“We will march south and deal with it.” Zander squeezes my hand. “But our focus is here tonight.”
“One day at a time.”
“Exactly.”
Caindra’s roar echoes as she leaves her perch on the Ybarisan wall, alarming the horses. My heart races as I grab my reins tight, fearing mine will either take off running or throw me over the bridge.
She swoops down to land in front of us, blocking our path and putting herself between us and Jarek.
Zander frowns curiously. “What is this about now?”
“I think she wants something.” It’s how she was sitting outside Ulysede’s gate earlier, with her wings tucked against her sides. I dismount and make my way over to where she waits, nerves stirring at the sheer size of her. “Thank you for earlier. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She brings her head down to meet me at eye level, like she did before, and I smooth my hand over her snout. “At least you understand me.”
A puff of hot air breezes over my face.
And then I’m in her grasp and we’re flying high into the sky once again.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
ZANDER
“Romeria!” I bellow as the beast carries her south without warning.
Jarek charges up on his horse, his face hard with fury. “That’s what she did last time. She grabbed us and flew away!”
“She will bring her back before Hudem’s rise.” Abarrane tries to assure me as we watch the dark form shrink in the distance. “She must.”
I sigh. “I hope you are right. Until then, we must prepare.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
ROMERIA
I can just make out Bellcross’s purple banner as Caindra soars over the approaching army. Rengard answered Zander’s call. It’s impossible to gauge how far off they are from the rift—a half day, maybe? The Nulling will be open by the time they arrive.
Still, Zander’s allies haven’t abandoned him.
I smile, even as the soldiers below shout with terror, the dragon’s massive body unable to hide in a cloudless sky. Caindra continues south and it’s not long before I spot a second army, this one’s banner green and gold. It must be the soldiers Atticus sent north. The company is comparable in size to Bellcross, and it’ll likely arrive within hours after them.
Fresh fighters. That’s all we can ask for.
In the far distance, a large swath of forest coats the land. That must be Eldred Wood, where we met the Legion after escaping Cirilea. Those days feel like an eternity ago.
Caindra banks right and turns back the way we came. A part of me wants to prod her to continue to Cirilea, so I can see the state it’s in, but we don’t have time for that now. She only brought me here to show me help was coming.
“Thank you!” I shout, though I doubt she can hear me. I settle into her grip and admire the view—of rolling hills and snowcapped mountains, of the two full moons. Despite the chaos that is coming, no one can claim that Islor isn’t breathtaking.
Suddenly, Caindra dives to land in an open field, setting me down gently.
I find my footing in the grass. “Why are we here?” There’s no one and nothing around. Not a single house.
Her head tips back and I brace myself for one of her terrifying roars, but it doesn’t come. Instead, she curls her wings around her body, almost like a shield.
I watch with my mouth gaping wide as her massive form shrinks, turning and folding into itself much like Lucretia did when she morphed from her serpent form to the human female body she uses now.
In moments, Caindra is gone and a familiar face stands before me.
Oh my God. “Bexley?”
“I told you I could be your greatest ally, did I not?” She strolls toward me, her gown shimmering in hues of indigo and rose gold like her scales in sunlight, the neckline plunging as per usual. “I all but handed you a second throne today.”
But … “Bexley?”
“Oh come, you cannot be that surprised, can you?” Her violet eyes flash with mischief.
“That you’re a dragon? Yes, I am exactly that surprised.”
“I will confess, I was startled to discover what you were too. I love this form, but I cannot sense caster abilities while I’m in it.”
Lucretia’s words stir in my mind. “You were hiding where everyone saw you but no one knew.” As the owner of a seedy brothel, selling blood and flesh. And an Islorian immortal. “But you fed on mortals.”
“It is the form I chose to take.” She flashes a smile, just long enough to show her elongated incisors before they tuck back in. “I must say, I will miss it.”