33. Lira

33

LIRA

E ven as the cold tendrils of the cloak Tavish had wrapped around us faded away, I didn't understand how Pyralis had tracked us. He was like Nightbane when he hunted for me, almost as if he could feel the pulse of our magic, but that would be impossible with the number of fae fighting all around us.

Maybe he'd been able to smell us. That was the only thing that made sense, but how, when there was so much chaos, scents, and blood?

He flew in front of us, cutting off our path. His amber eyes looked freaky in dragon form, contrasting with his scales, and I had the urge to scream, though all that would do was alert more dragons to our location.

"Thank Fate," Eiric sighed. "We need your help."

I stared at her. She had truly lost her marbles. Why would she believe that the dragon who planned to wed me would help us? I couldn't fathom what she must have experienced during her time as his prisoner to derange her so badly.

Pyralis rose above us, and his talons reached toward us. I lifted my sword, ready to fight him, when Eiric screamed, "Don't." She flew in front of the blade.

Fear coiled in my chest. I could fight and protect myself, but then he'd have Eiric to use against me... to punish me. The whole point of this mission was to save her and prevent the dragons from attacking Aetherglen.

With my left hand, I shoved Eiric out of the way and swung my sword once more.

She grabbed my wrist and jerked me back, causing my weapon to fall short. Before I could try again, his talons wrapped around my body tightly, crushing my wings and squeezing the breath out of me. He jerked me to him, and the sword slipped from my hand and fell into the water.

A sob built in my chest, and I twisted around to tell Eiric to get away just in time to watch her fly willingly into his free talon.

Tavish, Pyralis caught us, I linked, knowing I had to inform him.

Immediately, our bond changed from pure rage to pure terror, adding to the tension in my lungs.

Where are you?

Wind scraped at my face as Pyralis flew to the right of the fighting. He continued to move past the other dragons, but he let out a strange series of growls like he was somehow communicating.

We're behind all the fighting, northeast of the island. I couldn't help but glance at the chaos. The battle seemed to be even—the fae were holding their own, but the dragons refused to disengage. So much blood splattered everywhere, and there were bodies of both fae and dragons floating facedown in the water. My stomach churned, and I realized this would all be in vain if I didn't free myself from Pyralis.

Knowing my options were limited, I did the only thing I could think of—I called my water magic, hoping it would force him to release us. It was hard to control it without the use of my hands, but I could manage.

Pyralis flew strong and steady, his attention held firm straight ahead of him while I concentrated and directed water to splash all over him.

He huffed and shook his head, but the water didn't cause him to falter at all .

Water was supposed to be the dragons' weakness, and I'd seen that for myself when I'd attacked the dragons who'd issued the warning about Eiric's future if I didn't hand myself over, but Pyralis didn't seem bothered.

"Lira, what are you doing?" Eiric screamed. "He's taking us to safety like I told you he would. Why are you trying to dissuade him?"

The careful and methodical person I knew was gone. Eiric never would've said something so ridiculous before.

A bitter laugh built in my chest. "Oh, I don't know. I'm trying not to be forced to marry someone I don't love and have his babies. Remember that?"

Eiric recoiled, and her face twisted in agony, but she didn't say anything.

Good. At least she hadn't lost all reason.

Suddenly, Pyralis loosened his grip on me, and I could move and breathe a little more easily. He banked toward the mountains, and the sound of fighting ebbed on our right side but grew louder on the left.

I leaned forward and spotted another battle occurring over one of the other villages.

How had the dragons known we were coming?

I linked with Tavish, giving him an update.

Blighted abyss, sprite. His rage bled through his fear, and I breathed a little more easily. He continued, I'm on my way. Keep me apprised of the situation until I can locate you.

I hated feeling helpless. There had to be a way out of this; I merely had to figure out something .

When I glanced over, Eiric had paled even more and was nibbling on her bottom lip. Now, she was nervous. Maybe she should've thought of that before. There was no doubt she'd be in trouble if we didn't get out of this.

Then it hit me. There was something I could try.

I leaned forward and bit into Pyralis's top talon. My teeth hit what felt like a cement wall back home, and he barely flinched. Still, he tilted his head down and glared at me, a wisp of smoke leaving his nose.

At least I'd bothered him. Wanting to capitalize on his distraction, I splashed water into his face. This time, his eyes widened, and he lifted his head and made a choking noise.

I squirmed, trying to get free of his grasp, which caused him to tighten his hold once more. Now we were flying over land with sparse trees down below, barreling toward the mountains. He coughed some more, so I called more water and shoved it in his face like I'd done before.

All of a sudden, he descended straight toward the ground. The wind clawed past my face, and the earth raced toward us. For a moment, it reminded me of how Tavish had flown when he'd brought me back from Earth, but this time, there was no sense of attraction or safety.

At the last second, Pyralis flipped over, allowing his back to take the brunt of the impact. Still, my body jostled, causing the pain in my knee to flare up once more.

Pyralis's hold loosened, setting us free. Stunned, I looked around. We were at the edge of the woods by a mountain. One that was smoking from the peak.

I surged forward, flapping my wings, but my back ached with discomfort. I could still fly, but I worried about Eiric.

"Pyralis," she said urgently.

She slid from his talons and landed next to his face. He choked, and she pressed her hand to his cheek.

"We need to leave," I whispered, afraid that others might be around. He'd brought us this way for a reason. We landed at the base of the volcano, I linked Tavish.

I'll be there as quickly as I'm able, he answered, his frustration coursing through me. Struan, no! His panic heightened, swirling through me.

My stomach dropped. What's wrong?

He… he died protecting me. Tavish's heartbreak coursed through the connection. He did it so I could get to you. I'm on my way.

My heart shattered, thinking about Isla. It felt as if Ardanos itself was determined to keep us apart and slowly make everyone I care about suffer.

Not only that, but I didn't understand why Fate would make us mates if she was just going to allow us to continually get torn apart.

I flew to Eiric and tugged her to her feet as Pyralis's body began shrinking. I couldn't let Struan's sacrifice be in vain.

Pyralis was shifting back to his human form.

I didn't care to find out why. I clutched Eiric's hands, dragging her back. "Do you want to die? Because that's what's going to happen if we don't get the blast out of here."

"Lira, he's on our side. If anyone should give someone a chance to explain their actions, it should be you ." Her bottom lip trembled, and she didn't look anything like the strong sister I'd always known.

Pyralis finished his shift, thankfully with his clothes on. His finger dripped a little blood, and he groaned, "Lira's right. You need to leave immediately and protect yourself. If my parents locate you, they'll kill you now. It's written in your fate." His attention flicked back to me. "Water is our weakness, but to wield it, you have to do what you just did to me—force it into our throats when we're about to use our flames. If you douse the flames within us, it makes us weak."

I blinked, grappling with what I'd just heard. He'd clearly been messing with my sister's mind, the twatwaffle ashbreath, and now he wanted to mess with mine as well.

I wouldn't fall for it. "Says the dragon who communicated something to all the other dragons when you caught us. Did you tell them to follow us? E, I don't know what happened during your time here, but we need to leave before you're taken prisoner again." I glared at Pyralis. "I don't believe your lies for a second."

"He's not what—" Eiric started.

But Pyralis cut her off. "I didn't alert them that I'd captured you. I informed them that you got away, hoping to divert attention from us. I was taking you to the volcano, someplace no dragon would think to find you because no fae can withstand the heat."

I laughed bitterly, my parched throat aching. "If you don't want to marry me, you don't have to kill me. We already know the truth."

His pupils turned into their dragon-like slits. "What are you talking about?"

"That you dragons manipulated the Unseelie king and drove him to madness so that the Seelie would be forced to enter an alliance with you." I gritted my teeth, wishing I still had my sword. I could easily kill him. "The agreement is void, Pyralis. We were misled. I am under no obligation to marry you."

His shoulders sagged, which caught me off guard, but then he tensed again.

That was when I heard the beat of sizable wings, and I glanced up and saw a pearl-white dragon and the scarlet scales of the king flying toward us. I remembered Tavish alluding to the white color signifying the royal family and guessed the other dragon was the queen.

Scales pebbling along his skin again, Pyralis focused on Eiric and growled, "Go."

However, the four dragons that had visited Cuil Dorcha land appeared from other directions and surrounded us.

We were captured once again.

I'm surrounded—

Tavish interjected, By the dragons that visited our land. I see them, and I'm trying to get there. Pain coursed through our bond like he'd been injured.

A lump formed in my throat. His worry for me must be distracting him. He was being harmed because of me.

The king and the queen landed on my right side, and their bodies began to morph smaller. The other four dragons stood behind us, hemming us in. If we attempted to fly away, the four of them could take us down easily.

"Pyralis, what are you doing?" Queen Sintara spat. "Your father and I have been growing suspicious, but we never imagined you'd be capable of this . Were you going to let both of them go?"

My head tilted back before I could stop it. Something had created a rift between him and his parents… but what?

Pyralis tugged Eiric behind him. "It doesn't matter anymore. The fae know what you did."

King Ignathor smirked. "It doesn't matter. None of that changes that the princess is on our land, and I declare we shall keep her. She will be your wife and breed your heirs. Everything before that merely served to get her here."

"I will never marry him." The idea of being with someone besides Tavish made me want to vomit. "There's nothing in this world that could make me do that."

"Nothing?" The queen tilted her head and arched a brow.

A chill raced down my spine just as a dragon flew over the side of the mountain with Tavish in its grasp. His arm and side of his face were burned, and his shirt was tattered. His body hung limp.

Fate no.

My heart ached so hard that my chest wanted to explode. Tavish?

Despite our bond feeling warm, he didn't respond. I clutched my chest.

"You have a choice, Princess. Either we torment your mate every day for the rest of his existence, or you agree to marry Pyralis and birth his heirs. We'll allow the Unseelie king to go back to his miserable existence—without his wings. That will keep the Unseelie royal magic alive so it doesn't threaten the balance of our world, and he can live out a semi-healthy life in Cuil Dorcha."

Tavish lifted his head and linked, Lira, I'd rather be tortured forever than have you marry him.

No. The dragons couldn't win, not like this. They didn't deserve to breathe the same air as us. Something had to give.

"Pyralis, do something," Eiric wailed.

He shook his head. "I can't. There's too much at risk."

Her face paled, and I realized that he was a prisoner to his parents, the same way they intended me to be. I hadn't gotten that impression before, but something had fundamentally changed.

Eiric.

Could they be fated mates? No. They weren't even the same species.

That's when I realized the dragons' biggest mistake. They didn't know how strong Tavish and I were together. Digging deep, I yanked at my healing magic. The comforting thrum soared through me, and I pushed the magic through our bond the way I'd done before.

Lira, no! You need your strength to get free of them. Tavish locked gazes with me.

We aren't doing this choose one or the other business anymore. It was always me trying to protect Tavish or him trying to protect me. One of us sacrificing everything for the other. This time, we save each other. We truly work as one.

His brows furrowed, but he nodded faintly. Then he opened the bond on his end, allowing my magic to flow into him with ease, the sensation similar to when we had sex and merged our souls.

The strain on my magic slackened, and my water magic sang inside us.

"Are you done fighting us, Princess?" The queen lifted a hand, and I realized she was the one in charge and not the king, as had been portrayed when we first arrived. "Or do we need to torture your fated mate to get the message across?"

I could feel Tavish's strength returning, and my own knee was healing again in the process. The storm-gray color returned to his eyes, and I knew this had to be it.

"You know we could live in peace. It's not too late, but you need to stand down now and stop more blood from spilling," I stalled, wanting to give him a little more time to recover.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Finnian, Caelan, Sorcha, Mom, Dad, and Lorne hovering in the trees nearby. They'd no doubt chased after Tavish when he'd been captured. They must have heard my offer and wanted to see if the dragons took it.

"Peace doesn't work for dragons. It's conquer or die." The queen lifted a hand. "But remember, we gave you a chance." To the other dragons, she said, "Grab the princess and hold her captive. If she tries to help her fated mate, kill her." White scales covered her face, though she remained in nonbeast form. "Maybe next time you won't waste it." She dropped her hand, and the dragon holding Tavish opened its mouth, smoke billowing out.

The black-scaled dragon, Zyndara, reached for me as I yanked on my water magic, letting it rage through my body. It was time for the dragon king and queen to die.