I keep releasing more and more flames, hearing the notes of my fire song. When I think it's enough I descend and fly back towards the opposite direction. Ruscal’s unable to keep his wings moving fast enough and he can no longer fly above the clouds. His body’s badly burned and he's forced to fly lower.
Everything works out perfectly and I knew that he would follow me in his true form.
I reach the mountains and circle around for some time, waiting for him to appear again. I want to see him suffer—to see his soul melting away. He needs to experience pain and despair.
Then a sudden excruciating pain jolts through my back. I sense movement behind me, and then realise that my left side is burning. There’s another dragon shifter flying above me—one of the biggest beasts that I’ve ever seen. I lose my coordination, and keep batting my half-charred wings. Terror fills my gut.
The dragon releases more fire, and I'm in a panic. My skin starts melting, and my spells are fading. Then there’s only darkness.
Chapter Six
Wyvern's heart.
The pain spreads down to every inch of my skin. I can't make my wings work and keep falling. The burning smell wafts through the air, and I lose all senses and abilities in my limbs. I see the other dragon in the sky, suspended in the air watching me from the distance. There’s something wrong with my eyesight, everything is suddenly blurry.
I keep fighting, but my nervous system seems damaged. It's like my own fire is burning me from inside out. I have no idea if the other dragon is going to follow me or not. If he does, I’ll be dead soon.
My inner beast curls into a ball and I shift back into my human form, still falling. My hands and legs appear, and the pain is unbearable. Everything hurts, and my skin’s on fire. My thoughts are racing. I keep cutting through the trees, until I crash onto the ground, passing out.
Sometime later, I start coming around again, but then realise that I'm moving. The pain is still there, it probably always will be. It’s tripling with every heartbeat. I want to open my eyes, but can't for some reason.
"For Hommis. Is she going to be all right?" asks the familiar voice. Is it Edvard? No, he can't be here. He should be with Jorgen. Did Edvard and Emilia stop the execution? I hope everything went according to plan, but I have no idea who attacked me.
Who was the other dragon that showed up out of nowhere?
"I hope so, she fell from several meters, and she has multiple cuts all over her body. She's strong and we’ll do everything we can to keep her alive," replies someone else, a male voice. The pain shatters through me and I want to scream. The burning deep in my core feels so real. I want it to end so I can rest.
"I told you that she didn’t leave the city, that she wouldn't escape like that," the woman adds. "And the duke, it was clear that she wouldn't leave him to die. That mage must have set it all up."
My insides churn and I’m falling into the darkness once my body starts shaking. It's either the end or the beginning.
I take a deep harsh breath and sit down. My heart pounds in my chest and after the initial disorientation, I realise that I'm in the forest. It's night time and I start touching my face, my neck, trying to take an account of the extent of my injuries. My memories are in pieces too.
My neck is stiff, and the pain has eased off a little. I don't feel so bad anymore. Someone must have healed me, but when I touch my arms I feel the fresh bandaged wounds. There’s a fire burning a few meters away from me, and it looks like I'm in some sort of camp.
There are mages and shifters around.
"Astri, calm down. Don't make any sudden movements because you’ll rip your stitches out. I'm so glad that you're all right. When we lost you in the sky, we thought it was the end," my friend Alexandra says and shock riddles me speechless for more than a moment.
It was her voice that I heard when I was unconscious, but I don't understand what she’s doing out here?
I glance down, portions of my clothes are stained with blood. I must have really been hurt, but now the pain isn't that bad.
"Alex? What are you doing here? What happened?" I ask, trying to remember everything after I injured Ruscal. Everything was going according to plan until I was attacked by another black dragon. He came out of nowhere. My scales were burned, and for a second I thought that my own fire magic turned against me. Dread started filling my gut.
The warlock witch awakened it, so it's impossible.
"My husband and I knew Ruscal was bad news as soon as his people were seen on the streets of Rivenna. He was hated amongst our clan. We knew that we needed to leave the city as soon as possible. We couldn't risk staying behind," she explains, holding my hand. "We quickly gained as many supporters as we could, but we relocated to a safer area. We stayed, and then they took Emilia."
My throat is dry, and I'm dying of thirst.
"So where are we now? I need to get back to the city. My uncle, and cousins they were supposed to rescue Jorgen," I say, now aware that there are other mages around. Everyone’s staring at me, and I count at least dozen shifters sitting around the fire. However, none of them seem familiar. I glance at my hands and legs—some cuts are healed while others are still hurting a little.
I should be dead, I fell from several meters and somehow shifted back into a human.
"We are on the outskirts of the city, a good distance away from the Decaying Mountains. My husband found out that you rescued Emilia. We were hiding, trying to come up with a plan and gather more supporters, so we could stand against Ruscal. To make a long story short, we backed away to the forest, then saw your dragon in the sky when you were attacked. We found you before the wild shifters had a chance to get to you. I have to say that you were lucky, Astri," she explains with the smile.
I wipe the sweat off my forehead, thinking that I owe her my life. I would have been dead if the wild shifters found me first. Tom waves towards me. I get up, looking around, noticing Thayer.
"Astri, you can't imagine how glad I am to see you," he says.
"For Hommis, I thought you were dead," I whisper, staring at him with complete disbelief. Jorgen's assistant looks a little tried, but overall, he seems fine.
"Not quite," he jokes.
"Thank you for saving me. I presume that it was Bratlav who shifted into a black dragon, right?"
"Yes, he must have been waiting for the right moment. It's terrible news that Hans passed away or was murdered. None of us believe that Jorgen had anything to do with it. That mage is poisoned with dark magic, and filled with hatred," Thayer explains and a small tear escapes from his eye. "You were burned badly, but Derek managed to heal you. There are a lot of useful herbs growing around this area. You were lucky, Astri."
I'm incredibly grateful that they found me, but I can't stop thinking about Emilia, Edvard, and Aria. They had a job to do while I was fighting with Ruscal, and I hope they succeeded.
Nervous energy is slowly taking over, but I have to stay positive. There’s no way that I can go back to the city now. Then Derek shows up too, and starts checking my wounds. Thayer stays with me and I ask him to tell me how he managed not to get captured.
Apparently, he realised that the castle was under siege quickly enough. He had been in the centre running some errands for Hans, when he bumped into Alexandra. She was with a group of mages who knew Ruscal from the past. I keep thinking that he would have been executed if he had returned to the castle.
After some time, I start walking around, trying to stretch my legs. Alex places some food into my hands and orders me to eat it. I'm starving, so she doesn't need to tell me twice. I eat quickly, feeling anxious about any news from the city.
"We have to wait until morning to find out what happened. We sent another group to the city. They were going to bring the Duke back if he's alive," Tom says, and a huge brick of nausea drops down to my stomach.
I want to drop everything and run back to the old mill, but this isn't possible. Edvard wouldn't go back there, besides his magic caused mass halluc
ination amongst the wild shifters. I keep believing that everything went as planned. The explosions scared people, and they moved quickly toward the square.
Now I have to wait and see. If Jorgen shows up with my group, I don't expect a miracle. I realise that he won't want anything to do with me right away, but I have to have faith. Love can conquer anything.
"We all need to get some sleep. If our small group reached yours, then they should be here at dawn," Alexandra explains, and I nod, deep down knowing that I won’t be able to drift off at all. I'm filled with a thousand other emotions. Jorgen doesn't trust me anymore, but he’ll know that I risked my life to help him.
"It's Jorgen, he was the mage that I mated with back in the Asian World. I don't want to hide this anymore," I tell her and she widens her eyes, looking stunned. Seconds later a giant smile appears on her face, and then she hugs me tightly.
"For Hommis Astri, this is fantastic. I can't believe it; the Duke is your mate. I hope my advice helped you a little," she mumbles into my ear and I laugh. Even now, I don't remember much from that night.
"Yes, he was wonderful, but I lied to him about something and now I think he hates me. He had a chance to get out sooner. I went to rescue him, but he refused to leave his father," I admit, and she gasps.
I’ve said enough, Alex doesn't need to know about the cutting of the mage ritual. It's too soon, but I suspect that rumours have already spread. No one has seen Jorgen shift into a dragon for quite a while now.
I don't care what people think about me. Jorgen chose me and they have to accept that. He’s still their true leader.
"Oh Astri, don't worry. From what you told me, I know he loves you. Once he sees you, nothing will change the fact that you both are destined to be together," she sighed, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I have to see him later, and I don't even know if he’ll want to talk to me.
I tell her what happened in the Asian world, and then she goes back to her husband. There’s only an hour or two until dawn and my nerves are slowly beginning to get to me. Tension pours into my muscles every time I hear movement between the trees.
Eventually exhaustion takes over and I manage to drift off, praying to Hommis, and begging him for everyone to return safely. I start dreaming about being in my true form, flying above the castle, then landing in the graveyard. Jorgen and his family are there attending Hans’ funeral. Jorgen approaches me looking angry, telling me that I shouldn't be there and that I'm not family. Then he hit me, and I touch my cheek, feeling a deep cut. Sometime later, I wake up again, breathing hard.
My chest keeps rising and falling in rapid movements when I remember the dream. I'm disoriented and a little worried about how he’s going to react when he sees me. I glance around, seeing that a lot of mages are already up and walking around the camp. It's dawn, and soon the sun will be rising.
"They’re coming, Astri. We can sense them, but don't know how many of them are there," Alexandra tells me, sounding very excited. I swallow hard, feeling on edge. A soft heat starts rising in the pit of my stomach.
I cover myself with the blanket, my teeth are chattering, then I see Edvard first coming out from behind the trees. He has his arm around Aria, and Emilia is right behind them.
A split second later, my Pixies are flying around me, and Jetli attempts to hug me.
"We’re here, we’re here and we have the lordi lord, Astri. I jabbed a few shifters and was very brave. You should have seen me, Astri," Lenin tells me pulling my hair, and Jetli nods, showing me that she helped too.
It's a huge relief, and I'm so glad that they’re all right, but now I have to face Jorgen.
"Good, fantastic. I'm very proud, but I need to talk Jorgen now. How is he?" I ask in a small voice. Then Aria runs into me and hugs me tightly. Tension rolls through my entire body, because I can sense Jorgen. My heart skips a beat when I finally see him appearing in the camp. A wave of heat and power flows between us. I don't know how I’m supposed to behave around him.
"It's good to see you, Astri. We were all very worried. Your Pixies were very brave, and we managed to rescue Jorgen," Aria says, but I can't focus on what she’s saying to me. Suddenly the rest of the world doesn't exist anymore when Jorgen finally notices me. He stops and heat rushes through me like a tidal wave. I can't seem to move, and for a several moments we stare at each other. His expression is unreadable and he looks much better than when I saw him last.
Soon I recognise the same detached look on his face that shifted my heart into a stone-cold rock.
I want to walk to him, hug him and touch him, deep down knowing that maybe I'm pushing this too hard. The man has just been rescued. Then Emilia says something to him, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge it. Heat starts pouring into my blood cells, and the flashbacks of us together keep moving in front of my eyes. I don't know how to behave, but at the same time I'm chained to the ground. I can't move.
Jorgen vanishes into the forest a minute later, without saying anything to me. Disappointment and anger instantly washes over me, and I stand there like an idiot wondering what the hell that was all about.
"I think you should follow him. You risked your life to save him, make sure he knows that," suddenly the voice of Emilia brings me back to the present. The rest of the camp looks a little disoriented and confused by Jorgen’s actions—he just vanished into the forest without saying a word to anyone. They all want to celebrate that he's been freed.
"He obviously hasn't changed his mind. Maybe I should leave him alone," I say. There’s nothing worse than being rejected by the man that you love the most. Emilia touches my hand.
"Go Astri, you're the only one who can lift his spirit. He should be grateful because you have done a lot to help him and it would be good if you remind him of it," Emilia says, and I finally move, and follow the path where he disappeared just a second ago. My chest feels heavy, but I force myself to keep going. He at least owes me a conversation. I shifted, so I'm still exhausted, but I sense Jorgen before I see him, and our connection is still there, despite everything that’s happened.
Once he hears me, his posture stiffens and I know that it's going to be one of the most difficult conversations of my entire life.
Chapter Seven
Difficult moment.
"Jorgen, we need to talk. How long are you planning to keep this up? This is silly," I say, feeling brave.
His body tightens, but I'm not walking away. He should at least talk to me.
I don't even know why I'm so nervous about this. Besides being lovers, we’re still partners, but now he acts like we’re just strangers.
He has his back to me and it looks like he doesn't respect me enough to even look me in the eye. Dark energy is vibrating between us and this isn't a good sign. I should be more understanding. After all, he was just about to be publicly hanged, so he may be still in shock.
A lot of things happened since I showed up in his cell.
"I told you that you didn't have to help me. I deserved to be hung. Ruscal won and there’s nothing else that anyone here can do," he says, and he seems angry. It looks like his attitude towards me hasn't changed and he keeps acting like the whole world is against him. This Jorgen is a completely different man. He’s lost the fire inside of him, the desire to fight. Somehow, I have to change that. He might not be a mage, but he’s still Rivenna's true leader.
"No, you see this is where you’re wrong. Ruscal hasn't won. You have allies abroad that you need to reach out to. And together we can defeat him, especially with my fire magic. You just have to believe in it," I say, clenching my fist. I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall—he just doesn't want to listen to me. "And I'm certain that Bratlav hasn't used the dragon venom, and I'm going to get it back for you."
He doesn't respond or acknowledge what I say at all, which is frustrating. Silence stretches for a long moment. I don't know what else to say, or how to act. I feel like I have apologised to him enough and yet he’s still angry, filled with resentment. His cit
y needs him, he must realise that.
A few minutes later, he finally turns around to face me. We hear voices in the distance, coming from the camp. Shifters and mages seem excited that our latest mission was successful.
My heart reacts instantly when his blue eyes stare directly at me. My beast reacts too, reminding me that we’re still connected. Nothing’s changed in that respect.
"Forget about the venom. Ruscal must have forced him to destroy it. He doesn't have it and therefore I'll never get my beast back," he snaps, dragging his hand through his hair. I only notice now that he’s lost some weight too, his clothes are almost hanging off him.
"Jorgen—"
"No Astri, we’re done talking about it. You did what you had to do, but that doesn't change the fact that I can’t trust you, and that Rivenna isn't my city anymore. My father is dead, that bastard murdered him right in front of me. Apparently, Hans sent the warlock witch to take him away. As soon as my mother announced that she was pregnant everything fell to pieces. Someone planned our entire future, mine and Ruscal’s," he continues and I stare at him in complete disbelief.
I suspected that his brother had something to do with Hans's death, but I never expected that he would murder him. Hans couldn't have planned to get rid of his own son. This doesn't make sense. He was a great man and he loved his family. Jorgen doesn't even know what he’s saying.
"No, this can't be true, Jorgen. Ruscal lied, like he’s been lying all his life. He can’t be trusted," I shout, losing control. I no longer care that other people might hear me.
This conversation isn’t going exactly to plan.
"It doesn't matter anymore, Astri. My father’s dead and I should have been next. This whole rescue mission was pointless and we’re never going to be all right again," he insists like he’s already made up his mind. I exhale sharply as anger starts coursing through my veins. Then I remember what Emilia said. I need to remind Jorgen the reason that he’s still alive.