Ride the Wave

6

It didn’t matter. Nysa was evil, power hungry, and completely insane. She had to be in order to murder her own children to extend her life. She’d said she had a good reason and was trying to protect the world, but I didn’t believe it. Nothing could make me do that to my own child. Nothing. Nysa was a monster, a mother who sucked the life from her own babies, and no matter how much she said she didn’t want to kill me, no one was forcing her to do it. And she’d made the same decision many times before.

The horror over what Nysa had done—and wanted to do to me—suffocated me, and I became consumed with the need to get away. I grabbed the bucket off the floor and slammed it against the cage as hard as I could. I did it over and over, the metal hitting the bone loudly with each blow, hoping for something to give way. Just one little piece. Please, I prayed to the Gods, give me a way to escape from here. Let me free, so I might find a way to stop her.

The door flew open and Sark stomped inside the room. “What’s going on in here?”

I dropped the bucket and glared at him, while my entire body shook with anger and disgust. “How could you let her do it? She’s killing your own children, and you stood there and allowed it for all these years!” His lips curled up in a sneer. “Stupid girl. You don’t know anything.”

“I know a real father would protect his daughter,” I spat out.

“Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Now quit your banging or I’ll take that bucket away, along with everything else you’ve been allowed.”

I gave him a look full of hatred and loathing as I picked up the bucket and banged it against the cage, making the bones rattle. Maybe if he tried to take the bucket, I’d be able to overpower him and escape. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than nothing and I was desperate at this point.

But he didn’t open the cage or come after me. Instead, the metal bucket suddenly grew so hot that I yelped and was forced to drop it. Sark had used his fire magic through the cage somehow, even though I couldn’t use mine.

“Be quiet, or next time it won’t only be the bucket getting burned,” he growled.

After he left, I realized he hadn’t confirmed or denied being my father. The bucket hadn’t done a single thing to the bone cage, and I had nothing else to use to escape besides a ragged blanket. But I wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t. Somehow, I would get out of here—and then I would make sure that none of my sisters would ever be killed again.

5

Auric

O

ur cart pulled up to the black gates of Soulspire and I shifted in my seat, tugging my wide-brimmed hat low over my face. We'd bought the cart at a farm a few hours away, along with clothes that would help us blend in and look like merchants, plus some apples and oranges to complete our disguise. The farmer had been delighted with our money and I was thankful my father had provided us so much gold for our journey before we’d left the Air Realm. It was almost all gone now, but it had served us well while it lasted.

We hadn't seen Doran since his large blue form had flown over us toward the palace. We could only pray he was getting Kira out and fulfilling his side of the bargain, instead of leading us into a trap. I had a feeling he would be true to his word, even if the others disagreed with me. Or maybe I just wanted to believe Doran was on our side because if he wasn’t, we would have a much harder time rescuing Kira.

We'd spent the last few days flying toward Soulspire, which was located in the center of the continent where the four Realms met, and Doran had told us his plan when we’d stopped to rest last night.

“The Spirit Festival starts tomorrow, and it's the biggest celebration of the year in Soulspire,” he’d said. “The Black Dragon herself always makes a speech in the afternoon and the revelers will fill the streets, wearing masks and celebrating being alive. It can get a bit wild, if you know what I mean. It's the perfect time to rescue Kira.”

“And how exactly will we do that?” Slade asked. We all sat around a clearing as we finished our meal, and despite having traveled with Doran for days, everyone kept an eye on him. None of us trusted him yet.

“You won't,” Doran said. “I will.”

“That doesn't work for us,” Jasin growled. He disliked the man more than any of us, although I wasn't sure if it was a natural fire and water opposites thing or if it was related to his issues with his own parents. Jasin’s father had betrayed us, and I didn't blame him for suspecting Kira's father would do the same.

Doran gave a casual shrug. “Too bad. I'm the only one who can walk into the palace where Kira is being held without a problem. Any one of you would be stopped by the hundreds of guards and killed or captured before you came anywhere near her. Assuming you could even find her once inside.” He shook his head. “No, I will free Kira and lead her out of the palace through the sewers. You’ll meet me there and escape with her.”

“Why do you need us at all then?” Jasin asked.

“I can get Kira out of the palace while the other Dragons are busy with the Festival, but they’d notice if I flew off with her. I need it to look like she was rescued by her mates to maintain my cover.”

Jasin's eyes narrowed, and I held out a hand to stop him from replying. I cleared my throat. “How will we get into the city undetected? You can fly into Soulspire, but we cannot.”