Ryleigh stood beside the frosted glass pedestal the divination stone sat atop. The stone had belonged to Queen Dara. It offered wisdom and guidance, two things Ryleigh sure could use at the moment.
The stone shifted through a myriad of colors—blue, green, yellow. Hypnotic. She knelt and ran her fingers over the image of three men etched into the pedestal that had appeared right after Ryleigh had seen the exact image silhouetted deep within the stone. Jackson and Dakota? King Maynard slung over Jackson’s shoulder? She hadn’t wanted to believe it at first.
But then the second image had etched itself into the smooth, glass surface moments after appearing to her in the stone. A dragon, wings spread. Two men astride him. Jackson had emerged first. The second man slumped to the side in front of Jackson, Noah White.
She hadn’t been able to deny the stone’s power after that.
The rest of her room lay in shambles, but the pedestal holding the Divination Stone sat untouched amid the destruction. There had to be a reason for that. But she couldn’t even guess what it might be.
She twirled the stone between her fingers. Its weight had surprised her at first, but now it brought comfort. Red light spilled from the stone as it heated. Black smoke swirled in its center.
Ryleigh brought the stone closer. The churning smoke grew larger, swirled faster, began to form into a shape. The silhouette of a woman emerged. She stood atop a mountain. Arms raised. No mistaking the form or the wild mane of hair. Mia.
A funnel of black smoke swirled around her, concealing all but her head and arms, as if swallowing her.
Light shot from the stone, burning Ryleigh’s hand, and transferred the image onto the pedestal.
She threw the stone down and blew on her hand, the black scorch mark dead center in her palm burning as if a thousand hot needles prodded her. This was one time the stone would be wrong. No way that image would ever come to be as long as Ryleigh had breath in her body.
The stone once again began its shift through the rainbow.
“Ryleigh?”
Startled by Mia’s voice, she jumped and spun toward the door where Mia had poked her head in.
“Mia? Is something wrong?”
“No, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know Vaughn is doing better. Cyenne is amazing. She’s teaching Kiara and me a lot about magic and how she’s healing Vaughn.” She frowned, pushed the door open wider, and entered the room. “Are you sure everything is okay? You seem… I don’t know…weird.”
Ryleigh forced a smile. “Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” She closed her fist, the burning finally starting to subside. She didn’t need Mia asking questions. “I’m fine, just tired.”
She studied Ryleigh another moment, then let it go. “The Death Dealers are getting ready to leave.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right there.”
Mia spotted the stone on the floor, her attention drawn by its traitorous color shifting. “Is there anything I should know?”
“I imagine if there is, you’ll see it.”
“Yes, that’s probably true.” She grinned. “That being the case, is there anything you want to talk about?”
There was nothing to talk about. Mia would never be put in harm’s way. “No.”
She closed the door softly behind her, crossed the room, and lifted the stone, then placed it back on the pedestal. “You know, Elijah said for the most part our destinies are already laid out. But, occasionally, it’s possible to…alter the course of fate.”
“Is that what he did when he sent Jackson to Argonas?”
Mia folded her hands in front of her. “Yes.”
“So why is it okay sometimes?”
Tilting her head, she studied Ryleigh. “I don’t think it is. He said it’s possible. He didn’t say it was okay.”
“Did he know about Lucas?”
“He knew someone trusted had arranged for the scroll to be delivered.”
“Did you know?”
“Only in the end. I told Darius and Tatiana, and they detained Lucas. Then I summoned Kiara before I told Jackson.” She shrugged. “So, I guess, in my own way, maybe I altered the course of fate as well. It’s a difficult line to walk. How do you know when to interfere and when to let things be?”
“What did Elijah say?”
“He said, ‘we never alter the course of fate.’” A sad smile touched her eyes. “Right before he sent Jackson to Argonas and died in his place.”
She was crazy if she thought for one minute Ryleigh would allow her to risk her life. “And what do you believe?”
“I believe everything we’re shown is revealed to us for a reason. We must listen to our hearts, and if we absolutely cannot accept an intended outcome we can…manipulate events. But only if it’s not going to hurt someone else. You can never cause harm to one person in order to save another.”
She knew more than she was saying. The certainty slammed through Ryleigh with as much force as the vision had earlier. Ryleigh nodded, too confused to argue any of this with her right now.
“And where does your destiny lie, Mia?”
“At your side, of course.” This time, her smile was genuine. “I love you, big sis.”
Ryleigh laughed. “Love you too, little sis.”
“Now, go see Jackson before he leaves.” She pulled the door open and held it for Ryleigh.
“Come on, Max.” The wolf scrambled to his feet and took his place beside Ryleigh as she strode down the corridor with Mia.
Mia had grown so much. And Ryleigh couldn’t be more proud. “So Vaughn is really doing better?”
“He is. Cyenne expects him to make a full recovery. I wish we’d known about the faeries when King Maynard was injured.”
“Yeah, me too.” How different would their lives have been had King Maynard lived? She and Mia might not even have stayed in Cymmera. She shook the thoughts off. No sense wasting time on what ifs.
“I’m going to see if Cyenne needs anything else. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Sure, see you later.” Ryleigh left the castle, jogged across the courtyard to the stable, and entered the open doors.
Quiet surrounded her. The dragon pens stood empty. The curtain was drawn on the small room Jackson used to prepare.
“Wait here, boy.” She patted Max’s head, then lifted the curtain aside and peeked in.
Jackson stood at the table along the back wall, his back to her. He lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the table.
Ryleigh moved up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
He stiffened.
“I just spoke to Mia. She said Vaughn is doing well. They think he’ll recover.”
He relaxed into her touch.
She massaged the bunched muscles in his shoulders. “Is Ranger riding with you?”
“Yes.” He spread his hands apart on the table and leaned forward, lowering his head.
She rubbed the knots in his neck, tried to relieve some of the tension. “Without a partner?”
“No.” He tilted his head back and forth, stretching his neck from side to side. “Noah is riding with him.”
Ryleigh’s hands stopped moving. Noah? “I don’t understand. He’s had no training as a Death Dealer.”
“His training is adequate for this mission.”
“You’re sure?” Death Dealers trained for hundreds of years. How could Noah’s training possibly be adequate enough to ride with them? “You wouldn’t take him into battle unprepared, would you?”
Probably a stupid question, but the history between Jackson and Noah was unusual.
He faced her. “I don’t know who else to trust.”
What could she say to that? Nothing. At least, nothing that would ease his suffering. Sending him into a possible battle with men she wasn’t sure she could trust was just as hard. She ran her fingers over the tattoo marking Jackson as a Death Dealer. The elaborate symbol formed a sleeve around his upper arm and shoulder. Two swords crossed each other in the exact center. She traced the red slash bisecting the swords. The mark of the king.
His breath caught.
She smoothed her fingers over his lips, up the line of his jaw, then twined them into his hair.
He leaned closer to her, brushed his lips along her neck.
She wanted so badly to beg him to stay.
“I love you, Ryleigh.”
“I love you too.”
He pulled her closer and hugged her tight.
Wrapping her arms around his back, she laid her cheek against his chest.
His heart beat strong and steady.
No words could convey the depth of her feelings for him, so she simply held him. She inhaled deeply. His rich, earthy scent comforted her as nothing else could.
When he released her and stepped back, cold jolted through her. Regulating her temperature did nothing to relieve it.
“I have to go.” His husky whisper made her smile.
“I know.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I know that too.” She lifted his black shirt from a hook on the wall and slid it over his head. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
He stuffed his arms into the sleeves and smoothed the shirt down until it hugged his tight form. “Do about what?”
“About Lucas.”
His jaw clenched. “No.”
He fitted his breastplate into place, and Ryleigh secured the straps. Then he pulled an arm-guard onto his left forearm and stepped into high, armor-plated, black boots.
Ryleigh lifted his bow from the table and held it out to him.
He placed his hand on top of hers. “I know you don’t understand our ways, but treason is not tolerated here. It can’t be. Especially not after Kai and Chayce.”
He shook his head, took the bow from her, and slung it onto his back. “All the betrayal has to end.”
“I know.” She handed him the two daggers from the table.
He shoved them into his boots. “But?”
“I guess I just wish it wasn’t Lucas.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
No sense sending him away with this between them. There would be plenty of time to argue when he returned.
A horn sounded in the distance. If someone was already summoning the dragons, it was time to go. “Be careful.”
He cradled her cheek. “I will.”
She covered his hand with hers. “Come back to me.”
He laced his fingers through hers and squeezed. They both knew that was a promise he couldn’t make. “Take care of things here while I’m gone. Trust Darius and Tatiana. No one else.”
She nodded.
He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled back. “As soon as I find our people, we’ll end this once and for all.”
She smiled at him. “Yes. We will.”
He pulled on his black leather gloves, tucked his helmet beneath his arm, and strode toward the dragon pens.
* * * *
Jackson landed Ophidian on an icy plateau in Argonas, a couple of miles from the mountains where he expected to find his people. He slid from Ophidian’s back and lifted off his helmet.
The other Death Dealers set their dragons down beside Ophidian and jogged toward him.
Ranger yanked off his helmet. “Anything?”
“Nah. Nothing at all.” He hadn’t seen any sign of movement, never mind evidence a large group of people had been transported through the endless miles of mountain chains.
Noah stood at Ranger’s side, hands propped low on his hips as he scanned the mountains. “I don’t understand how they could move the number of people you’re talking about without leaving any sign of them passing.”
Jackson couldn’t, either. That’s what scared him. “Cymmera has already been searched. Repeatedly. There’s no sign of our people there.”
Noah glanced at the others and shifted from one foot to the other, then looked down.
“What’s up, Noah?”
He shrugged and took a shaky breath of the frigid air. Vapor plumed when he exhaled. “Do you really think they’re still alive?”
Jackson bit back the urge to snap at him. The same concern had been nagging at him.
“It doesn’t make sense, Jackson.” Ranger kicked a loose rock and sent it sailing over the cliff at the edge of the plateau. “You’re talking about hundreds of people. They didn’t all just disappear.”
Noah stiffened. His eyes went wide. “Maybe they did.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you guys all take transferring through portals for granted. You’ve been doing it so long I guess it’s just second nature. The first few times I saw someone use one, it really freaked me out. It was like watching someone disappear into thin air.” He scanned the horizon near the mountain where they’d found Thaddeus last time.
They’d already been over that land ten times. Jackson didn’t hold out much hope of finding anything there.
“What if they opened a portal directly from Cymmera to the caves? Is that possible? Would there be evidence of it anywhere outside the caves and tunnels?”
Ranger pulled off his gloves and rubbed his hands together for warmth. “No. There wouldn’t necessarily be evidence of the transfer on this end, if they opened the portal underground.”
Dakota frowned. “There should be evidence in Cymmera if they corralled hundreds of people in one place, though.”
“But what if they didn’t?” Noah asked.
Noah’s theory was beginning to intrigue Jackson. “What do you mean?”
“What if they scattered them? Allowed them to flee, then rounded them up a few at time and transferred them into the tunnels.”
Jackson hadn’t thought that way. He’d assumed they rounded everyone up and held them in a central location. Thaddeus’s army was certainly large enough to handle something like Noah suggested.
Ranger held up a hand. “Or what if he made them go through on their own?”
“You think they just went willingly? Why would hundreds of people do that? Are you suggesting all of Cymmera pledged loyalty to Thaddeus, or Chayce, then left their homes and their lives and disappeared?” Jackson wouldn’t believe everyone in his kingdom had suddenly turned traitor. Although not so long ago, he’d never have believed it of Lucas, either.
The wind whipped snow and ice crystals into his face. He wiped them away with one ice-coated glove.
“That thing in the tunnels.” Ranger shivered. “The smoke creature that got into your head. Could it have made you follow a…suggestion to walk through a portal?”
“Without knowing where I was going?”
Ranger shrugged. “Maybe. Actually, all they’d have to do is make someone take a few steps.”
Dakota jumped in. “They might not have even realized they were moving through a portal. At least, not until it was too late.”
The possibility loomed over Jackson.
The mountainside Thaddeus had used to create his army was riddled with tunnels, hundreds of them. More than they could possibly search. Yet, it was the first plausible scenario they’d come up with.
But he was also going to have to concede his people might have been killed, though he couldn’t see the purpose in killing them. What was the point of taking charge if there was no one left to control? “We’ll search for any large swatches of disturbed land. Anything that could possibly be a mass grave. Then we’ll begin our search of the tunnels.”
Jackson swung onto Ophidian’s back and lifted into the storm.
Heavy snow impeded his vision as he skimmed the surface in search of any evidence his people had been buried in Argonas. He didn’t expect to find anything. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Noah might be on to something.
He guided Ophidian toward the side of the shattered mountain. This time, he didn’t have time to play games. They were going in with the dragons, searching for their people and getting out. He didn’t want to be away from Cymmera any longer than necessary.
Ophidian landed and tucked his wings back to squeeze through the tunnel entrance.
Jackson stayed low against his neck, searching the tunnels as Ophidian ran.
Dakota, Ranger, and Noah followed behind him.
The other Death Dealers circled the mountain from the air.
As they moved deeper into the mountain, the tunnels widened. They’d already gone farther than they had the first time they entered the caves and tunnels to destroy the army of ice creatures Thaddeus was creating.
They rounded a curve. Dim light filtered through the tunnel.
Jackson pulled back, slowing Ophidian. He inched the dragon forward.
The tunnel curved again, then ended abruptly. Light flickered in a large cavern.
Jackson backed up, slid from Ophidian’s back, and gestured for the others to follow. Keeping his back against the wall, he crept forward.
Cells lined every inch of the enormous cavern, stacked as high as Jackson could see. How in the world could they get in there to open them all?
Dakota stood at his back.
Ranger and Noah studied the area from across the tunnel.
Ice creatures patrolled the cavern perimeter. Jackson tried to count them, but some disappeared from view as they rounded a far corner and reappeared a few minutes later.
No sign of Thaddeus.
He gestured his men farther back down the tunnel and pitched his voice low enough to keep it from echoing into the chamber. “Could you see into any of the cells?”
They all shook their heads.
“There’s another tunnel up higher.” He pointed toward the far side of the cavern at an entrance to a rotunda holding the uppermost cells.
Ranger looked at it. “It could take forever to find the way in there.”
“But it would be a better vantage point.” They’d have a view of the entire chamber from up there. Plus, they’d probably be able to see into some of the cells.
Ranger shrugged. “If there is a way in. It could just be a cave or an indentation in the rock formation.”
That was true. “Okay. We’ll go in down here. How many do you estimate?”
“I counted at least thirty guards,” Ranger said.
“Me too.” Dakota frowned. “Why leave that many if they’re not guarding anything?”
“Wouldn’t make sense.” They had to go in. Even without visual confirmation of prisoners. Not ideal, but they had no choice. “Did you see any way to open the cells?”
Noah nodded. “I think I saw something similar to the pulley system in Cymmera’s dungeon.”
“Where?”
“Against the wall when you first enter the cavern. You wouldn’t have been able to see it from where you were standing. There are a bunch of levers. I could only see the handles, though. I couldn’t tell how they worked.”
“Okay. We’re going in.”
Ranger pulled his bow from his back. “Are we taking the dragons?”
“No. Cells surround the entire cavern. Too much risk of burning a prisoner. We’ll send the dragons out.”
Noah fell into step beside Ranger, bow held ready. “Will that signal the other Death Dealers to come in?”
Ranger whistled low, signaling the dragons to retreat. “Yes. Ophidian will show them the way back.”
“Are we going to wait?”
“No. We’re going now.” The pressing need to find Thaddeus and return to Cymmera urged Jackson forward. He gestured toward Noah’s bow. “Have you been taught to conjure fire?”
He shook his head.
“Okay. Find the levers, and see if you can work them. Ranger, light a ball of fire and leave it within Noah’s reach. Light the arrows before you fire. Otherwise, they just bounce off those creatures. You need the fire to melt through the ice encasing their chests, as many as three shots to fell each creature. Got it?” He wished there were more time to teach Noah, but he had to trust the other man could handle it. He’d done well enough so far.
Noah blew out a breath and nodded.
The three Death Dealers readied their weapons and followed Jackson back down the tunnel. He’d try to slip in unnoticed. At least until they verified the presence of prisoners.
A few rock formations dotted the open dirt floor but nothing he could hide behind to slip into the cavern. So be it. He crept forward, staying low, bow and arrow ready. He rounded the last curve and entered the cavern, staying in the shadows as much as possible.
Creatures encased in ice stared straight ahead as they continued their circuit of the perimeter. Probably the exact route Thaddeus had mapped.
Noah ducked toward the handles he’d seen. He shot Jackson a thumb’s up, confirming their suspicions about the pulley system.
Dakota peered into the first cell he came to and shook his head, then moved to the next cell and shook his head again.
The cells couldn’t possibly be empty.
Ranger crept along the cells on the opposite side. When he reached the third in the line, he turned to Jackson and nodded confirmation of prisoners.
An ice creature rounded the curve.
Using the shadows for cover, Jackson lit the tip of the arrow, then tossed the fireball to the ground. He fired. His arrow found its target, melting through the creature’s ice-covered chest.
He shot two more arrows in rapid succession and felled the giant monster.
Inhuman screams echoed through the cavern, shaking pebbles and dirt loose from the walls.
Noah hit the first lever, and the bars of a second-level cell rose into the ceiling. Agonizingly slow.
Jackson went after the next creature in line. Two shots brought him down.
Dakota finished him off.
Ranger plowed through the levers with Noah, yanking one after another. If only they could make the bars recede faster.
Prisoners ducked beneath bars as soon as they’d lifted enough.
A stampede shook the chamber as a mob of creatures barreled toward them.
Jackson and Dakota shot arrow after arrow, providing Noah and Ranger as much cover fire as they could.
The first of the escaped prisoners reached the levers and took over freeing the others.
Ranger and Noah took up positions with Jackson and Dakota.
One of the creatures jumped from the second level toward Jackson.
Jackson let loose another arrow as he sidestepped, then pulled his sword.
A woman screamed.
A creature grabbed her around the waist as she tried to flee her cell. He pitched her off the third level.
Noah ran toward her.
Two creatures attacked him before he could reach her.
Jackson ran his sword through a flame and plunged it deep into the first creature’s back.
The second hefted his sword toward Noah’s side.
Noah spun and dodged the blow. He got off a shot, but without the flame, the arrow ricocheted off the creature.
Jackson conjured a fireball and hurled it toward Noah. It caught on a small rock ledge.
“Jackson,” Dakota yelled.
He whirled just in time to avoid a creature’s sword, then plunged his sword into its chest. It rebounded.
The creature took another swing.
Jackson jumped, but the sword slashed his leg.
Damn. Too close. He lit the end of the sword and ran it through the creature’s gut.
Cell after cell opened, freeing hundreds of citizens.
Jackson lost track of Noah as people panicked and fled.
The other Death Dealers had entered the cavern and now fought at their sides.
He still couldn’t find Noah. His concern for him grew. The possibility he’d misjudged the abilities of the ice creatures gnawed at him. It seemed they might be a little more intelligent than the savages. And Noah wasn’t as prepared as he should be to fight them.
Another Cymmeran citizen fell.
One of the Death Dealers grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the tunnel.
Jackson reached the spot where the woman had fallen, but he couldn’t find any sign of her or Noah. With any luck at all, he’d reached her and gotten her to safety.
“Go, go, go. Get everyone out. Now.” Jackson needed these people out of harm’s way. He needed room to maneuver. And he needed a clear line of sight. He couldn’t see anything through the bolting prisoners.
One of his people lifted her hands and pulled them apart to open a portal. A small explosion propelled her back against the wall. She slammed her head and crumpled to the ground.
A man lifted her over his shoulder and ran.
Thaddeus had kept the castle in Argonas heavily guarded with magic. No one could open a portal in or out unless he allowed it. Jackson had assumed he’d use the same magic in the cavern. He grabbed a fleeing man. “Head out through the tunnels. You should be able to open a portal once you’re out.”
Creatures poured into the cavern. Far more than they’d anticipated. The urge to hurl a huge fireball at the whole line battered him, but the energy he’d need would leave him too drained to fight. “I need everyone out. Go. Now.”
Death Dealers echoed his orders, urging those who tried to stand and fight out of the cavern. They’d be no use at this point. Without weapons or proper training, they’d only be in the way.
The crowd thinned.
Noah was engaged in an unwinnable battle against three creatures. He kept his back to the wall, using the ball of fire Jackson had lit to heat his sword before each blow.
Dakota was on the far side of the chamber, heading toward him, too far away to help.
Jackson raced toward him.
A creature plunged his sword straight through Noah’s gut.
Jackson ripped the bow from his back, lit an arrow, and aimed for the closest creature’s head. Perfect kill shot.
The creature only stumbled back.
Another arrow plunged through it, then another, until it finally fell.
Jackson let another arrow go as he ran.
Another creature went down, but an army more stampeded toward them from the far tunnel.
Jackson wrapped an arm around Noah. “Let’s go.”
He nodded and clutched his stomach as they ran toward the exit.
Dakota came up on Noah’s other side and grabbed hold. “Is everyone out?”
“The woman you went after?” Jackson yelled to Noah.
“Sent her out with someone.”
An earthquake rocked them an instant before flames surged through the cavern.
“Get down!” Jackson shoved Noah toward the far wall and dove.
Intense heat hurled him into Noah and propelled both of them against a wall of rock.
Noah grunted.
Dakota yanked him up.
Ranger gripped Jackson’s breastplate strap and hauled him to his feet.
Ophidian and the other dragons stormed the cavern, spraying flames everywhere.
Screams erupted from the remaining creatures.
“It’s clear. Everyone’s out,” Ranger screamed in his ear. “Go.”
A Death Dealer hoisted another off the ground and onto his shoulder.
Dakota kept an arm around Noah.
Jackson grabbed him from the other side as they fled through the tunnels. “Do we have everyone?”
“Yeah.” Dakota kept pace.
Noah limped between them, favoring one side. Sweat soaked his pale face.
“How bad?” Jackson couldn’t tell how badly injured Noah was while they were running.
“Bad enough I was glad to see your ugly face.”
Jackson laughed. “Oh, so not that bad.”
Noah’s smile was forced, but at least he probably wouldn’t drop dead in the next few minutes. Which meant he could be healed as soon as they got a chance.
“Did you summon the dragons?” Jackson yelled over his shoulder to Ranger.
Ranger shook his head. “As the last of the people fled the tunnels, Ophidian came charging in. I figured you called them.”
He hadn’t, but it wasn’t the first time the dragons had defended their riders. Or their kingdom. Ryleigh had told him they fought without being summoned when he’d been captive in Argonas and Cymmera had come under attack.
Ryleigh. He had to get back to her. Freeing the prisoners hadn’t been easy, but it could have been harder. Thaddeus had never made an appearance. So where was he? “We have to go to the castle.”
“In Cymmera?”
“No. Argonas. Then Cymmera.”
“Why?”
“First, I have to see if Thaddeus is there. It’s too weird he didn’t show up here. It can only mean he was doing something more important, though I can’t imagine what it could be. And second, we’re going to need more soldiers. We must try to convince some of the citizens of Argonas to fight with us.”
Jackson stopped partway down the tunnel. He sent healing heat through the wound on his own leg. Then, he covered the gash in Noah’s side, willing the edges to mend, the blood flow to slow. “You did good in there.”
Noah’s breathing came in harsh gasps. He coughed, and blood trickled from his mouth. He covered Jackson’s hands with his own, his expression serious. “Thanks, man. For everything.”
“Any time.” Relief coursed through him, and he smiled. “But Noah?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think you could try to act a little less injured? You know, maybe not look quite so pathetic?”
Noah flopped back against the wall, breathing hard. “Any particular reason?”
“Yeah. If I bring you back too hurt, I might never hear the end of it. That’s the last thing I need.”
Noah shot him a grin. “I’ll see what I can do.”