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Agnar grins. “I do enjoy a plan that involves being aggressively helpful.”
“And if they still hate us after we save them?” Rafe asks.
I shrug with more lightness than I’ve experienced in days. “Then at least our consciences will be clear.”
Sterling catches my eye again and winks. Not a flirtatious gesture for once, but a conspiratorial one, signaling that, whatever comes next, we’re in this together.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Impassable Desert isn’t just hot. This place is a slap in the face from the sun itself.
Sand stretches in every direction, rippling like water under the relentless heat. Even with my fire affinity, sweat beads on my forehead and other body parts. Above us, dragons circle in lazy loops, their shadows brief respites from the glare. After enduring the chillier temperatures in the capital, they love luxuriating in this heat, the sun, and all the sand they can bathe in.
The desert plays no seasonal favorites, scorching any creatures foolish enough to breach its borders year-round. Even in the middle of winter.
Sterling clutches his already half-empty water flask in one hand. “You know,” he wipes his brow with the back of his hand, “when I asked you to train with me this morning, I wasn’t expecting something quite so challenging.” Despite his complaint, his brown, gold-flecked eyes sparkle with humor. “Water magic. In one of the hottest, driest places in the world. Very thoughtful of you, love.”
A devious cackle bubbles up my throat. “Consider this payback for all those brutal training sessions you put me through when I first got my wings.” I stretch my shoulders. “You forced me to fly until my muscles screamed, remember? Threw weighted balls at me to catch while I struggled to hold my position in the air. Not to mention those dawn sessions at Flighthaven when you behaved like a total ass.”
His eyes widen. “That was different. All necessary training.”
“And this isn’t? You know what we’re up against.” I raise an eyebrow. “The gods chose you as a champion, Sterling. You think they plan to make it easy?”
He sighs, conceding the point with a nod. “Fair enough.”
I just smile and take three steps back. Without warning, I summon fire from deep within, feeling it jet through my veins like liquid gold. “Hope you’re ready.”
A massive fireball erupts from my palms and spirals toward Sterling with deadly intent.
He laughs while creating a water shield that transforms my flames to steam with a satisfying hiss.
“That all you’ve got?” He’s a blur of muscle and magic.
I track him while hurling smaller and faster fireballs that scorch patches of sand.
Sterling dodges most of them and counters others, his water magic leaving brief shimmers of moisture that the desert instantly devours.
“Lower your shield edge!” I shout as one of his shields becomes a little wonky. “You’re leaving your left side exposed.”
He adjusts mid-movement as seamlessly and fluidly as the element he commands. “Better?”
The dragons, apparently bored with just observing, decide to join the fun. Tanwen launches a stream of dragonfire—hotter and more vibrant than my own magic—directly at Sterling’s back.
Horror grips me. I open my mouth to warn him, already knowing I’ll be too late.
Somehow sensing the attack, Sterling drops and rolls, allowing the flames to pass safely overhead. “Trying to kill me, love?”
Smirking, he leaps to his feet.
I toss up my hands, palms out. “Don’t look at me. That was Tanwen. Apparently, he thinks you’re not training hard enough.”
I glare up at the dragon, opening our connection to blast him with my disapproval.
Tanwen replies with a burst of amusement before attempting to soothe my stress. Clearly, the dragon had confidence in Sterling’s ability to dodge his attack.
“There went a few years off my life,” I mumble as I prepare my next assault.
For nearly an hour, we dance across the desert.
