32. Tahlia

Tahlia felt hollowed out, weak, and unsubstantial. Her strength came and went in unpredictable waves. Focusing on the battle wasn’t easy as her vision blurred off and on. She was a cracked remnant of something that was once strong on the back of a dragon that wasn’t hers.

But she wasn’t quite useless yet. Not during her now-and-again alert periods.

Wasn’t it just lovely that Ophelia showed up as her eyes opened again?

Tahlia worked the knot holding her in place against Titus.

“What are you doing?” Titus shifted his weight and she felt his breath on her head.

“I don’t need this.”

“The hells you don’t.”

She finished untying herself from him and the saddle, coiled the rope, and quickly tucked it into one of the saddlebags while Titus swore.

“The High Captain will murder me if I live through this,” Titus grumbled.

“Fly over her dragon.” Tahlia tried not to dwell on the fact that Lija hadn’t spoken into her mind in a long while.

Titus held her tighter. “What? No.”

“Yes. She isn’t bonded to that Terror, so I plan to kick her arse right off the dragon’s back. Let’s see if that ends Marius’s curse and puts that monster down. It can’t hurt.”

“She’s our new commander.”

“And she’s a murderer who raises demonic monsters,” Tahlia said.

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“If you’re going to say it, at least pretend to believe it, Titus. I saw that magic. The stuff she just flung at Katk.” Ophelia had thrown power at Katk, right? Or had it been aimed at Marius? “Does Marius look normal? I can’t quite see what he’s up to with these half-human eyes.”

“He fights Katk still. Well, Ragewing isn’t firing, but I think he’s just pulling us back.”

“Did he give that order before I woke up again?”

“No, but he is falling back.” Titus let out a whistle and Ptol tipped his wings and flapped them hard. They shifted away from Katk. “And just because the Terror isn’t bonded to her doesn’t mean it won’t whip around and gulp you down as a journey snack.”

“Nah, he won’t hurt me. It’ll all happen too fast.”

“Says the female who is currently dancing very close with Death himself.”

“Hey, don’t count me out yet.”

Maiwenn shouted, her voice strained and reedy. Tahlia and Titus turned to see her pointing at Marius and Ragewing.

The dark magic that Ophelia wielded, which Marius also had since she’d cursed him, engulfed Ragewing’s head. The dragon shook himself hard, Marius holding tight with his legs and his body tense. Marius’s eyes were wide and unblinking.

“The High Captain isn’t himself!” Titus called out.

Tahlia felt like she was falling. Fara still clung to him. And Lija was clutched in Ragewing’s talons. “Marius! Please!”

Ragewing twisted in the air, then faced Ptol and opened his great maw.

“He’s firing on us!” Tahlia gripped the edge of the saddle, knowing what was coming next.

Ptol dove.

Heat seared the air just above Tahlia’s head. Cursing Ophelia’s name, Tahlia touched her hair to make sure it was still there.

“I can’t fight him,” Titus said, steering Ptol around to come up between Justus, Claudia, and their dragons.

Ophelia laughed, a short quick sound. “What’s wrong, human? Are things not exactly going your way? Attack them!” she ordered, sweeping all three units with her vicious gaze.

Her Green-flanked Terror let out an ear-cracking roar that Katk mimicked.

Ragewing angled around to aim at Ptol once more.

Katk reached for units two and three, and Ewan, Cyrus, and Enora were nearly swiped out of the air. Their dragons roared with flame, but their fire was almost spent.

Ragewing hovered in front of Ptol. Marius tapped his shoulder, and the bespelled Heartsworn opened his talons. Lija dropped into the open sky. Fara shrieked at the same time as Tahlia, whose heartbeat whirred in a deafening pitch. Then Marius shoved Fara off Ragewing.

Lija fell in a disjointed pattern as she tried to use her broken wing. Her roars and Fara’s screams ripped Tahlia in two.

Trevain materialized beside her. With a grim look, he reached out a palm and shut her eyes.

Tahlia saw Mother Twilight.

The goddess smiled, her face wrinkling beautifully. She and Tahlia sat side by side in the goddess’ flowered forest meadow with butterflies dancing about and tree seeds drifting through the warm air. Peace filled Tahlia as she helped Mother Twilight feed finely spun lavender wool onto a spool.

“What do you want of this life, Weaver?” the goddess asked.

“To live it in full.”

“Ah, but do you? Grief is a part of living in full.”

A stone formed in Tahlia’s belly and she took a slow breath. “I’ve experienced grief.”

“Yes. You’re not a… Was it a marshmallow you told your fated mate about?” A smile stretched her ancient lips.

Surprise shrank the stone inside Tahlia’s stomach. Her limbs stopped shaking and strength flowed through her hands and legs again. She laughed. “Yes. I’ve been through terrible challenges.”

“But you must do so again. And again. It is the way of things.” The goddess lifted her free hand as if to indicate the world at large.

Tahlia’s belly tightened around the stone. “But perhaps not yet?” She smiled and looked into Mother Twilight’s deep-set eyes.

The butterflies stilled in the air, the wood thrushes and insects halted their song, and the tree seeds hung like unspoken thoughts in the sunny space around them.

The goddess nodded at the wool in Tahlia’s hands. The lavender strands flared with purple light. “You have the power to do as you see fit.”

Tahlia inhaled the sweet scent of the meadow. “I do?”

Mother Twilight pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Well, mostly.”

“How can I save them all?”

“Hmm. Recall your first wild idea. It’s you who sees the patterns you may use as you see fit. Trust in yourself. But remember, you must feel every emotion during the varied seasons of life. Pain and triumph, joy and loss, regret and anticipation. They are connected, too.”

She lifted a hand, and sparkling threads of lavender, ruby red, black, and blue appeared in a flash of light. The strands of colors linked the butterflies, the tall grasses, and the branches of the highest trees, and they were tied also to Tahlia’s fingers and the pulse points at her throat…

“You see them now, Weaver?”

Tahlia nodded, marveling at the threads linking Mother Twilight to her as well. They were as black as midnight, lovely and strong. “I do.”

Opening her eyes, Tahlia braced for the shock of leaving the goddess’ peaceful presence and heading back into battle. She ordered Titus, “Fly over Ophelia. Now.”

Titus didn’t hesitate this time; he pulled in a quick breath that moved them both, then urged Ptol to shoot for the Green-flanked Terror. Fire touched Tahlia’s elbow and knee. Titus called out in pain but kept his seat. Ptol snarled and hovered above the Terror.

Threads of life connected every life here. The ground, the sky, the animals, the dragons, the Fae…

Tahlia leapt from Ptol’s back, a jet of flame searing her back as she landed on the Terror. Ophelia was up and throwing a dagger before Tahlia caught her balance. But the threads were there, and they spoke some silent language that said where to set foot, hand, and will.

Slipping her head to the right, Tahlia dodged the flying blade. Ophelia ran along the Terror’s spine, nearly falling as she reached Tahlia, but reach her she did. Ophelia slammed a fist toward Tahlia’s chin. Tahlia threw up an arm and knocked the strike to the side before cracking Ophelia’s ribs with a thrust of her palm. Ophelia dropped back, holding her side and heaving. Her blue-green hair fluttered around her face.

Tahlia bared her fangs. “You poisoned me, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did, fool.” Ophelia launched herself forward.

Crouching, Tahlia gripped one of the Terror’s spikes as the dragon listed to one side. Ophelia fell to her stomach and grabbed onto another spike, the Terror’s wing nearly battering her in the process.

Tahlia stood as the threads showed the Terror was about to even out his flight. Confusion swarmed his mind, or at least that was what the threads suggested. Maybe he would circle and hover and await an attack from one of the others to do more than that. But one thing was abundantly clear…

“Your dragon is trying to get rid of you,” she said to Ophelia.

“Ha! As if you know anything about dragons, human.”

The dragon dipped, and they flew up for a second, both females scrambling for a hold on the creature. If she’d not been weakened by the cursed plague, she’d have had no problem, not with the threads’ help. But her body trembled with fatigue again, and she couldn’t get her lungs to fill with air. The Terror leveled himself once more, flying higher, the fight between possessed Marius and his likewise controlled Ragewing and the other members of the order below them. Thank the Old Ones that the other riders and dragons were able to keep Ragewing from firing on them by peppering him and Marius with attacks. Marius had his bow out though and Tahlia fought to focus on the fight going on in front of her positionally. Even though she saw the threads clearly, her heart demanded that she check on Marius and everyone else.

Forcing herself to turn back to Ophelia, Tahlia studied the female’s red-tinged eyes and how her lips were pulled back into a grimace. Ophelia was just a sad, sad person.

“I can’t believe you murdered your father.” Anger made Tahlia’s skin itch. “Why did you do it?”

“I sacrificed everything for this order and Marius.” Spittle flew from Ophelia’s mouth as she made it to her feet and started toward Tahlia. “You wouldn’t understand that kind of selflessness, human.”

Tahlia lifted her sleeve to show the golden boils that had erupted when she’d grabbed Marius. “Wouldn’t I?”

Ophelia’s eyes went wide. “The ritual worked.” She flung a hand in Katk’s general direction, but Tahlia didn’t glance away. The threads told her what she needed to know. “The monster did that to you?”

“Marius’s curse did this to me when I pushed him back to save his life.”

A sick grin crawled across Ophelia’s lips. “It all worked. The demon, the ritual…”

“Whatever you did woke up this monster and he is determined to kill everyone with Mistgold blood. How do you see that as success?” For a moment, black spots dotted Tahlia’s vision.

Ophelia laughed loudly and shot forward. Threads, black and blue, wound through the air, connecting dragon scales, wings, Ophelia, Tahlia, and the twist of wind that buffeted them. The sparkling lines showed Tahlia exactly what to do and when to do it.

Shaking slightly, Tahlia simply lifted a foot and launched the witch off the dragon.

Bellowing, Katk caught Ophelia. Golden boils erupted over her face, and she screamed. Her shrieking faded to nothing and she disappeared inside the monster’s fist. He stumbled, on the verge of falling.

Katk’s creator had formed him to destroy those Fae with Mistgold blood and not even the fact that Ophelia was his champion could save her. In fact, it was that very fact that had doomed her from the first time she’d done whatever ritual it took to raise him. Katk had met his champion at last, only to kill her, and with that move, end himself as well.

Tahlia winced at the tragic waste of Commander Gaius’s life and Ophelia’s riding talent. Dropping to her knees, Tahlia trembled as the remainder of her strength left her body. Her skin was on fire, the dragon fire burns battling to outdo the pain of the golden boils. The sounds of the fight jumbled in her ears as if she was underwater.

Rider, don’t give up.It was Lija, her voice reedy and frail.

I won’t. I can see it…

Atticus and Ewan shouted for Tahlia. She turned their way as she crawled to the Terror’s saddle. Beside them, Maiwenn waved her arms. Her Seabreak, Donan, clasped both Lija and Fara in his talons. Trevain floated nearby and a host of spirits the same golden shade had joined him.

Every ounce of air left Tahlia’s lungs. They were alive. She’d seen it in the threads, but it was impossible not to fear the worst anyway.

Then her heart drew her eyes to Marius.

Ragewing flew toward Katk, who had gone to his knees on the earth below.

Were Marius and Ragewing still held by the curse’s power? Where was Ophelia?

Tahlia searched the threads and found nothing.

Had Ophelia portalled somewhere or disappeared using more dark magic?

Ragewing blazed the back of Katk’s head, and even though the Heartsworn’s fire was as tattered as an old cloak, hope lit a flame of its own inside Tahlia. They were fighting Katk and, hopefully, Ophelia and the curse, too.

Katk’s massive body pounded to the earth. Boulders lifted from their resting spots to roll down the foothills in an avalanche. The debris cut its way messily down the land. Trees snapped like twigs and fell. In the distance, mountain goats bleated in alarm and scattered.

The ground around the giant vibrated harshly, sending more trees and rocks into the air and tumbling.

“What in the…” Titus hissed.

Black earth churned and crawled over Katk’s form. A scream erupted from Katk’s clasped fist. His fingers fell open to show Ophelia, limp and unmoving. The dirt smothered them both—monster and champion—and silence bloomed.

Tahlia fell forward onto the Terror. “Thanks for not killing me, pal.” She patted the deep green of the dragon’s scales once and darkness poured over her senses.