Chapter 20

She didn’t assume that the man she was chasing was all that smart. In fact, since he’d somehow betrayed her, or so she concluded in another timeline, she thought something had to be wrong with him. But coming to her, crossing that line of magic that connected them both had been somewhere between idiocy and insanity.Of course, he hadn’t been strong enough to make himself tangible. Especially since Meira was conscious, which was particularly hard even for her. Still, the fact that he’d been able to at all was somehow unsettling. He was proving to be more difficult than she imagined.

If he could do that…no. Witches had long since been hunted and gone into hiding, but for him to be connecting to the universe with the magic that bound this world he’d had to have a witch somewhere in his bloodline. His mother? Possibly his grandmother? Whomever she was, she couldn’t be too far down his maternal line.

Augustine had mages, but they were men with far less power than that of the witches. Mages, while still frowned upon, were still welcomed in many areas of the Empire. The main difference between the mages and the witches though, wasn’t the difference in their abilities or their stamina to use said abilities, but mages were men and thus more accepted.

Meira could still remember her parents. Her mother was never quiet about her opinions. If anything, she ran their household while her father, a quiet gentle man, had sat back with a smile and let her. Joining the scale riders had at least given her a chance to be something other than a quiet housewife—or a working girl on the lowest rung of the country’s ladder since she’d become an orphan. There was a difference, she told herself, between submitting to her superior and allowing a man to own her like a dog.

Fighting alongside the scale riders, she’d seen women across many villages who looked at her with open curiosity. Then, as if their husbands feared that she’d give them the strength to be more than they were, they”d whisked them away. Here in Augustine, being a strong woman was like a disease. Top that with dragon riding and her magic and she was the plague incarnate.

Remis had made a mistake when he’d come to her. She’d felt his nearness like a tug on the tether of the curse. He was so close, within a couple of miles. It had only been luck that Bram had pointed them in this direction to get Valen closer to Croughton. He’d claimed to want to stay near the river so their Bold Wings wouldn’t tire when they needed to stop to hydrate themselves. And Remis had lost hours lying unconscious, hours that she’d been able to take advantage of the moment they were moving again.

Thankfully, Bram had let her fly today. She’d felt jittery staying grounded for so long and even relieving Quincy of her guard duty for a while hadn’t calmed it. She liked to think that Bram knew her enough to see that in her, that he’d understood that she might combust if she rode that damn horse for another mile. Her inner thighs were still somewhat sore from the hours-long ride. Horses were far more lean than Bold Wings and she’d felt as if she might topple off one side if she didn’t cling on tightly. It was silly to be so unsure on the back of such a small animal; if she fell off the damn thing she’d only be a couple of feet before she hit the ground. If she fell from her Bold Wing, not that she’d done that in several years, the fall was miles and the impact deadly.

“Dragonis!’ Isaac bellowed.

Though they were coming down, a slow descent out of the clouds, they were still several minutes away from the group of four scale riders upon their Bold Wings that circled the treetops. Three gray dragonis with their long skinny necks flew together directly toward the four. The dragonis would get to them before Meira and the others would.

Someone from the group below, Jaselle, judging by the baby blue of her Bold Wing’s scales, parted from the group, dropping low enough to warn Bram and Brooks who rode with Valen.

Three dragonis up against their Bold Wings…it would be a bloody fight but one they could easily win. The thought had only begun to form when Meira watched as one of the dragonis flew forward and released a torrent of flames from its mouth. It was met with the fire of a Bold Wing and where the flames touched they turned a brilliant white that turned blue at their center.

Brooks was just as good at reading dragons as she was. It was all about watching the way they moved. Dragons were tricky creatures always looking a different way than the one they meant to strike from. The idea of them both being some sort of ‘whisperer’ came because they were both sympathetic toward the damn things. At their core, these things were animals that did what they had to to survive. Once you understood that they weren’t out for vengeance it was easier to predict what they might do. She’d tried teaching Bram once, but he’d scoffed at her, comparing dragons to the small minds of dogs. Bold Wings could be tamed and trained but they were far from dogs.

Flames died down in one direction only for another dragonis to take its turn. Meira watched as the animals circled around to attack the group of Bold Wings from the sides. They were met with the snapping of teeth and more flames that created a billowing fog that clouded around them. Each dragonis swayed in the air but never backed away, a sign of their desperation. These things were hungry, starving even, needing food enough that they’d be willing to go against more than they might be able to defeat.

What had once been a slight sprinkling of snow was now falling thickly and lowering their visibility further. Meira flew close to the rider at her side. She cast a glance at Willa who scowled at the scene below them, squinting through the material that covered her face. A plan was already forming in her head, one that might actually work if she played this right.

Meira was confident though that her friends didn’t need her. That thought repeated as they grew near. They didn’t need her for this. Then another thought. She was so close. Remis was so close.

“Willa!” she shouted above the winds that flared to life. “Willa, I’m going to separate the group. They’ll be easier to fend off when they”re not fighting as a unit.”

A scream of pain came from below. Some of the dragonis flames had broken through the Bold Wing that fought it and they licked across the rider’s side. Brighton frantically smothered the heat that ate at his cloak.

“Go, I’ll head in from the other side and we can drive them apart,” Willa shouted back. The two parted with a nod and Meira couldn’t help but smile.

Clutching onto Mrithun, she lowered her body, angling as closely to her Bold Wing as possible. Mrithun, for all her training and the understanding that they had as dragon and bonded rider, easily understood the unspoken command.

Tucking her wings in, dragon and rider dove.

Meira was weightless, no heavier than a feather, as they angled toward the group. Seconds passed as she relished the feeling of the tearing wind. The fabric pressed against her face, blocking the worst of it, but still, her eyes began to water. She blinked away the tears, letting them streak her face and gather in her hair. She had the cover of the clouds and the excuse of this attack to find herself separated from the other riders. Then, when she was free and clear, she could get to Remis.

The curse thrilled at the idea as though it was its own separate thing inside of her. She felt its delight and it fed her own.

Mrithun let out a roar, swooping down over the other Bold Wings, forcing Brighton to duck down at their nearness, but then she was charging into the dragonis, edging it apart from the group. The connection between a rider and their dragon was always a marvel and a mystery. Mrithun understood Meira and desired what she desired, in ways that didn’t make sense when they couldn’t consciously communicate.

The leather straps of the harness dug into Meira’s thighs as Mrithun reared up, catching the dragonis with the razor-sharp points of her polished claws. The dragonis hissed, releasing flames that licked at the plated scales on Mrithun’s belly. Meira felt the warmth against the soles of her boots and clenched her teeth.

Smoke was building in Mrithun’s nostrils, making the visibility worse as it mingled with the incoming snow. The shape of the dragonis was all Meira could make out as its tail lashed out toward them. Mrithun was fast, snatching up its tail in her mouth, flames licking out around it. The dragonis let out a high-pitched keening noise before yanking its scorched tail away and fleeing.

Typically, Meira would be content to let it go and run back toward the mountains where it lived but today she needed a reason to be miles away from the others. So Mrithun gave chase. She hoped the noises that the dragonis let out and the sound of Mrithun growling as she went partnered well with the luck that befell them as the snow grew thicker yet. She could hardly make out the other scale riders, only getting a decent visual when their fire lit up the sky.

Her Bold Wing huffed, but it sounded more like a giddy laugh as the dragonis took off and Mrithun continued forward following the same tug of the curse that Meira felt in her chest. Meira held her breath as they put distance between her group and the others. She prayed they’d heard enough of the small battle to think that perhaps she’d been injured and stopped to nurse her wounds not far away. If they thought she was hurt then they wouldn’t consider her absence a dismissal of her duties.

Bram would be furious, but Bram’s rage was nothing in comparison to the need to have Remis. Want filled every fiber of Meira’s being. The spell that gripped her was a needy, wanting thing, and it craved Remis. It craved his blood.

Meira could practically smell Remis on the wind. Salt, copper, and an underlying scent of musk. She pulled her feet from the straps that held her and slid down Mrithun’s wing in a well-practiced move. She dropped onto the forest floor, let off just past the river in a small clearing of trees that Mrithun had been able to get into. The impact of the landing reverberated up through her heels, knees, and her hips which took the brunt of it. She ignored the spike of pain that screamed in her heels and moved swiftly into the trees.

With her back against a tree trunk, she took a moment to catch her breath and roll her facial covering up into her hood. The metal of her sword sang quietly as she pulled it from the sheath. Already she could hear the sound of voices, one rising higher than the others. If Remis did indeed come from the loins of a witch, it was possible he could feel the demands of the curse too. He’d know she was near. He’d run. But it was another voice, an unfamiliar one, that cried out.

Now, she needed to go now.

Her steps were soft and skilled as she made her way through the thicket with little sound to give her away. To move so quietly though was a slow approach. She slipped into the shadows, her footprints getting swallowed by fresh snow as she went. Their voices grew louder.

“We can’t move him!” Someone was shouting. “Not quickly.”

“She’s here, Merritt. Do you not understand? We’re all dead if we can’t get out of here.” That was Remis.

“Leave me then.” A third pained voice.

“I’m not leaving you!” Remis snarled, a dark threatening anger that sent a delighted spark of warmth through Meira’s body. Dragons, her body lit up like a bonfire, her core tightening with the sound. It’s only the curse, she tried to tell herself.

Meira pressed against another tree. Her chest rose and fell with the quickening of her breath. She’d heard three voices, including Remis. And she was only yards away. Peeking around the tree trunk, she caught a slight flicker of movement. The cloak Remis wore billowed behind him as he began pacing, his gaze flicking up into the woods a moment later. She hid herself behind the tree, not certain if she’d been seen.

“What do we do then?” Remis asked, his voice filled with defeat.

Good.

“Fight her?” the one he’d called Merritt said softly.

“You think you can fight a witch? Her magic might have you bound before you can even pull your sword.”

The trio was quiet once again. There was a rustling as though they were moving, shifting against the brush, but the sound of the movement never went far.

With her heart hammering in her chest, Meira took the last few steps that separated her and these men. She didn’t bother to mask these final footfalls because as quickly as she’d slipped around the tree she was at Remis’ throat, the tip of her blade poised against his flesh.

He pierced her with the never-ending depth of his gaze, his hands lifting from his sides. Behind him, both of his friends had gone utterly still. Meira only spared them a quick glance, to evaluate what sort of threat they might pose. One had thick bits of branches tied to his leg and leaned into the other man. The uninjured one let his hand stray to the hilt of a sword at his hips.

Her attention flicked back over to Remis, a sword resting against his belt. The worry that had tinted his words only moments before melted away from him as he stared at her, his eyes tracing her features as if he were memorizing them. Heat flooded her cheeks and suddenly she wanted to pull her face cover down, to hide from his curiosity and…approval?

Remis’ lips tipped up into a smile. A smile. She frowned in response.

“I was wondering when you might show yourself.” His throat bobbed, nearly catching against her blade, but he continued. Gone was that panicked tone from moments ago. “My name is Nikremis but my friends call me Remis. Though you know that. And your name is?”

“We are not friends.” Meira scoffed.

“We could be.” His smile widened as he leaned forward, letting her sword dig into his neck until a trickle of blood welled. “Or will you cut this friendship short and have me dead now?”

His arrogance threatened to pull a smile from her. She fought the urge by sinking her teeth into her lower lip and his attention flared as he followed the movement.

She should kill him. That was the entire point of the curse, wasn’t it? But with the majority of her memories still evading her, she couldn’t know why she ought to kill him. So close to him now she could feel life thrumming through him as surely as she could feel the magic coursing through this planet.

“If I kill you now that will end all of this fun we’re having.” She let the tip of her blade tip his chin upward giving her a pleasant view of the cut of his jaw. “Isn’t this fun, Remis?”

He let out a slow breath. “Almost more than I can bear.”

Now that she’d finally caught him, she wasn’t exactly sure what she should do with him. Did she actually want to kill him or was that strictly the curse telling her she should? The bigger question was why the curse existed in the first place. She couldn’t turn off the wheel of thoughts that warned her that there was more to this, that she was missing vital information.

“You’ll live. For now.” She lowered her sword. “Try anything and you’ll not get a second chance.” Tilting her head she motioned toward his friends. “Who are these two?”

“My friends.” A muscle in his jaw flexed.

“Do your friends have names?”

“Not ones that should matter at all to you. I’m the one you want, aren’t I?”

Meira narrowed her gaze on him, prowling a step closer. Remis stood taller, squaring his shoulders but didn’t reach for his weapon. To his credit, he didn’t look as fearful as he’d sounded when she’d seen him before. Men had pissed their pants in front of her knowing that she was a scale rider but the fear of witches was often triple that. She expected him to quiver at the end of her sword. Instead, he’d leaned into the blade as if begging her to slit his throat.

She swallowed, hating that flutter in her gut. Did she find this insanity attractive? Dragons, why was her skin so flushed? Why was he watching her with such intensity in those wicked onyx eyes of his? This was not a man afraid of death. This was a man who came to face his destiny.

“Where’s your dragon?” Remis asked when she didn’t answer.

Remis was a problem she could put off. But the other two…

What was she to do with them?

She lifted her sword and pointed it toward the pair. Remis stiffened at her side.

“It”s unfortunate that they can’t live.”

The injured man paled and the other pulled his sword fully from its sheath.

“You’ve won. You’ve got me. Leave them be,” Remis pleaded, his voice suddenly dark and low.

Her mouth tilted into a smirk. With one gloved hand, she reached out to Remis, running a finger along the edge of his jaw and turning his head with the pressure of the movement. “Beg.”

That gaze of his widened a fraction as his throat bobbed. He gave one fleeting glance toward his friends before he lowered to his knees, snow and twigs crunching underneath him. He looked so good there, bent before her, head tilted up and snowflakes glistening as they melted against his skin. Something in her core tightened at the sight. “Please,” he whispered, “Spare my friends.”

Merritt growled under his breath.

“Louder.” Meira circled her hand around his throat, felt the thrum of his pulse under her fingers.

“Spare my friends.” His words vibrated in her hand. “Please.”

“You’re quite pretty when you beg,” Meira whispered down to him.

“There are better things I can do on my knees than this, if only you asked nicely.” A challenge shone in his gaze. His features were hardened with a mask of confidence though she could still feel how quickly his blood was rushing through his veins.

In turn, she ignored his quip, pretending the heat that consumed her body wasn’t real. “Your friend needs a healer.”

“Do you know of any who might be about?” Remis pressed, snow soaking through his pants legs.

“They’re free to go,” she said. She wasn’t totally heartless after all. “It may take them quite some time to hobble there but the nearest town is that way.” She pointed toward where she knew a humble city waited. “Now, you’ll come with me.”

“You’re crazy if you think we’re letting you take him.” Merritt, the blond with the busted lip and terrible dark bruises on the side of his face, puffed his chest in defiance as he spoke.

Her lip curled. She was being kind to them, helping them, and he was going to argue with her? Stupid man.

“Then I’ll gut you both and be on my way.” She lifted her sword again, moving toward the pair.

Remis rose swiftly and stepped into her path, the solid muscle of his body brushing against her side. She looked up into his face. His breath was ragged, fear clinging to his scent, but he didn’t move. “Leave them be,” he said softly, “I’ve done as you asked.”

She held his gaze, was sucked into the memory of his lips on hers before she shook it away and answered quietly. “Our fates are intertwined, Nikremis. Tell your friends to be on their way and to accept the mercy they are granted. My patience wanes.”

His smile was long gone now but he dipped his chin in agreement and turned enough to see his friends. “Please. I’ll forever be grateful for what you two have done for me. That you didn’t let me face death alone. But it isn’t your time. Percy has too many books still to read and Merritt, you’ve got a maiden to woo yet. You’re both due long healthy lives and you won’t be cutting it short on my behalf. I shouldn’t have let you come with me to begin with. So go.”

“Remis you can’t—”

“Go!”

His friends startled at the fierceness of his voice. The blond scowled but held himself tall. “We cannot leave you like this. To your death. With her.”

“It is as she said.” He tore his attention away from them looking down toward the ground. “Our fates are intertwined. Who am I to force the hand of destiny?”

“You’re making excuses. You’re giving up!”

“I’m not,” he rasped then said louder, “I’m not. I am accepting what I cannot fight. Let me save you, you idiots. Let me save you as you have saved me.”

There was a raw desperation in his voice that Meira recognized. He loved these two. She saw it in the way they glared at each other now, angry and fighting the unavoidable.

Remis gave Meira his back as he closed the distance between her and his friends. The injured friend grunted as he was wrapped up in a tight hug between him and the other man. He slapped their backs and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads. Meira had to look away, emotion that wasn’t hers came barreling down the bridge of the curse and made tears gather in her eyes. She pushed at the feeling demanding it leave her alone. She didn’t know these men, didn’t care about them or their safety the way Remis had. She wasn’t lying; if they didn’t go now she’d be content to kill them and keep her secret safe with her. Though Remis might think her a monster, she wasn’t. Most witches weren’t unless they had to be. She could be wicked, yes, if he treated her in such a way that required her to be. Part of her wanted to be wicked to him, that tortured angry and confused piece of her that didn’t understand what he’d done or why.

When he pulled away from the other two, Meira looked up, catching the way their eyes had all gone glassy. The warring of his emotions was still there at the edges of her mind but she willed them away, forced some of her indifference through that bond as if that might help him part ways. Remis turned back to her looking more haggard than before. Dark circles dragged his face down, the stubble on his cheeks looking more carelessly grown out than purposeful. He pushed a hand through his hair, keeping it carefully out of his face.

“Let’s go.” Meira pointed in the direction opposite of where she’d suggested his friends go. Remis’ features firmed into a resilient sorrow as he marched forward. He didn’t give his friends another glance. She almost wished he had, perhaps it would make what was to come easier.