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‘Then get away from the cube before I knock your stubborn arse out.’
I didn’t wait to see if he listened, trusting my brother to keep the stubborn fae from making things worse. Cinared was now above me, so I stepped towards the opening cube.
Roksana’s necklace burned my skin when the first wave of frost issued from the cube, licking at my boots. It was time to end this.
‘Cinared! Burn it!’ I roared, swinging my sword. I hit the box just as a pillar of white-hot fire rained down, melting the box and sword alike. The engraved disc split and a magical explosion blasted me backwards.
I landed in the mud with a curse. I sent my dragon a mental command to stop the fiery onslaught. The derelict manor burned, shattering the obsidian roses in its windows and sending glass shards everywhere, but the threat was gone, melted by the dragon’s fury.
‘My strategist brother. Always knows what to do, hmm?’ Ormond approached me, passing me the cloak folded over his arm. ‘Why don’t I believe this was the first time you’ve walked into dragon fire?’
‘It was the first. The other was a volcano. There was no choice this time. I had to break the Nebra cypher before it released the wraiths.’
Mud dripped from my leathers as I stood. I tried brushing it off, but it just smeared. Still, we’d survived, and I thanked the gods my riding leathers were made from Cinared’s shed scales, or I’d have finished this adventure naked.
‘The Nebra cypher? That abomination used the Nebra cypher? Which deranged fae made it?’ Ectheon marched toward us, fury twisting his face.
‘That, my friend, is what I’m trying to discover. It’s why I gathered everyone in Truso.’ I gestured towards the burning mansion. ‘Those boxes were made by Młot and spread all over Dagome to destroy magic users. Or maybe even beyond Dagome, but that’s yet to be confirmed. Tell me, which route did you take to come here?’
Ectheon’s jaw tightened. The reaction told me he knew what I was asking. ‘Over the orcish steppe. The gryphons refused to fly through Tivalaran,’ he finally admitted.
‘They refused because of the pillars that drain the land of its Aether. Those pillars power a portal similar to the Nebra Cypher. I don’t know yet why they built the portal. I thought they intended to bring their army, but as far as my spies know, Tangra forces arrived on galleons, which makes you crucial to defending our shores,’ I explained. A shudder ran through his body.
‘Maybe they are saving it for something bigger—damned fools. Without a fae operating the portal, they could tear the Void open,’ he huffed. He reminded me of a furious badger, but I could work with anger.
‘That’s what I’m fighting. That’s why I need your help to stop the Tangrian ships. If I fail to defeat those fanatics, your island will be next. Whether you want it or not, Dagome’s army is the only thing standing between you and annihilation.’ The look in his eyes confirmed my gambit had paid off.
Fear was excellent motivation, and the seed I’d planted now sprouted, growing like the flames consuming the abandoned mansion.
‘Fine. I’ll stop the ships for as long as I can, or for as long as you’re holding off those fanatics,’ he said. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and with the Care’etavos and Orcish tribes, I had a fighting chance.
‘Then we have an accord.’ I reached out to shake the fae’s hand.
He shook it, albeit reluctantly, before adding, ‘For as long as Tangra is here, I’ll continue pretending neutrality. I can’t afford to be targeted, Reynard. We’re too small and too far away from Dagome.’
I nodded and picked up a single surviving obsidian rose before passing it to Ectheon. ‘Take your trophy, Wind Master. Let me be sufficiently unhappy that you won.’
‘You are a cunning bastard, Reynard. I’m looking forward to dancing with your wife,’ he said, taking the rose.
‘I am when I have to be.’ I gestured towards the island shore where two dragons and a gryphon waited by the water.
Pain exploded in my head, and I hit the mud for the third time today.
‘You should have told me what you were planning, Brother,’ Orm growled, standing over me. ‘Any more surprises?’
‘None, only the ball tomorrow with the official introduction of Roksana as my betrothed, that’s it, I swear.’
‘Good.’ His curt answer didn’t sit well with me.
‘I wouldn’t endanger Annika,’ I said, and he turned towards me before we mounted our dragons.
‘I wish I could be certain of that, Rey. Whatever comes, I’ll stand by you, Brother, but be mindful of the price if anything happens to my family.’
His words were a gut punch. Even worse was knowing Sana would agree. Hard decisions had to be made, but I made a vow right then. I would include Roksana in all of them, no matter the danger.
You aren’t soaring the skies alone, Reynard. I am with you. Cinared’s voice wrapped itself around my heart, lifting the weight of the crown enough for me to breathe again.
