"I made a mistake, and it's all behind us. Let's get out of here. We can always get back to this stuff later, once we defeat Ruscal," I say, and my skin prickles with my fire magic.
Jorgen looks like he’s not done kissing me yet, but then we hear screaming in the corridor. There’s still a lot that we have to do, and other shifters are resisting the attack from the outside. We need to start moving now.
"I want you to hold on to it. I think the venom will be much safer with you," Jorgen says and I nod.
The flask seems heavy, but maybe it’s just an illusion. I hide it in my cleavage, pulling my top down. Jorgen makes a deep sound in the back of his throat, staring at me with blazing fire. I want to grab his hand and tell him that we don't have to go anywhere. We can just stay here and enjoy being with each other.
The noises from outside are pulling me back to reality. This isn't the time or the place, and once Ruscal’s gone, we can spend all of eternity together.
We leave the chamber and sprint through the corridors, passing a few shifters fighting with mages. Several bodies are laying around, and every time I pass someone I pray to Hommis, hoping that it's not anyone close to me.
Down in the main hallway, just before the main doors, we spot Aria. She’s helping Emilia. My heart shatters when I see blood all over her left side. My Pixies are flying around her.
"Emilia, what happened? Are you all right?" I ask, thinking that I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her.
"I'm fine, it's not my blood. I'm just a little bruised. Unfortunately, we have other things that we need to worry about right now.
"Ruscal's on his way and he's bringing back up. His dragon shifters are all over the sky."
Chapter Seventeen
The pain of death.
"How many of us are left outside? Do we have any chance of defeating him?" I ask, ready to burn the whole city to the ground. If that’s what it takes for him to vanish from this world completely, then I'm ready for anything.
Aria has deep bloody marks all over her face, but she looks fierce, ready to join the others. I'm worried about her father, about what Ruscal may do to him once he figures out that I'm the one leading the rebels. Fire magic flows through my blood, invading my entire system. He might have his people with him, but he's not going to escape from death when we stand face to face.
"Several dozen of us have been killed, but we’ve taken over the castle. We can't back away now," Emilia replies. I don't want to tell her about the venom just yet. We need to get to the forest first.
"Lead me straight to that dirty mage. He will taste the sharpness of my sword!" Lenin roars, somewhere near my ear.
"We need to head outside and see how many more mages are approaching the city," Jorgen suggests. I don't want to risk losing any more people, but Aria, and especially Emilia won't stay behind.
Jorgen gathers everyone around and we head outside to the courtyard. There’s a group of the mages from the city who were against Ruscal's order. Everyone’s pointing at the sky.
When I look up my runs blood cold. Dozens of dragon shifters are circulating around the castle, and there’s more coming from the north. Jorgen curses under his breath and Jetli keeps pulling my hair. I can't pass the lump of fear that keeps growing in my throat.
"Let's move. It’ll be safer if we get back to the mountains through the forest. The ground should still be clear there," I say, looking at Jorgen and reminding him that no matter what he needs to get his dragon back before we all face Ruscal.
"Astri, I don't think we should leave yet. The other shifters fought hard to get us this kind of advantage," Emilia says, and I know that she wants to stay to fight, but no one is going to survive until we regroup. There’s just too many of them.
I want to hit Ruscal with everything that we have—with all our magic and power, so he doesn't stand a chance.
Right now, it's impossible.
"We’re outnumbered and there’s hundreds of them. I don't have time to explain everything, but you must come with us. There’s something that we need to do in the mountains," I say, and everyone eventually agrees.
Ruscal’s going to keep Edvard alive until he thinks he has me trapped.
"Fine Astri, lead us. We’re right behind you," she says, trusting me. We start rushing towards the opposite direction, while Lenin refuses to get inside my pocket. He’s flying with Jetli behind me.
We leave the castle and I know that right now getting his dragon back is the most important task. We travelled across the continent to get that venom and I won't lose it now.
Several dragon shifters shower us with fire and for a moment we hide beneath the marble walls. Most of them must have already landed in the distance, but some are still in the sky.
The problem is that I don't see Ruscal's dragon anywhere.
Aria keeps holding my hand, telling herself out loud that everything’s going to be all right, that she's not afraid of the darkness. We can get to the mountains this way, but we must hurry before any of the wild shifters or Ruscal's men figure out what we’re up to.
"We need to back away. Ruscal’s there and he has your uncle," Tom states, suddenly appearing from the other side. He's smudged with ash and blood. Some trees are burning nearby, and I see a shifter turning back into his human form, attacking the others.
Jorgen shouts at me to move, seeing that three wild shifters are suddenly attacking out of nowhere.
Arrows are shooting from all around, and I dodge to the side managing to avoid one. Things are starting to get out of control. Jorgen reaches out for his sword and begins fighting with a taller dark-haired shifter, shouting at Aria to move away.
My Pixies vanish somewhere and there’s complete chaos all around. Someone grabs me from behind.
I slam to the ground, and sharp pain shoots through my spine. Every part of me is shaken by the vision of Jorgen turning back into a mage.
"Die little Wyvern girl. The master’s going to reward me when I bring him your head," the shifter snarls, grinning, ready to stab me with a long hunting knife. Seconds later, I'm back on my feet, and punch him straight between his eyes. I keep hitting him until he crashes to the ground. My fists hurt like hell and I think I've cracked my knuckles. I glance at the shifter on the ground and summon my fire magic. It starts quickly pounding through me, raising every small hair on the back of my neck.
I hear screams, and then see Jorgen fighting, trying to protect Aria from a bunch of wild shifters who are flooding the area. Emilia’s vanished, but I have to disable the shifter while I still have a chance.
Bright yellow flames mixed with magic pours out of my palms. I let go of an animalistic roar, trying to release some of the pressure in the back of my head. My energy hits the wild shifter directly in the centre of his chest, burning a giant hole in the other one too. I shut my eyes, trying to regain control of myself. The fire magic can easily slip away and I need to keep it until later.
After some time, I pull it back, hearing the shifters screams in the background. Jorgen’s doing a good job avoiding being stabbed with a long sword. A split second later, he gets an opportunity and cuts his opponent in his left thigh. I search for Emilia, but she still isn't around.
I see a black, slick dragon in the distance flying towards the ground. I swallow hard, remembering fighting with the bastard above the castle grounds. He touches down just by the old outbuildings and shifts into his human form. I have no idea what's happened to Lenin and Jetli. I hope they’re all right, hidden somewhere safe.
"Dad! Dad, just hold on for a little longer!"
Aria gets away somehow and suddenly too many things go wrong. She must have spotted her father being held by two mages that weren't there just a moment ago.
Jorgen shouts after her, but she’s already sprinting towards the enemy, not realising that it must be a trap. Ruscal notices me in the crowd, and barks a few orders towards his people. He points at me, and probably announces the counterattack. Several more dragon shifters a
re seen flying from the East and West.
My heart stops in my chest because I see Edvard. He uses his magic that was supposed to be locked, and begins fighting his guard. One vanishes right in front of my eyes, and Edvard slips away from their spells.
He starts running towards Aria, most likely convinced that he’s going to save her from the attack that’s coming down from every direction. Aria avoids the arrows flying around.
Ruscal and other shifters are trying to hit him with waves of blended magic. His feet get tangled but he gets away again, tearing through the grounds towards his daughter. For a split second, I'm convinced that he's going to make it.
It takes me a long moment to realise that I'm standing too far to stop either of them. Ruscal roars at his men to disable Edvard. Then my uncle glances at me, and in the exact same moment he gets shot by an arrow. It pierces right through his back, and he instantly slams on the ground and I feel like I've been struck by lightning.
Time speeds up again and I hear screams, so many screams around me. Jorgen seems to know that I'm ready to risk my own life to get to Edvard now. He grabs me, telling me to calm down, that we have to disappear.
Some other shifter on our side races toward Aria when he sees that she stopped the moment her father went down on the ground. She turns immobile with shock. Edvard’s laying on the grass and doesn't even try to move. Another several seconds rolls by. I'm too late, because the enemy reaches him first. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, shaking with fury. No, this can't be happening. Hommis wouldn't let him die just yet, it's too soon. Then I glance around, trying to see who released the deadly arrow, but there are too many possibilities. There are hunters everywhere. It seems that we’re being surrounded.
"Astri, we’re going to get caught. Let's go before it's too late. There’s nothing else that you can do for him now," Jorgen screams to me, and then I'm dragged away, staring at the lifeless body of my uncle, a member of my family who’s most likely dead.
Ruscal keeps shouting orders at his people, but we’re all backing towards the forest now. Aria isn't crying, but she screams and keeps hitting the shifter who’s carrying her. I can’t understand what's happened, and I don't want to believe that he’s gone.
"No, we must get back—we have to save him," I say, trying to pull away from Jorgen's grip, but he keeps shaking his head. Then Aria sobs, hiding her head in her hands and I'm breaking from the inside out.
Emilia’s walking behind too, and she looks so pale. I want so badly to turn around and go back to face Ruscal. That bastard should have protected Edvard, knowing he wanted me. My uncle was just the bait.
We keep walking and for a long time I hear Aria’s painful sobs. She’s been so brave, so understanding, and I’ve disappointed her. At some point, she stops and I have to keep glancing behind to make sure she’s close, and that she hasn't been left behind. My whole body is numb, and the image of Edvard being hit with the arrow—the same one that I used to have, is raising my blood pressure, causing heart palpitations. I keep seeing it over and over in my head.
It's my fault that we lost him, and I have no doubt that he's dead. That arrow must have been poisoned. Ruscal most likely set it all up. The forest is dark, pitch-black and we can barely see anything. Jorgen’s leading us towards the mountains. I know why and we’re both aware that we can't afford to stop.
The smell of pine and herbs wafts through the air all of a sudden. The smell is familiar, but I can’t remember how I know it. There are rarely any shifters around, most of them must have been left behind. Ruscal must be regrouping his people after the fiasco in the castle.
Then I'm reminded that at least Bratlav is dead. In every moment of my life I never wanted anything more, except Ruscal’s death. He paid for what he did to Jorgen. I swallow my tears, forcing myself not to cry in front of my cousin who just lost the father that she only knew for several weeks. They were ripped apart for years—this isn't fair. None of it is.
At some point, the shifter who I’ve never spoken to or even know his name, grabs Aria, and starts carrying her on his back. I give him a weak smile and Jorgen glances behind, looking relieved. I can't expect anything else from Aria right now. Later on, he introduces himself at Kylan. He’s a mage from the Mountain dragon shifters clan. We’re climbing higher and higher, slowly reaching the mountains, the air changed its consistency and even the smell around is much drier with the hints of coal.
The pain and sadness keeps washing over me, and I don't know what to do with myself. Edvard is gone and it feels like a piece of me is missing too. I’ve never felt so empty.
"Aria, I'm sorry. This was never supposed to happen," I say, walking up to my cousin once we stop to gain our strength. We’ve been walking for hours and we’re all exhausted. Jetli’s next to her stoking her hair; she's crying too and Lenin keeps flying next to her, humming a sad song in his own Pixie language.
It's strange, but even now after some time I look at my cousin, seeing myself. She's a true Wyvern, maybe not a pure one, but there’s Wyvern blood in her veins. Now she's my only family left and I have to protect her no matter what.
"I don't want to talk, Astri. We’ve only been with each other for a short time. We lost so many years when he left me in the temple. I thought this was finally our chance to start over," she responds, shaking her head and then wanders off into the forest. My Pixies go after her and I know that they’ll protect her. I need to give her space, and there’s nothing that I can do that will make her feel better. I truly want to end Ruscal—kill him and make him suffer for all the pain that he’s caused.
"Let her go, hon. She needs time, but don't give hope. Edvard might be still alive," Emilia tells me.
I nod, and then let my tears fall this time around. I don't have to be strong any longer. It's been too long and deep inside, I'm still only a human that still breaks once in a while. Nothing’s going to change now. Then Jorgen embraces me with his strong arms, whispering that he’ll make his brother pay, even if it's the last thing that he does. He promises to kill him for me.
Chapter Eighteen
The silver lining.
Sometime later, I must drift off to sleep in Jorgen's arms. My body is exhausted from fighting and using the last reserves of my energy. I'm so lucky to have Jorgen around. He’s finally forgiven me and fought hard to protect our love.
I wake up a few hours later, feeling shaken and achy all over. It's already dawn and everyone’s beginning to wake up. The pain keeps gripping my chest tightly, and then multiplies. For a long moment, I just stay in the same position, trying to deal with my own grief. Edvard shouldn't have died. He only just reunited with his daughter.
"Astri, I know you're awake. I'm really sorry about your uncle. It's a terrible tragedy, but we had to back away. We couldn't risk losing anyone else," Jorgen says and I don't want to move.
He’s right. We had no other choice, but it's still hard to think that I could have saved him.
My cheek is tight with pain and the pressure in my chest keeps squashing my lungs. There is no tomorrow, and there is no future with Ruscal still in power. I find my cousin still sleeping with Jetli by her side. I wonder if she's ever going to be all right after today.
"I know Jorgen and I appreciate that you got us out of there. Right now, I don't want to talk about it," I say after a moment of silence.
"I realise now isn't exactly the right moment to bring this up, but we aren't far from the Decaying Mountains. I want to kill my brother, but for that, I need to get my beast back," Jorgen says with a heavy voice and I finally look at him.
He looks tired himself, and I have no idea if he slept at all during the night. Someone had to stay awake guarding us and I didn't even offer to help.
He’s right—the venom. I almost forgotten about it. Jorgen and Emilia need to gain their abilities back even though we’re all grieving. Bratlav trapped her magic and the venom can heal her—heal both of them.
"We should get up and head over to the valley wh
ere Bratlav performed the ritual right away," I say rising back to my feet.
The forest is immersed in silence this early in the morning. I sense wild animals around, aware that we stepped into their territory.
I keep asking myself: How long am I going to feel like I don't want to keep going anymore?
Ruscal’s taken everything from me, and he keeps hurting people close to me. Maybe I'm fooling myself—maybe he can’t be defeated.
"We should wake everyone up and let them know what’s going on. I'm done with hiding the truth, especially now," Jorgen says. Some shifters must already know what happened. The rumours in the city spread quickly, but today the Duke of Rivenna should get his beast back.
We went through a lot to get here. Aria’s getting up, and she doesn't look at me. She’s still trying to deal with the aftermath of her father's death. I can't force her to talk to me and right now, it's best if I let Jetli be with her.
"Where are we going Astri, and why is Jorgen being so secretive all of a sudden? We should be heading back to the mill. There are other shifters who are counting on us. Ruscal can’t get away with what he’s done," Emilia says.
"Yes, I want to dig his eyes out and use my magic. I'm a great warrior and I want to fight!" Lenin shouts, waving his tiny wooden sword.
"I killed Bratlav, Emilia. He tried to take my fire magic away, but then the rebels started attacking. I lost control and I killed him with my fire magic. After that, me and Jorgen went to his chamber and found the venom that he took from me when he captured the Duke. Now Jorgen’s going to get his beast back, and hopefully we can get your abilities released too," I explain.
Emilia gasps, bringing her palms to her face. I can sense her relief, but reluctance too. The venom is powerful and it healed Jetli, but we may not have enough. I hope that right now I didn't give her false hope.
We all start walking some time later. Aria’s behind. She’s quiet and doesn't cry anymore.