19. Riggs

19

Riggs

As I sat with the drawn sword across my lap, the late afternoon sun reflected off the stone turrets on the roof.

Its warmth couldn't help my aching body, or my jagged nerves. I struggled to remain calm, but it was doomed to fail. Because according to the plan she'd just passed on to me, her life now depended on a man that I didn't trust.

Tez can be trusted, she insisted.

That is only based on hope, not fact. And the fact is, he can't be trusted, I pointed out, rather vehemently.

It is based on instinct, she corrected. It's a gut thing.

Not a heart thing? I accused.

Maybe both. She paused. He sent back the sword.

He had. It was the only reason I was entertaining this plan at all. But as she fell silent, I sat, and seethed.

Time passed. It didn't get any better.

At dusk, someone came through the meadow gate. I could see him clearly from my perch, and I recognized the tall form.

Ganit.

It was time, once again, for the sword-bearer. I embraced the task as a welcome distraction and left the roof, hurrying down the stairs to meet him in the tall grasses.

Minutes later, Ganit and I stepped through the gate into the Satyr's forest. At first, the clearing surrounding the gateway appeared deserted, but then I grimaced, and drew the sword.

I held it aloft. Its light surged outward, permeating through to the trees. And they stepped out of the forest. Dragons. Some young, but a lot of them fully mature. A few Legion, but also tradesmen—metalsmiths and carpenters as well as farmers. Empire subjects not wishing to remain there, beneath Daize's new regime.

Not just male, either. There were Dragonas, too.

Ganit leaned close. "They mark only the beginning of the exodus," he stated. "If we get the proof we seek, there will be many, many more."

Nikolai will have to create more space, Breana breathed.

I faced them. "You realize that by your being here, with me, you will be declaring yourself traitors."

Their faces paled, but they all, one by one, nodded. And one said, "Is it true that the Matriarch also lives?"

A ripple ran through the group. Not all had heard of the possibility, but it was not a secret that we could keep for much longer.

And in that spirit, I answered truthfully. "Yes. She lives. My family was rescued from the fire. Which was set by an underlord."

I heard many abrupt gasps.

"We need to keep moving," Ganit murmured.

Activity from above had me crouching. Two forms came in fast, and the crowd scattered as the Dragons landed and shifted to human.

An elderly instructor that I recognized. And—my son.

"Mykal!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

He straightened, and for just a moment, I caught a glimpse of the adult he would become. "I'm doing my bit to spread the news. There are others coming."

"Okay, folks," Ganit said, and from the note in his voice, I expected he'd have something to say to my son later. "Let's get moving. It isn't safe to linger."

We'd just fed the first group through the gateway when another Dragon dropped from above.

He was shouting. "We haves incomings!"

The Legion Dragons formed a perimeter, shifting back to beast as fast as they could, while Ganit all but shoved others through the gateway.

The forest hampered the attackers' movements, but they descended with shredding talons and teeth. Young Dragons, not yet fully mature but lethal in their own right.

The Legion defectors met them head-on, and the air above the clearing became a snarling, swirling mess of fighting Dragons.

My wings sprung from my shoulders as I used the sword to keep Dragon talons away from those struggling to get through the gate.

It was then that a tall human form strode from the forest. Long black hair swirled around blue scales, still dull with youth. But there was no mistaking him.

Daize. Flanked by two young, but large, Dragons in human form, wielding their tailspikes.

My nephew met my gaze, and his mouth dropped open. His poleaxed expression was mirrored by his two minions.

I stopped a sword's length from him, and it took him a moment to speak.

"Razir," he said. "You are looking remarkably spry for a dead Dragon." Then his gaze moved to just behind me, and I heard him inhale hard.

Dang it. I knew without looking that Mykal stood there.

I was close enough to hear Daize's teeth grind together. "Seems it is a day for resurrections. And where did you get that sword?" His gaze fastened upon it. "It will look splendid with my collection."

"This sword selects its bearers," I stated. "And you are most definitely not among them."

Daize's eyes glowed as he swung his tailspike in a lazy orbit around him. "We shall see about that."

Even with the sword, you can't fight all of them, Breana said desperately . You need to get away. There is a lodestone tied into the gate. Use that, and the ground beneath them.

Instead of lining up with the three Dragons, I swung the sword in an arc, and planted the tip into the dirt at my feet.

The power of the lodestone flowed into me. I reached…

And jerked.

The ground rose in a wave that shook the trees around us and knocked the Dragon shifters right off their feet.

"Mykal," I stated through gritted teeth. "Get through the gate."

"I'm not leaving you!"

Breana muttered about family stubbornness as I sent another pulse through the ground. Sand, gravel, roots, and stones all shot into the air.

"Mykal, I'm right behind you. But you have to go! NOW!"

I sensed him hesitate, but then Ganit grabbed him by the arm and physically hauled him through the gateway. When Daize attempted to stagger toward them, I reached deep, and sent a wall of earth to engulf him.

With a crash, a Dragon dropped from above. He was bleeding profusely—I glanced up into the night sky, and saw more of Daize's circling above.

The bleeding Dragon was the last defector left to go. Him, and me. I pulled more power from the sword, ripping an entire line of trees from the ground, sending them flying into the Dragons.

Meanwhile, the bleeding Dragon had shifted to a badly injured human. Daize and his entourage were struggling free from their earthen grave—I pulled the sword free, slung an arm beneath the defector, and hauled him through.

We emerged onto the cliff. I released the injured Dragon to Ganit and spun back toward the gate.

"I've got this." The deep voice rumbled from behind me, and Nikolai strode forward. He held his hands up to the gate, and the energy spiked and swirled. "They won't be getting through," he said.

I grabbed Mykal's arm and spun him to meet my gaze. "What did you think you were doing? What you did was risky as heck."

His eyes, so much like my own, sparked metallic fire. "And what you're doing isn't? All of this is risky. It is what we must do to save the Empire."

"Spoken," Ganit said, "like someone destined to lead."

Mykal gazed up at me and raised his chin. "It's what you want for us, isn't it?"

No. No, it wasn't. I wanted him safe from all this. But nowhere was safe. And I knew it.

I exhaled and met Ganit's troubled gaze. We'd got this group safely here, but would there be any more willing to join us after that? Not unless we came up with another way to bring them. And many wouldn't be brave enough to try, unless they had good reason.

"We need that proof," Ganit stated.

Yes, Bree said softly, her tone filled with worry. How are we going to get it?