Norivun’s head whipped in my direction, allowing Haxil to land an easy uppercut to his jaw.
The prince’s head snapped back, and my eyes widened when his lip split, but the prince only grinned and let loose a huge gust of his air element.
Haxil flew from his feet, his wings spreading wide as he tried to stop the wind magic from pinning him to the wall.
Nish laughed and tackled Norivun from behind, but the prince spun and landed a kick to his guard’s stomach. Ryder howled in amusement when he joined Nish, and the two of them wrestled the prince to the mat.
All of them were panting, and victorious howls came from Nish and Ryder as Haxil finally broke through the prince’s air affinity. He joined the guards and piled on top of the prince.
Norivun sputtered a breath when Haxil knocked the wind from him with an easy punch.
“Cheating bastards!” the crown prince choked out as he wheezed and laughed.
The guards chortled.
A devilish grin split Norivun’s face. “Don’t say you didn’t deserve this.”
In a flash of magic so strong that I felt it in my bones, the prince’s form abruptly vanished. A second later, a roaring dragon stood in his place. My eyes turned into saucers, and I blinked, then blinked again.
The dragon was still there.
“That is the most realistic looking illusion I’ve ever seen,” I breathed.
Sandus crossed his arms, smirking. “It’s not an illusion.”
“What?” I backed up, but Sandus stopped me.
“Just watch. He’ll want you to see.”
“He? That’s Norivun?”
Sandus grinned.
Black scales covered the dragon’s . . . no, Norivun’s entire body as puffs of smoke blew from his nostrils. Huge, leathery wings tipped in talons lay against his body as a long tail swung along the floor, knocking all of the guards from their feet.
“Oh, fuck,” Sandus said from beside me as he huffed a laugh. “He hasn’t pulled that stunt in a while.”
The guard leaned against the door, an amused smile on his face as we watched the chaos that was being unleashed.
My eyes widened more as I took in the sheer size of Norivun, who apparently had a dragon shapeshifting affinity—an extremely rare affinity that the prince never told me about because he liked seeing me curious. Since dragons were only normally found in the underworld, guarding the gates to Lucifer’s kingdom, it was unheard of for a Solis fairy to acquire their form when a shapeshifting affinity manifested. I’d read in a history book that it’d only happened once and that had been centuries ago.
“He’s truly unique, isn’t he?” I said in amazement.
Sandus nodded. “That he is.”
In his dragon form, Norivun rose twenty feet tall. At his full height, his lips split into a grin as long, razor-sharp teeth hung from his gums. The guards had completely given up on besting him in their sparring, and I could have sworn that Norivun was grinning at me.
“Very nice, Nori. She’s thoroughly impressed.” Sandus waved toward the prince’s shredded clothes on the floor. “Would you like me to grab you a new pair of pants and a tunic?” He headed toward a chest against the wall.
In a second brilliant flash of magic, so strong it nearly knocked me off my feet, Norivun shifted back to his fae form. His huge leathery wings, tipped with talons, appeared at his back again, and my eyes widened.
“That’s why you have talons on your wings?” I blurted as the crown prince pulled on a fresh pair of pants that Sandus had thrown to him. “It’s your dragon affinity that caused that?”
He gave me a crooked grin. “I wondered how long it would take you to figure out.”
Haxil, Ryder, and Nish all laughed or smirked, and I resisted the urge to smack the crown prince on his chest.
Norivun’s grin increased as his nostrils flared. “Is that scent I’m detecting from you anger or admiration?”
I crossed my arms. “You could have just told me about that affinity and saved me the shock. I thought it was an illusion.”
He laughed. “And miss seeing the disbelief you’re still wearing? No way.”
Haxil chuckled while Nish laughed so loud that he had to prop himself against Ryder to keep from tipping over.
“If it makes you feel better,” the prince said, stepping closer to me, “I don’t often shift. It’s my weakest affinity, and I can’t hold my dragon form for more than a few days.”
Glowering, I tightened my arms over my chest. “What’s your last affinity? Now that I know of five of the six, surely, you can just tell me what the last one is.”
He grinned. “Nope.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t stop my smile. “Well, if you’re done showing off and using me for your amusement, I was hoping you could join me on an outing.”
The crown prince cocked an eyebrow as a wolfish grin streaked across his face. “To my bed chambers?”
His guards snickered.
I rolled my eyes but had to smother a laugh. “No, you filthy-minded prince . . . to Isalee.”
The energy in the room sobered as the prince frowned. “Back to Isalee? Why? What’s wrong?”
“I want to study that field again. Something tells me that it’s possible the lack of orem isn’t what’s killing the crops.”
CHAPTER 29
The prince and his four guards accompanied me as we mistphased to Isalee. When we arrived at the same field, a clear pale-green sky and a stunningly bright sun blazed down on us. It was the exact opposite from the weather this morning.
“A clear winter day in my home territory.” Haxil whistled. “Count yourself lucky. These days only happen a few times a season.”
Taking that as a good omen, I created a dome of fire around the five of us, spreading it wide enough that it didn’t burn anyone in the interior, but it was hot enough at the perimeter that it would keep any wayward predators from thinking twice about attacking.
Ryder cocked an eyebrow as his long braid trailed down his back. He did a slow circle, admiring my handiwork. “You’ve become pretty proficient with your affinities, Lady Seary.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Haxil said with a grin.
Nish frowned, but a new light entered his eyes as he crossed his arms, studying me. “I have to say it is rather . . . impressive.”
“Thank you,” I said, suppressing a smile. “Anyway, the reason I wanted to return here was because of what I sensed earlier. It got me thinking.” I leaned down to the snow and pushed at least four feet to the side before kneeling on the frozen ground.
Norivun joined me, inching closer to me until we touched. “What did you sense?”
I leaned more into him, that soothing feeling rushing through me as I laid my palm flat against the ground and closed my eyes. “I’m not sure, but . . .”
Magic swirled in my belly, and I drew upon it, calling my life-giving affinity to the surface before pushing it out of me. My power spiraled into the land as I searched for a hint of orem. Once again, nothing was there. I pushed deeper, trying to find that off sensation I’d detected only hours ago.
My magic dove through the ground, hunting and searching. Despair began to plague me, but then I hit something. It was so very deep in the land. Deeper than I’d ever tried to push my affinity before.