Page 7 of Court of Dragons and Ashes

“If you touch my husband or me, I will kill your dragon kings with the click of my fingers,” Aphrodite interrupts. I drop my powers, my shadows leaving. I see a bit of Arty in her face, in her expressions, as she faces me. They have the same classic beauty in some lights, but her beauty is rotten. Aphrodite is alluring, seductive, but dead inside. She isn’t going to make any of this easy for me. “As you can see, they’re under my spell. My curse, so to speak. It can’t be broken unless I wish it. I will give you them back for each test, and if you win, you keep what is left. If any of them die, I win.”

“That easily?” I question. I notice Arty pulling the body of the woman away and out the side door. Her parents don’t notice her leave. Aphrodite grins before she leaves me to sit back on the throne. “This throne should be yours, destined mate of the Water Court king. There’s some irony in the fact you are down there, begging for help.”

I lift my head. “What do you want in return for the spell being broken and the safety of the courts?”

Aphrodite runs her hand down the arm of the throne. “We continue on with my game and the plan that I set up. One test, in each of the courts, and we will travel between them. You can finally see the courts you haven’t seen since you were a child as we conquer them. This will be entertainment for us while we wait.”

“What kind of tests?” I demand.

“In the court of Water, a monster lurks.

In the court of Fire, flames burn away any lies.

In the court of Earth, touch is key.

In the court of Air, try to breathe.

These are your hints, but I will not tell you more.” She watches me as I take in her cryptic poem and try to work out what any of the tests could be. I don’t like the sound of the first one. A monster? Fucking brilliant. “Our deal will go like this.If you win, then you get them back, court by court. Dragon by dragon. With each win, the court will be yours to rule. We will leave the court alone.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Ares roars, grabbing her arm. “I am not giving up?—”

She puts her hand over his, and he stops mid-sentence. I’m somewhat impressed that she managed to stop the god of war with just a hand. Is she more powerful than him? “And if you lose, all of the magic of the spirit is ours. This would mean the instant death of your cursed dragons. Yes, we know about that. Whispers fly around here.”

My heart near enough stops as she continues. “You will essentially kill anybody that’s in your court if you lose.”

Terrin. All of the dragons that are cursed, that I promised to free at some point. My people, who my father sacrificed so much to keep safe. If I lose, they die. If I refuse her, my dragon kings and their courts die. There’d be no going home for any of us. Both choices are curses. I glance at them, and I know my answer because it’s selfish. It’s not the answer of a ruler. It’s the answer of someone that’s completely in love. There is nothing I wouldn’t try for them, nothing that I wouldn’t do. I hate that they put me in this position. If only my dragon kings had spoken to me, done anything other than this. We could have avoided every horror I’m about to sign up for. I’m so tired, so tired of fighting and surviving and nothing more.

“I want you to promise that my dragon kings will not be hurt while the tests continue. Arty is also to be left alone,” I add in. She is the reason I even knew about this and had a chance.

Aphrodite nods. “You have a deal.” She claps, and power echoes in the room as red fog rolls in through the ceiling. Ares is quiet, far too quiet, as he sits beside her. When he sees me looking, he meets my eyes and smirks.

That alone makes my stomach sink. I’m playing a game of the gods, and I know they are going to try to screw me over. Aphrodite’s magic spreads around me, and it lifts my arm into the air. “I will mention, for words have certain power when it comes to this kind of magic, that during the test, you are forbidden to use your powers.”

“NO!” I shout, but it’s too late. I scream as her magic rips into my skin, leaving markings in the shape of chains wrapped around my hand. Each one has a symbol of an element shining within the lock of the chain on my palm. Water is at the top. She looks at Lysander. As he rises to his feet, his eyes still hazy, he looks right through me with every step. My water king, my enemy, and I’m happy to see him coming to me despite everything. I couldn’t be more furious at him, at them all, but us staying alive is more important right now. He stops right in front of me, towering so tall I arch my neck to look up at him, wishing I could see his green eyes. His red hair is wavy around his stupidly handsome face. “You will go together, and we will watch. What do the humans say? Good luck.”

A portal opens right beneath us, and I immediately plummet through the air, screaming into nothing. I desperately reach out for Lysander, but he’s ripped away from me within moments. All I see is the cold wash of a giant wave as it slams right into me, and then—bang! My head hits a rock.

CHAPTER 4

My body awakens to the taste of salt water and the thunderous sound of waves. My eyes widen in shock as a wave crashes into me with overwhelming strength, plunging me under the bitter cold salt water that burns my eyes when I force them open. I swim back up to the surface, my muscles aching as I spin around, looking for something. There is a huge, jagged rock sticking out of the sea next to me, and I must have hit my head on it and somehow stayed alive. My purple-dipped, wet locks of hair are wrapped around my neck and face, and I push them away to see better.

Everything is fuzzy as I see a floating tree trunk, and I dive for it. Several waves, not as big as the first one, push into me and make the trunk float further away each time I’m close. I’m exhausted, cold, and angry by the time I can grab the floating piece of trunk. I pull myself onto it, lying down as it floats through the sea, somehow skirting over the waves. I can’t stop shaking as I touch my head, pulling my hand away and seeing red blood coating my fingers. I barely get a chance to look up before another giant wave slams into me and snaps the trunk in half, throwing me back into the water.

Lightning flashes across the sky, and I gasp, taking in water, coughing on it as I break the surface. I reach for my powers on instinct, wanting to help myself, but Aphrodite was right. She took them. The storms, the waves, all of it becomes a mild threat when I feel something brush against my legs. Looking down, I see something bright gold as it flashes past me. My blood runs cold as I try to stay still and silent as the massive creature swims away. At least I’m not alone. “Massive sea creature” wasn’t exactly on my list of helpful friends here though. But it hasn’t tried to eat me, so I’m hoping it’s not on the people-eating monster list.

Lysander would know. Lysander. He is here somewhere, and he can’t be dead…I’d know it. I’d feel it. He is my destined mate after all, and despite how much I hate him, I need him right now.

“LYSANDER!” I scream his name, searching in the dark seas for him, a new desperation to find him washing away all my fears. He doesn’t shout back, no one answers me. Calm. I have to calm down, even if it feels like my soul might leave my body in pure fear. I spin in the sea, letting the waves move me along in the water, but there’s nothing but water in every direction. I’m floating, lost, and failing this test. I’m failing my people. “LYSANDER!” I scream his name over and over, hoping that he’ll hear me, hoping he’ll call back. But between the blistering icy rain, the sea waves, and the storm, I’m not sure I’d even hear him. I shout through our bond, but he is silent. Too silent for Lysander. Even he wouldn’t let me die here and ignore me. I hope.

Essentially, I should be able to find him anywhere with this bond. With every bit of strength I have, I close my eyes and let everything leave my mind except for him. I picture him in front of me, his dark red hair, devastatingly beautiful features, muscular body, his evil smile. I can feel him, like a string vibrating alongside my own soul. In all this madness, knowingthat a creature of the sea could eat me at any second, that I’d be screwing over my entire court if I lose, I feel him. He’s near me.

Determination burns in my mind as I open my eyes, suck in a deep breath, and begin to swim. The waves are against me, the very sea parting us, but I don’t give up. The tugging sensation is like a flutter in my chest, pulling me to follow it, promising me he will be on the other end. With everything I have, I keep swimming in that direction even as wave after wave hits me. My heart leaps when I spot something in the distance, floating face down in the water. Lysander. As I near him, I see that he is actually flung over the side of what looks like a mini-island of moss, only big enough to hold him on it. His red hair is like a beacon to me, and my shoulders drop. I found him.

I dive to him, pushing against the sea to let me get to my Lysander. My arms ache when I finally get close enough to grab the rocky island he is on and pull myself up next to him. I shake his shoulder, pulling him onto his back. I can’t name the relief I feel when I see his chest moving up and down. He’s alive. He’s actually alive. There is blood on the rocks, and he must have landed here. My relief is soon tempered by anger. “Lysander, wake the fuck up!”

He wakes up, opening his eyes, and for a moment I almost forgot the spell he was under. But there is no redness in his eyes. It’s gone, and when he sees me, he smiles for just a second. Just as a wave is going to hit us, Lysander grabs me tightly around my waist and makes walls of water spiral around us, protecting us in a spinning cyclone. The wave just crashes against it, spraying us with droplets. Lysander touches my forehead, frowning. His magic washes over the cut, soothing me. “You need to stop injuring yourself, witch.” I huff out a laugh, pulling back from him. His eyes are like glowing green crystals, and they are full of disappointment. “What the fuck are you doing here, Ellelin?”

He rarely uses my full name, and red clouds my vision as I glare at him. Even when I’m stuck in the middle of the sea, no thanks to him, he is telling me off. I scream in frustration and slam my hand into his shoulder. “What am I doing here? I am fixing your fucked-up mistakes! This”—I wave around me—“is all your fault. And theirs. How dare you make up a crazy ass plan to just leave me on Earth? What did you think would happen? Do you think I’d be able to live knowing you were on Ayiolyn, suffering or dead? Do you think I’d be okay with that? What life did you think I’d ever be able to have?”

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