Dragon Bonds (Return of the Darkening Series Book 3) (23 page)

Ryan led us from the main keep and into one of the smaller chambers off to the side. Bookshelves and tapestries had been ripped from the walls, but the wooden table and chairs had been left, thanks to Mordecai, who had set out the warnings that had kept the Wildmen from the Academy walls.

Ryan helped the king remove some of his armor, and Mordecai helped the king out of his heavy boots.

“Thank you for that, Mordecai.” The king groaned and slumped into a chair. It was strange to see him like this—battle weary, but with an air of authority about him now. It was as if the war had matured him. “The dragons of the Southern Realm came to us just a week ago. At first, we feared a trick or some new form of enemy attack, but they told us they had heard of brave Dragon Riders who had come to find those who would fight the Darkening.”

Mordecai nodded and sat. He spoke to the king of Commander Hegarty’s death—how they had thought they had failed to find any dragons or riders to help.

King Justin put a hand on Mordecai’s shoulder. “You did not fail. Nor did the commander—but his loss is a great one.”

Varla and Merik came to us with water and the little food that some riders still had and were sharing—stale bread, dry cheese and bits of meat. Water skins were passed around. We ate and drank, and the king began to talk, his voice low and tired.

“We did what we could to try and attack Lord Vincent’s forces, but for every raid we managed, we lost dragons and riders. And troops.” Leaning his elbows on the table, the king shook his head. “We saved a few villages from attack, only to find more and more of Lord Vincent’s forces following after us. They harried us and baited us, instead of us doing that to them. Every time we charged, they would turn and we would follow. I didn’t realize what they were doing until the third day—they were leading us west and north, bringing us back to Torvald.” He groaned and covered his face with his hands. “I have failed you. I pulled our forces together when I should have scattered everyone as far as I could. Lord Vincent will sweep in tomorrow, kills us all and then he will control the whole of the known world.”

“He told you this?” Mordecai asked gravely.

“No.” Justin shook his head and put his hands flat on the table.
“
He told me nothing, but I wish I could see his face for I would like to smash it with my fist. They say that he rides an immense black dragon with four wings and two heads now, larger even than Erufon was.” He glanced at me and looked away. “No. Lord Vincent sends messages to me through my former Commander of Dragons, Reynalt Flamma.”

I swapped a glance with Ryan, but he was staring at the floor and would not look at me. Face burning hot, I said, “I am so sorry, my king.”

King Justin straightened. “This is not your fault. I do not hold Reynalt accountable. He is doing his master’s bidding. He said we had one day and night to surrender, for tomorrow the armies of the Darkening would swallow the world.” He gave a hollow laugh. “He was never that melodramatic before.”

S
hame washed through me along with a burning anger that my family stood with the enemy. Why hadn’t I been able to free Reynalt from the Memory Stone with the King’s Dragon Stone? Wasn’t that supposed to control all the stones? Did I have to hit Lord Vincent with its power directly? I tightened my hands into fists—I needed to know what to do.

The king’s hand fell onto my shoulder, warm and heavy. “I know what you are thinking, Flamma, and I forbid it. I speak not as your friend now, but as the last true king of the Middle Kingdom. Your place is here with me. Unless, of course, you wish to flee. There are still, sadly, many refugees who will need protecting in the dark years to come.”

“But we might win, sire!” The words seemed to burst from Seb. He had been quiet so far, but now he waved his arms, looking as if he could not hold in his frustration one more instant. “We have the King’s Dragon Stone. We found it! We found the tomb of the First Rider!”

As I looked at Seb, I realized what Hegarty had seen in him. His simplicity of spirit, a goodness inside him that was refreshing to be around.

Like a dragon—what he feels is what he shows.

Moving slow, frowning, the king blinked, glanced at Seb and then turned to regard me. “The King’s Dragon Stone?” He held out his hand.

Ryan stepped closer to me. “Thea?”

Breathing slowly to calm my heart, I wondered if I could bring it forth. The last time I had done so in the heat of battle, I had almost killed myself and our dragons. What if it once again flowed with an energy that would kill us all?

Be still in your heart.

Kalax’s awareness drew closer. In the same movement, Seb stepped up to me to put his hand on my shoulder.

I breathed steadily, trying to do what Kalax had said. With trembling fingers, I reached into the pouch at my side and closed my hand around the egg-shaped stone. It seemed cold at first, but that voice whispered in my mind.

A fire in the heart of the world.

Pulling out the stone, I stared at it. Heat kindled in my chest, growing brighter with every heartbeat.

Steady, Thea!
Kalax breathed her thoughts into me.

The stone began to glow. I held it on my open palm.

King Justin reached out and took it from me. Suddenly, it was just a dull, gray stone again. I let out a breath.

The king frowned and held up the stone. “It doesn’t seem to want to glow for me.” He stared at me. “You’ve used it? It works?”

I shook my head. “I have, but it’s…well, it’s very powerful”

“And not really in control,” Seb muttered.

King Justin looked at the rock in his hand, before handing it back to me. Instantly, I started to feel the heat and the stone started to glow. Hurriedly, I dropped it back into the leather pouch. The heat faded at once.

“It could kill us all,” I said.

The king stared at me and then gave a laugh. “That might be a kindness, for the Darkening will certainly do worse to us. With a wave of his hand, the king commanded, “You have this day and one night to master this weapon, but sharpen your sword at the same time.”

He waved us from the room. Seb followed me out and we headed into the keep, which seemed full of wounded men. Outside, the Academy was at least being put to rights. Riders and dragons had cleared the rubble from the fallen towers. Walls were being patched. Guards now walked the top of the walls. From the look of it, a group of riders were even repairing the other trebuchets. The practice yard seemed filled with dragons—you couldn’t turn around without bumping into a tail or wing.

We had barely gotten three steps out of the keep when the Dragon Horns sounded again.

I glanced up to the tower above the gates and saw Beris waving and pointing to the south. It couldn’t be an attack—not yet, could it?

And then I knew just who would be sent to cause division in the ranks of the king—Flammas were coming.

“Seb?” I said, through gritted teeth, suddenly terrified of having to confront my brother again. I was determined to get it over with. “Get Kalax. I will ride out to greet them.”

“We will ride out,” Seb said, his voice grim. The shimmer of his Dragon Affinity rose in my mind and Kalax gave a long, battle roar that echoed against Mount Hammal.

* * *

K
alax flew
down from the Academy to slowly circle in long loops, heading toward the large, black dragon heading for us. From up high, I could clearly see Lord Vincent’s forces, which had camped just past the south walls of the city. Wild dragons hovered in the air before landing and then flying up again. Other dragons sat on the ground, looking far too passive to be anything but under mind control of some king. Tomorrow we would face them all.

Looking away, I glanced down at Torvald. The city looked ruined, large chunks of it blackened by fire or tumbled down. Looking back up, I watched the black dragon that now matched our slow, circling glide with its own.

I’d expected to see Reynalt, but the rider on this dragon’s back wasn’t my brother—I saw my father’s lined face and his bristling, red mustache.

“Agathea!” he called out across the distance that separated us.

“Father.” I stiffened my back. I didn’t really want to give him any more greeting or grace than that.

I had never seen my father ride a dragon—he had long ago retired from the ranks of Dragon Riders. But I had seen the painting that had hung in our house and I’d heard the stories of his time with the king’s army. He’d fought in the Pirate Wars, had been at the Battle of Dragon Pass, and his tales had inspired me to become a Dragon Rider. I’d thought it was a life of adventure. Now I wondered about that.

Had the stories been lies? Exaggerations? Would I have been happier listening to my mother and only focused on being a lady who could dance and stitch and arrange flowers? But that would not change this day—my father would still be on the wrong side.

Kalax had chosen me and Seb as her riders. Now it was up to me and Ryan to carrying on the Flamma tradition that had been forged back in the depths of time.

As close as egg to fire, the Flammas and their dragons.
Close to our dragon and our king. Why did Father think he could sway me to his side?

His dragon flew closer and hovered in front of Kalax. “My daughter, there is no need for this battle, not between us, or between Lord Vincent and Justin. Lord Vincent does not wish for the fine traditions of Torvald and the Academy to be destroyed. A future is in front of us—one of the three kingdoms united as they were meant to be. We will see peace. The time is now to turn away from that usurper, Justin!”

“King Justin, Father,” I yelled out. “And how can you be such a fool as to believe those lies? Did all of those years at the old king’s side mean nothing to you?”

“Old King Durance is dead, and he was wise enough to name Lord Vincent as his rightful heir. Tomorrow will see Lord Vincent crowned high king of the three kingdoms—right here in Torvald. Stand with me. Bring Ryan home to us. Let us see peace again.”

I shook my head and called out, “We’ll have peace—after the Darkening is defeated. You are the one who needs to stand aside before it is too late!”

He bowed his head for a moment, but then looked up again. “Stop this foolishness, Agathea. Come stand with your family. Your blood, your kin.”

I swayed in my saddle, hating what I must do. But
my mind was made up, even as my vision clouded with tears.

“I am with my kin, Father.”
I tapped Seb’s shoulder, the signal to let Kalax know we had to leave—fast. She tucked her wings and dropped her head in a sudden dive.

“Agathea, daughter!”
I heard my father shout after us as we fell.

Kalax unfurled her wings to catch the thermals that surrounded Mount Hammal. She soared over the Academy.

I did not look back at my father. I would not. I wanted to think his words had been a trick of the Darkening, that the Memory Stone had a hold on him. But I feared that my father might have been speaking only because he saw how House Flamma could survive this war. Tomorrow, I would face him in battle. Him and perhaps Reynalt as well.

Tears stung my eyes but I would not let them fall. I had to find a way to save not just my king and his kingdom—I had to find a way to save my family.

T
he blaring Dragon Horns
woke me, and I stumbled to my feet without even opening my eyes, thinking it must be training again and I was late. Thea would yell at me again. But as soon as I moved, the aches shooting through my joints told me I was no longer a cadet. I dragged open my eyes and stared around the practice yard.

Next to me, Kalax was already awake, but I didn’t see Thea.

The Dragon Horns sounded again. It wasn’t even dawn yet and the air still held a cold bite. Other riders and their dragons were stirring.

I glanced around, wondering if this would be my last day alive—and happy at least that I would spend my last moments with dragons.

They had always filled me with fascination and wonder. I’d grown up watching for winged forms in the sky above the city, stealing time away from stoking my father’s smithy so I could watch for the dragons.

When Kalax had swooped down to Monger’s Lane—the last place anyone thought could produce a Dragon Rider—my dreams had come true. I’d had no idea my journey was only just beginning.

Glancing around at the dragons stirring and stretching, I wanted to grin, but I knew others weren’t feeling what I did—they dreaded this day. But I was with dragons. The only thing that would be better would be to have fewer dragons in the sky facing us.

Stretching out my affinity, I could sense the enemy dragons that outnumbered us almost seven to one. Most of them were the faster, more ferocious black dragons, but I sensed blues and greens with them, and a few of the Southern Realm dragons, which seemed to glow almost with an inner heat. It would have been an awe-inspiring sight to see so many different kinds of dragons, if not for the fear and anger that came with them.

It was not natural for dragons to gather like this. I could sense the wild dragons wanting to pick fights. Other dragons were unhappy and wanted to leave but were held back by magic.

This magic, clearly, was of the darkest kind.

I shuddered, for I could sense that magic in the dragons, twisting their minds as well as their bodies. The mutations Thea and I had seen at Lord Vincent’s camp weren’t just changes to how they looked—the dragons sent out a sense of bitter anger that left them ready to lash out at anything or anyone.

The Darkening had done this. Even now, I could feel it through my Dragon Affinity, settled inside the deformed dragons like the stain of ink. It made my blood chill.

Even worse, I could sense changes in our dragons that were now with the enemy, and I wondered what the Darkening was doing to the people who had been forced to serve it.

How long before the magic of the Darkening starts to change not just dragons but everything?

Even if we survived this day, would all of those who had come under the spell of Lord Vincent be forever changed? Was there no hope for any of our futures, no matter what we did today?

Always hope. The future comes.

Kalax seemed so certain. Just the feel of her mind against mine was soothing, like wearing a favorite set of clothes. It made me feel…well, more like myself
.

It pushes back the fear from the enemy dragons.

That is a surprisingly human thought, Kalax! I didn’t know that dragons were philosophers.

Kalax more than most, because of Seb, and Thea. Become more alike.

I wondered at that. Was what we did with dragons really any different from what the Darkening was doing? We tamed dragons and rode them. The Darkening did the same with black dragons. But if Kalax was becoming more like me and Thea, were those dragons now becoming more like the ancient evil? Suddenly, I needed to know something.

Kalax? What made you choose us as your riders, so long ago?

Choose? As if Kalax or Seb or Thea could choose against your heart? Why wish to be a Dragon Rider?

Good point,
I thought.

It had always just felt natural. It was a dream I wanted and something I couldn’t give up—no matter what.

From near the keep, Thea called out to me. “Seb!” She ran over to my side. “Have you seen Beris?”

I glanced around. Merik, Varla and Feradima all stood near Kalax, along with our other black dragons and Wildmen riders. I didn’t see Gaxtal or Syl or Beris.

It was still dark out. Around us, dragons and riders were gearing up for battle. I wasn’t certain if Lord Vincent’s forces would attack at dawn or after, but the plan was to hit them first and hit hard.

Looking past Thea, I saw Mordecai limping toward us. “He’s gone. Him and his dragon. Deserted us! The plan is off! The king has ordered it for that fool will have told all to our enemy.” Mordecai started to turn away.

I stepped in front of him. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

Thea glanced at me, her face pale. “Beris is gone. Beris and Gaxtal. We can’t find them here.”

“I should have known we couldn’t trust him,” Mordecai grumbled.

I glanced around, but how could anyone find just one stocky blue in all these dragons? “Where’s Syl?” I asked.

“Up on the ramparts, trying to spot his dragon and his flying partner.” Mordecai cursed once again.

I turned to Thea. She was shaking her head and muttering, “He can’t have gone. He just cannot have.”

“You think he ran away? Beris may be arrogant and can hold a grudge longer than a dragon lives, but he’s no coward.”

She glanced at me, her eyes troubled. She looked at Mordecai. “Beris isn’t a traitor.”

“Then where is he? We can only hope he did run—and didn’t run to the enemy. The king has said he will take lead and fly in front. Look for him to signal you for when it is time to unleash the stone’s power.”

The Dragon Horns sounded again. I turned to Thea, who was pale-faced, but had her mouth set in that determined look I knew.

“I have a different idea,” she said.

We threw our saddles on Kalax took to the sky. Kalax circled once over the Academy. I glanced at Thea—and I knew exactly what she was planning and that I wasn’t going to like this one.

Below us,
Mordecai was shouting orders, yelling for us to return and fall in with the other Dragon Riders.

“Are we going to listen to him?” I asked Thea.

She looked straight ahead. To the east, the sky had lightened to a pale gray. Thea shook her head and called out to me, “We’re going to be the first to engage the enemy. But not the way anyone else is planning.”

I gave a groan. I didn’t know which were worse—Thea’s bad ideas or mine.

* * *

F
rom the sky
, we watched the enemy react to the Dragon Horns and it was like watching someone kick a wasp nest. The sun had only just touched the horizon, and the air was chill as we flew. Below us, enemy dragons squawked and roared. Riders ran about between them. They looked as if we’d woken them and I was glad of that.

Glancing back, I saw Thea pulling out a square of white cloth that looked like something left from her days as a noble when she must have had silken sheets. She was making a truce flag.

I frowned at the sight of it but asked Kalax to fly as slowly as she could, giving the enemy more time to see that we were alone. Thea started to wave the flag.

The sun was beginning to rise, revealing more of the enemy’s army—it wasn’t just dragons now. Wildmen and Southern raiders had come out of the city to join Lord Vincent’s forces.

Faces turned up toward us and I could see gestures being made. No arrows flicked past us, so I guessed our truce flag had been seen. I was hoping we looked as if Lord Vincent had won.

But I was also hoping that Thea didn’t really want to surrender.

Behind us, I could hear roars from Feradima as well as from Scratch and Hiss. I still kept a thread of awareness with the black dragons. I found it terribly difficult trying to control the impulses of just a few dragons—how was the Darkening managing with hundreds?

“He’s not coming,” Thea said.

“Wave the flag higher,” I told her.

Glancing back, I saw the sky over the Academy starting to fill with dragons. We didn’t have long. I shook my head. “The king is going to be so angry with us. If we live, we’ll be thrown out of being Dragon Riders.”

“Not if this works,” Thea said and pointed to the ground. “There! Look!”

In the center of the enemy dragons, I saw smaller dragons lifting from the ground and flying away.

An immense black dragon with four wings and two snapping heads. It pushed its way out of the mass of dragons, obviously not caring who or what was in its way. It snapped at everything, it’s tail lashing out. There was no mistaking the giant beast that Lord Vincent himself rode.

“Ready?” Thea asked again.

“For what? And whatever you are planning, this better be good and if it can’t be that, at least make it work.”

“Of course.” She waved the truce flag once more before patting the leather pouch that hung from her side. “Just concentrate on your flying!”

Fair enough
, I thought.

Turning, a sudden chill washed over me, as if we’d hit one of the cold, north winds. The Darkening itself was here…the Ghoul, as the Wildmen had called it. It rode the body of Lord Vincent and the dragon underneath, just as Lord Vincent in turn used the Memory Stone to ride those he controlled.

Is Lord Vincent a victim, too? Before all of this—before he sought the power that the Darkening could offer, was he like me…just someone with the Dragon Affinity?

The black dragon flew closer, dwarfing the sun, blotting out any view of the army behind it. A sense of uselessness and terror washed over me.

We should give up. What can we do? We should bow down and just do as we’re told.

No, Seb.

Kalax’s voice in my mind warmed me. I shook my head. Lord Vincent was trying to use the Memory Stone against us—the Darkening was trying to bend us to its will.

A spark kindled in my chest. Glancing back, I saw Thea had tucked her hand into her bag. She had touched the King’s Dragon Stone. She pulled her hand out again, but that one touch had been enough—she looked impervious to the waves of fear and doubt still washing toward us.

I wet my lips and tried to act as if I felt the same.

On either side of Lord Vincent’s huge dragon, a host of dragons had taken to the air. My heart seemed to stop as I saw Gaxtal and Beris. I also saw Thea’s brother, Reynalt, and an older man on a black-- Thea’s father.

What was Thea planning? I had no idea, but suddenly I wished we could just run, or really could surrender.

“Truce!”
Thea shouted. I tried to focus on Kalax and on flying. With this many dragons in the air, the possibility of a collision was very high. Beris and Reynalt seemed to want to circle us, blocking any possible escape.

Whatever you’re going to do, Thea, better do it soon.