26. Marius

Chapter 26

Marius

A scarlet shape too high and far away for Marius to see clearly plunged from the cloud cover.

"Ragewing!" Both he and Tahlia shouted the dragon's name as he flew toward them.

You called, the dragon said inside Marius's mind. He tucked his wings and began to dive.

I didn't realize you could hear me. Watch out for the ballista. I've heard they can launch a bolt higher than a three-story building. Marius hated that he was about to witness the firing of a weapon the order had only talked about in wary whispers.

Ready yourselves, Ragewing said. I'll fly low between the building you're on and the blacksmith's forge.

Behind them. All right.

Try to get onto my back so I can tuck in my legs.

We will.

It made more sense because en talon transportation would be a nightmare with flying projectiles coming from the ground.

Tahlia didn't ask questions; she followed Marius as he ran over one of the roof's shingled peaks and toward the back of the building.

The ballista had Marius wondering if Durniad had known all along that the Mist Knights were working with the human high queen against him, or at the very least, had realized the possibility. Sure, the ballistas were good for fighting encroaching ships in the harbor, but on this side of the city, the weapons were only truly good for taking down dragons.

Below, the humans were still fighting the crown's power. A terrible sound rose over the murmurs and shouts of the crowd. The sound was like the twang of a bow but so much louder.

Ragewing spread his wings slightly and angled himself to fly along the edge of the buildings down the back street. A bolt the size of a small tree shot through the air and narrowly missed the tip of Ragewing's right wing.

"Watch out!" Tahlia cried.

The dragon roared and people screamed, running like rodents along the street below. Not rodents, Marius corrected himself. Humans. Good ones who were like Tahlia and Queen Revna.

Ragewing zipped toward them.

"Now!" Marius's heart climbed up his throat.

He and Tahlia jumped onto the dragon's moving back.

Tahlia sat behind Marius, her voice in his ear. "We can't leave yet, can we? Try to lie, I beg you."

Ragewing's scales were hot. He had been flying hard or he was stressed or both.

"We have to get the crown," Marius yelled toward Ragewing's ears.

"Damn all-powerful artifacts. Always ruining our day," Tahlia said, the wind snatching at her words.

Marius slid a bit because Ragewing wore no saddle. He still had part of his reins on—a leather strap that reached across his back and joined under his front legs. Marius grabbed hold of the strap. Flying higher, Ragewing left the cover of the buildings and rushed toward Durniad.

And straight toward the ballista.

Tahlia laced her arms more tightly around Marius's waist. "I hope they take another ten minutes to reload that evil contraption."

Men were pulling at the ballista's twisted ropes while Durniad commanded them to hurry.

"Hold on to his spikes now, Lady Tahlia," Marius said, allowing his training to kick in and drive his worry away. He became the cold warrior, the Shadow of the Shrouded Mountains. "You're not struggling against the crown's power, are you? I don't want you leaping from Ragewing's back when I least expect it."

"I've conquered it. I can feel its influence, but I can fight it pretty easily now."

"I love knowing that."

He edged his way down Ragewing's side, keeping one hand on the strap and dropping his other arm low to ready himself.

"You're going to lift it right off his head?" Tahlia asked, laughter in her voice.

Gods, she was fearless sometimes. "Aye." He longed to ask Ragewing to lift the man and drop him from the clouds, but killing Durniad wasn't part of the mission unfortunately and they'd already broken enough of the rules to get themselves into a load of trouble.

Ragewing flew low. The men tipped the ballista and readied to fire. Durniad's face purpled as he shouted to his men.

A wicked grin tugged at Marius's lips. He leaned low on Ragewing's side, then swiped the crown.

"Be glad I let you keep your head, Durniad!" he shouted.

Ragewing sped sharply toward the open sky, climbing so quickly that Marius's breath caught. The twang of the ballista sounded.

Ragewing shrieked. The scent of dragon's blood filled Marius's nose and they began to tumble downward.

I lost her! Ragewing shouted into Marius's mind.

The city's structures sped closer and closer.

What? Marius whirled and his body went rigid.

Tahlia had disappeared. Blood flowed from Ragewing's tail.