Page 55 of Creatures of War

I let Lander’s voice draw me back out and kept me grounded. I tightened my grip on his spine.

‘That’s my girl.’

Without warning but already known without having to say anything, Philit dove with Zilon slightly behind him. Other dragons joined the attack, really getting the Fae running. A moment later, Landers did the same, whooping in my head with all the adrenaline pumping through him. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

The tingling felt stronger this time, and the moment Philit and Zilon opened their mouths, I sent it slamming through our bond. Fire darker than normal broke out of them. Not like the black that Zilon’s had been but still stronger and more potent. The Fae didn’t stand a chance as it swept through their ranks. It stopped just shy of who had to be the leaders with the way they seemed to toss out commands as the Fae around them put up a barrier.

Against normal fire, it probably would have worked. But we didn’t have normal fire. I sent that buzzing feeling into Landers. He practically grunted from the influx of energy. Then he roared, and that black, dangerous fire slammed into their barrier, burning through it like it was straw.

And the Fae, they never had a chance.

They disappeared in the black fire, and as we were turning to go another round, it cleared up enough for me to know we’d done it. We’d taken them out!

The Fae after that quickly fell apart. There was no one there to appropriately command them. At least not at the front lines.

The dragons and riders all around me went into a frenzy, destroying as many of them as they could. It wasn’t long until the Fae were turning and running, realizing they were fucked.

‘We need to get out of here,’ Zilon reminded us.

We flew up into the air as the dragons continued to destroy the Fae, who were too slow to get flee. It should have been easy to slip away, everyone focused on finishing up the battle. Except a small group of dragons shot up and quickly surrounded us.

One dragon came close enough for me to see the little man sitting on its back. He didn’t say anything for a moment, as he looked at us three. “The king wants to see you,” he said.

Fear slammed into me, and I jerked on top of Landers, like I had been shot.

‘Fuck that, we need to go,’ Landers said.

He dove down, the other two quickly following. His wings were tight against his body, and then as we got closer to the ground, he shot out, pulling us up enough to glide through quickly.

A new feeling hit me, taking in all of my senses for a brief moment, like my perception was being overridden.

‘Rayna!’

I blinked out of that oppressive feeling and looked in the direction it was coming from. The mountains where the Fae were retreating. My eyesight wasn’t better than a dragon’s, but for some reason, I could see it: the shape of a man standing at the edge of a cliff. Something about him was powerful and dangerous. I shivered, tempted to go closer and get a better look at him.

Then, we were slammed into hard. Landers yelped as we were forced to crash into the ground. Dirt burned my eyes, rocks scratching at my face and body as it kicked up. Landers slid on his side for a few feet, me still attached. As soon as he stopped, his spine let me go, and I fell to the ground, sore and feeling too empty.

Thuds surrounded us, the ground shaking with each one. As my vision cleared, I realized we were being encircled by other dragons, and they looked pissed.

“Again,” the rider who spoke to us earlier said, walking over to us. His expression was empty. “The king wishes to see you.”

Well, fuck.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The grip the dragons had on my arm was bruising, and I had to bite down the need to cry out every time they forced me to go in the direction they wanted. It ended up being a very long walk back to the castle, as we worked our way through dead bodies of Fae, dragons, and riders, as well as scorched earth.

Now that I was on the ground, I could truly see how dangerous the fight had been. Our side had taken a hit, but not one as massive as the Fae had. Hopefully, it’d be enough to keep them back longer. I had to blink through tears as my heart went out to those who didn’t make it. I couldn’t help it. They were still my people, the same as me. They weren’t what was broken about this place; they were just doing what they were tasked with doing. And if the king wasn’t who he was, I would be right there with them, fighting to live and to protect our realm.

I did stand by them for this battle. But I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to be by their side for the next one. Not if the king got what he wanted.

By the time we reached the castle, I was crying for our side’s loss. The guards sensed my sadness, and their grip on me lessened, even turned gentle. They felt it too, the loss of our comrades.

‘It’s okay. We can figure this out,’ Philit said.

‘I’m not so sure about that,’ Zilon sent. ‘The king will not be happy knowing we were freed and were about to escape again.’

Landers grumbled. ‘We should have left sooner.’