That was more like lust than interest in a relationship, and not entirely. You’re lucky he didn’t drag you to the back of one of those caves. His mind is an uncomfortable place. Controlling himself is probably as hard as controlling the sword.
Sardelle was more interested in figuring out Ridge’s mind. Now that he was closer, she tried to get a sense of what had been done while ignoring that he had that look on his face again, like he thought jumping might be better than being up here with them.
Figuring out his mind might need to wait for later, Jaxi said. Bhrava Saruth just removed the power from the flier’s crystal. Also, there’s smoke coming from the castle.
I have temporarily halted the energy, Bhrava Saruth said, so I can land the contraption. The machine parts are too confusing, but I recognize the magic. Watch.
The flier had stopped moving, and it was floating in the air above the castle. Terrified guards gawked at it. A couple of people shot at it. Far more weapons were aimed toward Bhrava Saruth. He was circling the castle, not going down yet. Despite the threat of a dragon in the skies, several guards were racing from the castle walls and toward the main building. Smoke was, indeed, wafting from windows on one corner of it. That was the end where Angulus’s office lay.
Can you put it down, Bhrava Saruth? Sardelle asked. And then take us down to the courtyard? Therrik and I should be able to get the people to stop shooting at you when we’re down there.
They do not understand that I only wish to help, Bhrava Saruth replied mournfully.
I know. After we deal with the sorceress, I hope we can change their opinions of you.
“How did you end up on a dragon, Colonel?” Ridge asked.
Even though Therrik had insulted him, and Sardelle had smiled at him, he seemed to find it more comforting to focus on his fellow officer than on the woman who loved him.
“Angulus’s orders. Sardelle?” Therrik looked back again. “Assuming the sorceress can control Zirkander at any time, maybe we should drop him off somewhere out of the way while we go deal with her. Better not to worry about him switching sides.”
Sardelle grimaced at the idea of thrusting Ridge “out of the way,” especially when she hadn’t even gotten to touch him yet, but she remembered how Apex had gotten in the way during their first battle with Kasandral, an innocent taken down by the merciless sword. She couldn’t lose Ridge before she’d had a chance to win him back.
“Probably a good idea,” she admitted, meeting Ridge’s eyes, his bewildered expression tearing at her.
Bhrava Saruth? she asked.
I’ve landed the contraption. Look!
Don’t look, Jaxi suggested.
The flier was now perched atop one of the castle towers, its propeller still, its wheels half up on the low wall surrounding the roof. The tower guards were fleeing down the stairs, a few pointing backward at it and shouting warnings.
That’s, uhm, very good, Bhrava Saruth, Sardelle said. They would have to get him to help remove it later. Would you mind flying over to that butte? We should set Ridge down over there before coming back to the castle. She eyed the plumes of smoke wafting out the windows and hoped the delay wouldn’t endanger the king.
If we wish to stop the sorceress, there may not be time, high priestess. More dragons are coming.
What?
Her first thought was that even more dragons had found their way out of that cavern of statues, but Bhrava Saruth shared a vision with her. Phelistoth was flying across the ocean, the harbor and capital city in the distance ahead of him. Kaika and Tolemek on his back, along with a third person who lay face down, his legs and hands tied. Sardelle couldn’t see his face, but he was clearly a prisoner.
She was about to tell Bhrava Saruth that they shouldn’t need to worry about Phelistoth when a second dragon came into view behind them, a gold dragon. She was chasing Phelistoth, gaining on him.
That’s Yisharnesh, Bhrava Saruth said, the female that escaped imprisonment at the same time as I. She threatened to eat me if I didn’t let her have the repository of knowledge. I had to fight her to drive her from Iskandia and claim this land as my own. She’s not a nice dragon.
Are you stronger than she is? Sardelle thought Bhrava Saruth and Phelistoth might be a match for the female dragon, but her side had more to lose, since they were over the city, a city she didn’t want to see destroyed in some epic dragon battle.
I’m craftier than she is!
That sounds like a no, Jaxi observed.
“Get behind me, Zirkander,” Therrik said. “I’m going to need room to use this sword.” He jerked his thumb toward Kasandral’s hilt. Bhrava Saruth must have also shared the vision of incoming dragons with him.
“How will I do that exactly?” Ridge looked down on either side of Bhrava Saruth’s body—they were still circling, well above the castle—then raised his brows toward Therrik’s broad form.
“I don’t care. Climb over me. Just get out of my way.” Therrik leaned forward, flattening his chest to the dragon’s back.
“When I woke up,” Ridge said, “this wasn’t how I imagined my day going.”
“Just hurry up, Zirkander. Angulus is down in that castle, probably in trouble because you delivered a witch to his doorstep.”
A grimace crossed Ridge’s face. He might not remember who Sardelle and Therrik were, but he seemed to realize he had done exactly that. He clambered over Therrik, grabbing him to keep from falling. Sardelle scooted back to give him more room.
Phelistoth needs my assistance, high priestess. He is injured and will be no match for a gold female, and he must worry about those he carries on his back.
Sardelle looked at Therrik’s back and at Kasandral. Therrik might be able to assist in a dragon battle, but could she and Ridge do anything? Am I right in that you would have an easier time fighting without us on your back?
Very likely. I can put you down someplace safe.
Sardelle would have loved to be deposited someplace safe, where she would have time to figure out how to fix Ridge—and to give him a hug, damn it. But smoke was pouring out of more windows of the castle, and when she checked again, one corner of the roof had burst into flame.
Put us down in the courtyard, please. She looked at Therrik’s back. Ridge had climbed past him, and he had drawn Kasandral. We’ll deal with the sorceress.
She was confident that Therrik would attack the sorceress. She was less confident that she could trust Ridge to help. What if Eversong waved her hand and asserted her control over him? Turned him against Sardelle? Battling Cas had been horrifying enough. To think of striking at Ridge—it hurt all the way to her marrow.
“I’m sorry... ma’am,” he said, noticing her gaze—it was hard not to when they sat astride Bhrava Saruth’s back, facing each other. “I don’t remember you.”
“I know. I hope Jaxi and I can figure out a way to return your memories to you.”
“Who?”
“Ah, my sword. She’s a soulblade.” Sardelle touched Jaxi’s pommel.
He doesn’t even remember me? That’s disheartening. Jaxi made her pommel flare cherry red for a few seconds.
“Another one?” Ridge looked over his shoulder at Therrik, as if expecting him to explain.
Therrik was busy staring down at the courtyard. Bhrava Saruth was descending now, and more signs of chaos came into view. Most of the soldiers had left the walls and run into the castle. A few remained and turned firearms toward the dragon, firing uselessly, the rounds bouncing off his shields. Phelistoth and the female had yet to come into visual range.
“We met at the Magroth Crystal Mines,” Sardelle said, “where you were stationed as the commander.”
His brow wrinkled. “That sounds unlikely. I’m a—”
“A pilot, I know. Wolf Squadron. But you punched a diplomat, and General Ort and King Angulus decided to teach you a lesson.”
“That sounds more likely.”
One of his wry smiles ghosted across his lips, and it tugged
at Sardelle’s heart. She wanted so much wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his shoulder, to tell him how much she had missed him and how she had worried that he was gone forever.
Instead, she slipped her hand into her pocket. “I found something that you left behind when you crashed.”
His eyebrows rose.
Careful to get a good grip on it—he would never forgive her if she dropped it into the harbor—Sardelle withdrew his wooden dragon charm. “This might be a good time to rub it,” she said, tilting her head toward the castle.
Ridge stared at it. For a moment, he didn’t react, but then he blinked a few times, moisture filming his eyes. He reached for it, but hesitated, as if not certain he could take it.
Sardelle pressed it into his hand.
“Thank you,” he whispered and stroked it with his thumb a few times before meeting her eyes again, his expression faintly sheepish.
“I already rubbed it,” she told him, knowing he was self-conscious about his superstitious streak. But it was the truth. She had taken it out of her pocket to hold several times on the trip down from the mountains, not certain if she would ever find him. “We’ll need all the luck we can get.”
Bhrava Saruth landed on one of the walls, talons grasping the crenellations. Phelistoth is almost here and Yisharnesh too, he announced, so I must go immediately. She has thoughts of razing the city in her mind, because—ah, that is the Cofah emperor they have stolen. How delightful!
Therrik leaped from Bhrava Saruth’s back, running for the nearest set of stairs.
Ridge and Sardelle slid off too.
She paused to rest a hand on Bhrava Saruth’s scaled side. Be careful.
Most assuredly, high priestess. You be careful too. A wave of power flushed through Sardelle’s body.
Judging by the way Ridge staggered back a step, he must have received it too. Sardelle did not know what it was, but she immediately felt strong and invigorated.
A god has blessed you, Bhrava Saruth said and leaped into the air.
“Should I find that alarming?” Ridge asked.
“Not until later, when he asks you to be his worshipper.” Sardelle gripped his arm—it was the first time she had presumed to touch him—and nodded toward the stairs Therrik had gone down. “We need to stay with the colonel. That sword is the only weapon that’s proven it can damage dragons, and it should be able to hurt a powerful sorceress too.”
She thought he might balk at the idea of going to hurt Eversong, but he nodded once and followed right behind her.
“Tell me what I can do to help.”
Sardelle wished she knew. Her thoughts of him being used against her or getting into Kasandral’s swing path returned to mind, and she almost told him to stay right there. But she wanted him with her, where she could keep an eye on him, and protect him if need be.
Chapter 18
Tolemek could almost feel the female dragon’s breath heating his back. Or maybe she had started shooting flames. He didn’t want to look back and find out for certain. The dragons had crossed the ocean far more quickly than fliers could, and the Iskandian shoreline had come into view, but he was not certain it represented hope.
Yisharnesh has the power to destroy the city, Phelistoth informed him, and perhaps he spoke to Kaika, too, because she looked at their prisoner. The emperor was tied and gagged between them, though he had regained consciousness hours earlier. Now and then, he looked toward the rear. His expression had grown quite hopeful since the gold dragon had come into view behind them. She is threatening to do that, after she slays us, Phelistoth added. I also sense... I could be mistaken, as it’s quite far away, but I believe there may be a second dragon after us.
What? We never saw another dragon in Dakrovia.
Three came out of that cavern. Bhrava Saruth is here in Iskandia, as is the female, and there was a second male. It’s possible Yisharnesh has made him her mate and requested his help in this matter.
Two enemy dragons? Tolemek slid his hand down his face. It had taken everything they’d had just to kill one dragon at Galmok Mountain. And that had been with Phelistoth’s help. He was in no condition to engage in another battle now. He had poured all of his energy into keeping ahead of Yisharnesh on the flight across the ocean, and he hadn’t managed to heal his wounds yet.
Is there anyone in the city who can help? Tolemek asked, though he couldn’t imagine who might be there. Sardelle? She couldn’t do anything against a dragon.
There is no one I wish to ask for help.
What did that mean?
“Ask anyway,” Kaika said. “We’re not giving our prisoner back, not after all we went through to get him.”
The emperor made an indignant noise that was muffled by the gag.
“If we did give him back, would the female take her mate and go away?” Tolemek asked.
So she says, Phelistoth responded. I do not believe her. I... Something akin to a groan sounded in Tolemek’s mind.
Problem?
Help is coming.
That’s good, isn’t it? Tolemek wondered what constituted help. A flier squadron?
He peered toward the shoreline, which had resolved itself into the familiar terrain features of the capital, the harbor, the bluff, and the inland sprawl of the city. He did see fliers taking off from the bluff.
No, not them. They can do nothing.
Then who?
Phelistoth kept flapping his wings, but he turned slightly, and Harborgard Castle came into view. A gold dragon flew up from its walls, startling Tolemek. He glanced back, half-expecting that their pursuer had leaped ahead of them somehow and had reached the city first. But no, there were two dragons in the sky now in addition to Phelistoth.
“Is that Sardelle’s dragon?” Kaika asked.
The emperor twisted his head, which dangled down Phelistoth’s back, to look away from his dragon and to the one rising from the castle.
“I think it’s more that Sardelle is his person, but it must be.” Tolemek couldn’t imagine a human laying claim to a dragon, but he allowed himself to feel hope. Would the dragon—Bhrava Saruth, that was his name—be a match for this female? From this distance, it was hard to gauge which one was bigger.
Females are always bigger and stronger, Phelistoth said.
“So, we have help, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to drive her away before the enemy male shows up? Or at all?” Tolemek almost asked if Phelistoth and Bhrava Saruth together would be able to beat the female, but they couldn’t ask Phelistoth to go into combat while he carried three people on his back, especially when one was such a valuable prisoner.
Absolutely not. Bhrava Saruth is flaky. I’m surprised he isn’t on a mountaintop somewhere, stroking his crystal.
Tolemek did not know whether his irritation with the other dragon had to do with the crystal or just that Bhrava Saruth claimed an Iskandian heritage. If the latter, he would have to get past that if he wanted to live here.
It is I, the god Bhrava Saruth, a new voice resonated in Tolemek’s head. I am here to assist you. Would you like to become my worshippers? I will bless you before we go into glorious battle together!
Maybe it would be better if he was on a mountaintop, stroking his crystal, Phelistoth grumbled.
“What’s a blessing?” Kaika asked. “I might worship a dragon for something that would protect me from explosives, bullets, and dragon fire.”
A roar came from behind and Tolemek grimaced. The female had closed the gap. Another ten meters, and she could reach out and snap down on Phelistoth’s tail as it streamed behind them. Her maw opened and flames shot out. They struck a shield just behind that tail, curling around it, cupping them with fire.
It seems she wants to get us before our help arrives, Phelistoth said.
He had scarcely finished the last word before a wave of power slammed into him. Tolemek felt it, too, but some counter magic kept him from being hurled from the dragon’s back. However, the wave did affect Phelisto
th, knocking him to the side and from his course.
“Can you drop the emperor off at the castle, Phelistoth?” Kaika shouted. “Maybe we can get some pilots and come back up to help. Oh, Tolemek, do you have any more of those bullets?”
“No, but I have some of the dragon-scale eating acid at my lab,” he said.
“Castle, then lab, please.” Kaika leaned down and kissed one of Phelistoth’s scales as he righted himself, recovering from the attack and dipping toward the harbor.
“Are you flirting with the dragon?” Tolemek asked.
“Just trying to be a pleasant passenger.”
More flames battered the back of Phelistoth’s shield as he dove toward the castle. It might have been Tolemek’s imagination, but the fire seemed to come closer before that shield deflected it, almost to the tip of Phelistoth’s tail. After battling the female back in Dakrovia and flying across the ocean, he must be tired. How many attacks could he withstand?
The flames stopped abruptly as a golden form streaked past. Bhrava Saruth crashed into the female, and they flew sideways, somersaulting through the air. Phelistoth flapped his wings faster and did not look back.
Yisharnesh, Bhrava Saruth cried. You’ve come back to me. You wish to dance with me, after all.
The irritated roar did not sound like an agreement to dance. Tolemek focused on the castle and the courtyard, hoping Bhrava Saruth would either drive the female away or buy them enough time so they could craft weapons that would work. He also couldn’t wait to hand the emperor off to Angulus and his guards.
His hope of depositing Salatak in someone else’s lap faded when he saw how much smoke was streaming out of the castle. One of the towers had been destroyed, and flames leaped from many of the windows.
“What’s going on down there?” Kaika asked.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.” He thought about saying they should bypass the castle and go straight to his lab, but what would they do with the emperor? Tolemek doubted he could go to some of the scientists on the floor and ask them to babysit a kidnap victim.