Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(81)
He roared, a sound of defiance and challenge. Thrashing his tail, he twisted his neck and stomped as he tried to gain his footing on the mountain side. Talons clutching the boulders, he leapt into the air, whipped in a circle, and exhaled a stream of scalding fire into the trees behind us. Druman’s screams filled the air. Tyrrik bellowed his hatred into the sky, neck outstretched. Roaring flames devoured the trees, and Dyter’s loud gasp echoed in my ears
Tyrrik roared again, vibrant fire poured from between his deadly fangs, but there was something off about his roar. Then the world tilted, and as I fell back, already my mind told me the feeling of disorientation wasn’t originating from me. The air around his Drae form shimmered, and a full minute later, far too long I knew, Tyrrik’s human form lay in the dirt. Agony squeezed my chest, wringing my heart until I saw him lift his head.
Go, Tyrrik mouthed, his face white and sweating. The emperor will come. The effort of shifting to kill the Druman had completely drained him.
I grabbed Dyter. “Can you point me to Gemond?”
I didn’t wait for him to answer. I shifted, the change rippling over me in the time it took me to exhale. I scooped Dyter into one foreclaw and Tyrrik into the other, leaping into the air using my hind legs as soon as I had them secure.
I screamed my rage across the mountain peaks, wishing I could exact revenge on the dead Druman all over again for taking what little energy Tyrrik had. But Tyrrik’s and Dyter’s safety took precedence over everything right now. I had to get them to safety.
Something pinched me, and I heard Dyter’s muffled voice yell, “Too tight.”
I loosened my grip on the two males in my claws and pushed higher into the air. As soon as I’d cleared the mountaintops, I realized I didn’t need Dyter to tell me the way to Gemond. I could see the kingdom from here.
The minutes as I bolted across the skies felt like hours. Each second, I imagined the emperor’s flames licking the back of my neck, but my initial panic about Tyrrik diminished as I studied his state through our touch. He was unconscious but still breathing. There was no gold Phaetyn poison in his pitch-black Drae; he was literally depleted.
My fear had set him off. He hadn’t been able to resist shifting after he inhaled and my terror hit him. He’d pushed himself for me, all this time, again and again. He . . . truly couldn’t control his reaction to me. I hadn’t believed him until now.
Yet Tyrrik was trying to control his reaction, against his very instincts, because I had been unable to understand why he couldn’t act as human males would, as Arnik might have done, even as Kamoi would have. What did it say that Tyrrik was doing that, something which I could now see was near impossible for a Drae, all for me?
The setting sun bathed the valley of Gemond in warm golden light as I soared down the final mountainside to the valley below. The realm was surrounded by majestic peaks, and like in Verald, the castle was nestled in the center of the vale. I pushed my emotions into the recesses of my mind, locking them away to deal with later. Later, when we were safe. Later, when we weren’t being chased by Druman. Later, when the King of Gemond hopefully didn’t eat us. Later, when . . . There would never be a perfect time to discuss what Tyrrik and I needed to, so I settled on the next best thing. Later, when Tyrrik was conscious again.
I landed outside the granite gates and bellowed my arrival before setting Tyrrik and Dyter down on the ground. Being afraid of landing with them hadn’t occurred to me which showed how stupid a thing fear was.
I would conquer my reaction to the presence of Druman if it was the last thing I did.
The gate cracked open, and two stocky golden-plated soldiers with rounded helmets lurched forward, stutter-stepping as they saw me. They halted well out of reach of my swinging tail. Clever men. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it; I hadn’t come all this way to have Dyter or Tyrrik killed by guards dressed in gold. How stupid. Gold was soft. Was this just to show their wealth? I ran my gaze over the gold soldiers. I bet their armor was worth a pretty penny. The two men would look great in my collection . . . but I’d have to feed them.
Dyter got to his feet and ran his hand over his head as he gulped several breaths. He looked a little green after the flight. I narrowed my Drae eyes, daring him to insult my aerial ability.
“Thank you, Ryn,” he said.
My tail twitched at the blatant lie.
He turned to the guards and announced us. “We seek an audience with King Zakai. Please inform him that Lord Tyrrik the . . . Free Drae, Dyter of Verald—ambassador to King Caltevyn, and Ryn are here.”
I practically gave myself Drae whiplash at that. I lowered my head to Dyter, a low growl rumbling in my chest. Shouldn’t I be Ryn the Coolest Drae, or Ryn the Phaetyn-Drae? Or maybe Ryn the Phaetyn-Drae, daughter of Ryhl—
Dyter eyed me nervously and blurted, “I mean to say, Ryn the most powerful Drae.”
Most powerful Drae. I smiled, showing every one of my fangs to Dyter who rolled his eyes. I could work with most powerful Drae.
The guards disappeared, and minutes later, the heavy gates inched opened with an ominous groan. The shiny soldiers bowed us through, and I picked up Tyrrik in my claw, walking forward awkwardly. I ducked through the high gate and straightened inside the cavernous mountain space. In the distance, I heard another Drae roar, and my heart raced, knowing who it would be. The gates closed behind me, and my Drae jaw dropped as I stared at the royal lands of Gemond.