?”
“I will be,” she shouts back.
I can hear the exhaustion and pain in her voice. I can only imagine what Rahzien put her through, and my stomach twistswith nausea at the thought of everything he might have done to her while she was helpless in his possession.
She could probably use a stiff drink.
I reach into my pocket and take out the flask. Reluctance drags at my hand, urging me to put the flask back in my pocket and save it for myself, because what ifIneed a drink? What if I want to ease an emotion, soften a blow, subvert my own boredom, or stifle the gnawing teeth of regret?
What if I can’t handle the painful parts of my life without it?
The dread and the decision only take an instant, though the struggle feels longer in my head. In one burst of determination, I throw the flask to Serylla with all my strength, guiding its arc a bit with my magic.
She catches it and asks, “What’s in this?”
“I figured you could use a drink. Where are you headed withhim?” I point to Rahzien, who is watching me over the top of the gag they tied around his mouth. “Going to drop him in the sea?”
“We can’t,” Serylla calls. “My life is bound to his.”
Well… fuck.
20
It takes us a few hours to get from the coastline to Ouroskelle, and another couple of hours to reach the Ashmount, a volcanic island that lies farther east. Its surface bristles with tall, spiky black rocks. As Thelise points out, the presence of glowing blue ash-roses indicates that the volcano beneath the island is hollow, empty, and silent. It is a safe and isolated place to imprison Vohrain’s former king.
A stone fortress rises from a rocky peak at the center of the island, and to that derelict stronghold we fly, landing on the broad expanse of the lower parapet. After Thelise slides off my back, I transform into human shape. Serylla and Kyreagan both eye me appraisingly, taking in my features and form as I pull on the pants Thelise tosses me.
Kyreagan shifts as well. He’s tall and beautiful, with light brown skin, a sheet of long black hair, and a regal cast to his features. I notice Thelise eyeing him and winking at Serylla, who smirks in return.
A moment too late, I realize we’ve all been distracted in a moment when we should have kept an eye on Rahzien. With the speed of the Mordvorren’s lightning, he rips off his gag with his manacled hands and barrels toward Kyreagan. The prince has barely gotten his pants on, and the sudden attack throws him to the ground. Rahzien stamps viciously at his face, but Kyreagan rolls aside.
“Fucking wretch,” I yell, launching myself onto Rahzien’s back and wrapping my arms around his neck. I have no experience fighting in this form, but I’ve witnessed a Vohrainian soldier placing another in a headlock. Choking off Rahzien’s breath seems like a good way to quell him.
I’ve only been this close to the King of Vohrain in dragon form. Gripping him like this, with his red hair in my face, his throat under my arm, and the acrid smell of his sweat in my nostrils is startling. I can feel the raw muscular power of his body, and I know by instinct that his strength is greater than mine.
He proves it the next instant by backing up to the wall of the parapet and slamming my body against it with all the violence he can manage. The breath leaves my lungs in a hollow huff, and pain explodes through my ribs and spine.
Over Rahzien’s head, I see Kyreagan and Serylla rushing forward, but Thelise reaches us first. She splays her hand over Rahzien’s heart, purple lightning crackling against his skin. There’s death in her brown eyes, rage at the king who dared to hurt me.
“Enough,” she hisses.
Rahzien laughs. “You can’t kill me without killing Serylla.”
“Oh, I don’t need to kill you. I know how to put a beast down for a while.” Teeth gritted, she makes a twisting motion. Rahzien’s body stiffens, then crashes onto the stone.
Thelise’s eyes meet mine. “You alright, pet?”
