Chapter 42

Lorcan

After several days of light combat, mainly due to the Kandoran concentrating their forces up north in Oklahoma, their break had ended. Lorcan had been fighting non-stop for almost four hours without a chance to catch his breath or drink water. He’d had to relieve himself mid-air, only ensuring no battling allies were directly below him. The dead dragons and humans on the ground wouldn’t care, so he didn’t worry about them.

Their enemy gave them no quarter this night, and they were exhausted.

Hold the line! Lorcan screamed mentally to the other Faegud under his command. Concentrate on wounding them so they can’t fly, but don’t kill unless there is an easy opening.

They had no choice except to alter their tactics. There were simply too many getting past them when they used precious time finishing their enemies. With the amount reaching the shield, he wasn’t sure how much longer it would hold. The Kandoran were sacrificing themselves to weaken it. He’d never seen their kind do such a thing, but these were no ordinary circumstances.

Lorcan grabbed a large green dragon, slashed her bright red eyes with his talons, and then ripped her right wing. As she let out a scream of pain, he flung her toward the ground. He’d done the same to many over the last hours. Sometimes, they wounded him as well, but not severely.

He didn’t bother looking to see where she fell. The soldiers and volunteer fighters who’d flocked there from all over Texas would finish the female. They were finally working in sync after the first couple of weeks, which had been chaos.

As he searched for his next target, a familiar shifter flew up next to him. He hadn’t expected the mother of his daughter to appear during the fiercest battle yet. Not that he doubted her fighting abilities, especially since she’d taken a larger-than-normal dragon form, but this was not her territory. And, of course, he did worry about her traveling alone through the melee.

What are you doing here, Ozara? he asked.

Two Kandoran flew toward them, and they each took one to rip apart.

She finished hers faster, but she did get the smaller dragon. Kade sent me.

What for? he asked, finishing his opponent by ripping his throat out. He’d found a renewed sense of brutality with Ozara watching him.

He translated another page from the tome, and it foretells the shield falling in your territory on the thirtieth night of the war. When that happens, you must retreat to where it still stands and hold off the enemy as long as possible.

How long had they been fighting now? He did the math and didn’t like the answer.

Lorcan cursed. This is the thirtieth night. Couldn’t he have figured it out sooner?

If it is any consolation, he told us this while we ate our final meal before sunset. We threw many fruits and vegetables at him, she said as another wave of Kandoran approached.

You didn’t throw any bread?

She snorted. Kayla made it, so no.

That’s understandable.

The enemy who attacked Lorcan gouged his shoulder with his talons. Pain seared him, but he repaid the fushka —fool—by crunching his wing bone with his teeth while raking his claws under the dragon’s belly. The Kandoran roared and jerked away but could not stay aloft. He took a spinning dive as Lorcan’s allies on the ground scrambled to get out of the falling beast’s path. He was relieved they were paying attention.

Ozara finished her opponent a minute later, to his satisfaction. He’d been faster.

If they break the shield here, all of Ft. Worth and Dallas will be vulnerable. We can’t leave the people who live there vulnerable, Lorcan argued.

She shot him an annoyed look before they flew toward more enemies. According to Kade, the Kandoran won’t do too much damage to the cities right now. Their primary goal is reaching the Taugud fortress.

Lorcan took a swipe to the face, and blood ran down his scales. Why?

Because we have the means to defeat them there.

Outrage filled him, as this was the first he had heard of it. What are you talking about? If we have such a thing, why haven’t we used it already?

She finished the Kandoran she fought first, damn her. I cannot get into that here, but I will say certain criteria must be met for it to work. It still isn’t time yet.

The way she whispered the words in his head indicated she was alluding to a well-guarded secret. Pushing her would get him nowhere, as the elite Taugud spy would not reveal more than she deemed necessary. He hated being in the dark with something that important, though. His mother would be even less pleased when she heard of it.

He ripped out the throat of his opponent and tossed him away.

Thank you for the warning. Lorcan took a precious moment to catch his breath. The nearest Kandoran were hundreds of feet away, and he’d used too much energy proving his prowess to the female shapeshifter. I will pass the word to my mother and emphasize that she heeds your warning.

We must go to Hildegard now, Ozara said.

Though another shifter took the nearest enemy, he hesitated. I cannot leave when there are so many attacking here.

Time is running out, Lorcan.

The urgency in her tone reached him.He telepathically called for another shifter he trusted to take charge of the battle, and then he left with Ozara. They departed the western outskirts of Ft. Worth, where the shield ran through the area, and headed north toward the town of Sanger. To save time, they flew within the safe zone. Guilt ate at him to pass the line of fighting, but the Faegud pendragon needed to know what would happen.

Why did you come to me first when my mother was closer? he asked.

Ozara must have left shortly after sunset to reach him when she did, but it would have saved her thirty minutes to go to Sanger instead. He appreciated that she recognized him as her child’s father and gave him priority, but it just didn’t make sense.

Because I could only save one of you, she replied with sorrow.

A chill ran through Lorcan, and he started to ask what she meant, but then he got a good look at the land ahead. The place where the shield should have been on the western side of the town was gone. A moment later, the section they were passing also fell, tumbling to the earth like a curtain of shimmering diamonds before vanishing altogether.

Dragons were fighting fiercely everywhere, with fire ravaging the land. Before long, he and Ozara had to battle through the throng of Kandoran, pure dragon allies, and Faegud, clashing in a ferocious fight. Lorcan and Ozara took down a few before a brawl below caught their attention. He blanched in horror.

Hildegard, his mother, had six dragons tearing into her from all sides. The shifters closest to her were battling several each themselves and could not help. He zoomed toward the melee with his heart in his throat. The Faegud pendragon bled from wounds everywhere on her body, half her tail was torn off, herwings hung in tatters, and two enemies bit into the sides of her stomach. She let out a shrill roar of pain that filled the night air.

Terror filled him. Not once in his life had she ever made a sound like that when injured.

Ozara followed close behind him as he zeroed in on the Kandoran killing his mother. Aiming at the one on his mother’s left side, Lorcan bit into the back of his neck. His rage was so great that he snapped it in one bite. Then he raised a talon and punctured it into the back of the dragon’s skull. It died instantly.

One by one, he and Ozara finished every Kandoran who’d attacked the pendragon until no more remained alive. Other shifters joined them and kept the rest of the incoming enemies at bay. Lorcan kneeled next to his mother’s head.

I will get a healer for you, he said. It was all he could do to keep the despair and dread he felt at seeing her in such horrible shape hidden from his voice.

The strongest female he’d ever known looked at him with pain-filled eyes. Stay. I am beyond a healer’s help now.

She was right, though he hated to admit it. How she still breathed was beyond him.

You fought well, he said, because that was what she’d always told him she wanted to hear should she fall in battle. It was the honorable way to handle a valiant death. It had seemed like a faraway possibility then, and he’d never dreamed it would happen this soon.

Do not stop fighting until we’ve won—whatever you must do, son. Hildegard stared at him, a hint of the fearless female not entirely gone yet. Allow the elders’ council to rule through the winter so our people can rest and recover from this war. Wait until the spring to hold the Bitkal.

He noted that she was speaking not only to him but also to the other Faegud nearby and Ozara. They all needed to hear her last words so that they would be honored, especially when it came to the timing of choosing their next leader through the bitkal trials. Anything a pendragon said while dying on the battlefield was considered sacred.

Lorcan nuzzled her neck where it wasn’t injured. We will do as you ask, Mother.

You must follow Aidan’s orders until the Kandoran are defeated. Not only because we swore an oath to him but also because I believe it is the only way we can win this war. He has a plan that will succeed if we work together, she said, her eyes drooping and breathing becoming labored.

It wouldn’t be long now. All around him, the Faegud and their pure dragon allies fought to give them this moment, and the Kandoran burned the town around them in retaliation. Flames flew at every structure. He hoped the people who lived in Sanger had taken shelter underground because the enemy appeared determined to demolish the place.

His mother looked between him and Ozara. Take care of my grandchildren and make the world a better place than the one we were born into—that is my greatest wish.

Of course, Ozara replied, sadness filling her golden gaze.

I love you, he whispered telepathically only to her.

The last expression he saw was pride before her eyes drifted shut. A moment later, she expelled her last breath. Lorcan wanted to rage at her loss. She was such a strong figure in his life that he never dreamed she would fall now or anytime soon.

Ozara put a taloned hand on him. I must go warn my people of this. You are in charge here now, and you must form a southern line of defense where the shield still stands. Grieve later, Lorcan.

Of course, she was right, but one thing niggled at him. He straightened his shoulders and looked at her. You said you had to choose between me and my mother.

Yes. Kade’s tome foretold that I could only warn one of you in time. If I’d gone to your mother first, you would have been dead before I got there. I want my daughter to know her father, and the same for your child with Phoebe. He or she should not be born without knowing you. Judge me if you wish, but I will not apologize for it.

He would have to work through those feelings later. There was no time now.

Go. Please take Galadon and Rayna as well.

Lorcan didn’t like her traveling alone through this battle without backup.

Thank you. She dropped her hand. We will need many to protect the fortress from what will happen in the coming days.

He watched Ozara take off into the air, and then he forced himself to rise. He would bury his mother later, but right now, he had enemies to kill. Hildegard’s death would not be in vain.

Everyone follow me, he ordered his forces. To one of his trusted fighters, he added, Fly south and gather the rest of our warriors and the pure dragon toriqan. Tell them we must band together as one unit if we hope to win the war. There is a way to do so, but only if we keep the enemy from taking the Taugud jakhal.