Ride the Wave

2

Doran gave me an amused look. “I’m not that much of a fool. If I tell you my plan now—and yes, I do have one—you’ll rush ahead without me, and then you’ll all be dead. Not that I care, but Kira needs you alive.”

Well, it was worth a try.

He spread his hands. “Listen, I can’t prove to you that I’m her father or that I’d do anything to protect her. All you have is my word, and my promise that if we do nothing, Kira will be dead within a few days.”

Auric glanced between me and Slade. “As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think we have a choice. We need to work with him, even if it is a trap.”

“If it’s a trap, we’ll be ready,” I said, slamming my fist into my other palm. “But what are we going to do with Reven? We can’t leave him here in the ruins of the Earth Temple.”

“We could stop by the Resistance hideout on the way and leave Reven with them,” Auric said. “He’d be safe there, and we can return Parin’s body at the same time so they can bury him.”

“No,” Slade said immediately. “We can’t lead Doran to the Resistance. I won’t put all those lives in danger by revealing their location to a Dragon.”

Doran chuckled. “No need to worry about that. I already know where it is. They’re in the mountain by the two rocks that look like breasts.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“I’m the Black Dragon’s…scout, you could say. It’s my job to know these things and many more. But don’t worry, I haven’t shared this information with Nysa or the other Dragons yet. I have no interest in seeing the Resistance wiped out.”

Slade scowled at him while Auric looked thoughtful. I tried to come up with another place where we could leave Reven, but all I could think of was Slade’s village, except we’d put all those innocent people in danger too. I briefly considered leaving Reven with Auric’s father, the King of the Air Realm, but Stormhaven was too far out of the way and time was of the essence. Taking Reven to the Resistance hideout was our best option.

Doran rolled his shoulders and turned toward the tunnel that led out of here. “Enough debating. I don’t know how much longer the Black Dragon will keep Kira alive. Right now, Kira is an amusement, but she’s a threat to Nysa’s rule and will have to be eliminated soon. We need to get moving.”

“There’s one more problem,” I said, rubbing the spot on my back that hurt even in my human form. “Auric is the only one of us who can fly at the moment. One of my wings is busted, and Slade just got his Dragon form a few hours ago.”

Doran shrugged. “That’s not an issue. Someone can ride with me.”

Ride on the back of our enemy? As if this day couldn’t get any worse.

2

Kira

I

woke to pain. The bone cage surrounded me, cutting off my bond with my mates and blocking my powers. Every time my bare skin touched one of the white bars, revulsion and horror filled me. I’d tried to stay awake, but after being left here for untold hours exhaustion had finally taken over. Except I could only sleep upright without bringing on waves of disgust, and my back and neck ached from the uncomfortable position. Even worse, every now and then my head would drop to the side, my cheek would brush against one of the dreaded bones, and I’d nearly empty my stomach.

A noise caught my attention and jerked me fully awake. A footstep on the stone floor. Heavy. Probably male. Not my mother then.

The Black Dragon had only come to visit me once, and since then I’d been left alone. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been locked in this prison, or whether it was day or night. The room that held my bone cage was empty except for a single torch, with no windows and only one door. After my mother’s cryptic words that I wouldn’t be alive much longer, I’d tried to summon my powers of earth, air, and fire, but found I couldn’t use them in here. Without my magic or my weapons, I wasn’t sure how I’d ever escape, but I was determined to not let this be the end.

The door opened, and my worst nightmare stood in the doorway. Sark, the Crimson Dragon, who had once murdered the people I’d called my parents. I knew now that the Black Dragon was my true mother and one of her Dragons was my father. Probably Sark himself, although the thought made me feel sicker than touching the bones did.

But Sark’s crimes didn’t end there. He’d murdered Reven’s family too, he’d helped destroy the town I’d lived in for the last few years, and he’d killed my best friend, Tash. He’d taken so much from me and from the people I cared for, and I wanted nothing more than to defeat him and stop him from hurting anyone else.

He strode into the room and the torch beside him flared brighter, illuminating his nearly white hair, which was cut in a short military style. He wore red and black armor, similar to what the Onyx Army wore, but even more ornate. Hatred filled me as he drew closer and his cruel brown eyes met mine. He carried a tray of food, which he thrust through the bone cage with a single command. “Eat.”

My stomach twisted with hunger, even as I glared at him. The last time I’d eaten had been during the climb to the Earth Temple with Slade, Reven, and Parin. How long ago was that? It felt like an eternity, but for all I knew it had only been a few hours. Were my mates all right? Were they looking for me now?