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ERIK
After dozing, halfway between sleep and wakefulness for what felt like ages, I finally managed to open my eyes. I sighed deeply, contented. Marienne lay next to me, sound asleep, a warm comforting weight curled into my side.
Having her in my arms was perfect.
Just knowing that she felt the same way, after the doubt and turmoil of the last few days, was all I could ever have wished for.
As much as I wanted to stay here forever, we had to face what was coming for us. I couldn’t stand aside and let Damon’s kingdom fall because of his father’s sins.
Stavrok felt the same way.
I glanced down to find Marienne awake. Her eyes were paler than usual in the morning light. The sun made their purple depths shimmer and sparkle, like the surface of a lake. Her expression was soft, but unsmiling.
It seemed I could now read her thoughts like a book. She was worried about me.
“I’ll be fine.” I stroked the side of her face. “The future can change, right? What you saw in that vision, it isn’t set in stone.”
She relaxed into my touch, but her eyes were still intent on mine.
“I’m going back there with you.” She bowed her head, pressing a kiss onto my chest. It felt like a vow. “To the north.”
Ice filled my veins. “It’s not safe, Marienne.”
Even as I spoke, I knew the words wouldn’t change anything. It was just like last time. She had already made up her mind.
“I can help.” Her voice was small, but firm. “I want to help.”
I pulled her close against my chest. “I know,” I murmured, cradling her against me. “I...”
The words that I wanted to say were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t let them out. It was too soon, too much. But I couldn’t help how I felt.
I was falling in love with her.
So, I cut myself off, pushing the words back down and burying my face in her soft, sweet-smelling hair. Taking a few more stolen moments, before the world came crashing in again and destroyed our fragile, borrowed peace.
***
BY THE TIME WE GOT downstairs, Stavrok and Lucy were waiting for us in the Great Hall.
“The troops are already on their way,” Stavrok informed me, glancing at his wife. “Lucy’s staying here with Cass and the babies. We should leave soon.”
I nodded. Stavrok was wearing simple clothes, but his armor was piled up behind him. He followed my gaze and put a hand on my shoulder.
“This isn’t your fight,” he said. “Nor is it mine.”
I had never fought in any kind of war before.
The memory of what I’d told Marienne last night resurfaced. My dragon, tearing through the countryside. Burning everything in its path, simply because I had spied a woman from afar. My shifter was strong, built for speed and stamina. I could do this.
“I know.” I squared my jaw. “But we can’t abandon the north, Stavrok. We can’t abandon King Damon.”
Stavrok’s mouth twitched, and he shot me an approving smile. “Spoken like a true king.” He turned his attention to Marienne, who had been watching our exchange with interest. “What about you, sorceress? Will you be joining us?”
Marienne inclined her head and her glance at me was warm. “My place is by my king’s side, Your Majesty.”
“Funny.” Stavrok paused. “You used to say that when Magnik was alive. But now you actually sound like you mean it.”
Marienne looked up sharply. Something passed between them, and I turned away. Stavrok clapped me on the shoulder, hard enough that I almost stumbled, then boomed with laughter.
“Better keep your wits about you, Erik.” He winked at me. “There’s steel behind those silk skirts, mark my words.”
Marienne’s eyes flashed, and she murmured something to Lucy. They both giggled.
“What is it?” I asked. Her voice had been too low, even for my astute shifter hearing.
Lucy turned to me, smirking. “She said, he should know. His wife is much the same, after all.”
Stavrok scooped Lucy up by the waist with one massive arm, peppering her face with kisses while she squealed and tried half-heartedly to bat him away.
Something about their display of easy domesticity made me ache. Marienne met my eye, and in a flash, I could see that she was thinking the same thing.
The urge to lift her up and crush her against my chest in an embrace rose. I tried hard to tamp it down. I needed to concentrate on saving my energy for the coming flight.
The sun had already risen high in the sky by the time we set off. My shifter uncoiled itself lazily, sated after last night’s activities but ready to fly nonetheless.
When I stretched out my wings, feeling Marienne’s now-familiar weight settle onto my back, I almost relaxed. It felt like we’d done this a thousand times, her flying with me this way.
Stavrok flew by my side, dipping lower to skim through the cloud layer as we approached the Black Mountains. As I’d observed before, his dragon was bulkier than mine, with darker scales and piercing blue eyes as he turned his head back toward me. I made up for his bulk in wingspan, though, and I’d outpaced him by the time we flew over the mountain range into the northern territories.
We glided along, finding warmer air currents whenever we could, and I scanned the ground as we looked for signs of invasion. There was nothing amiss. Same sparse trees, same isolated little farmsteads, same snowdrifts.
Marienne’s legs clamped tight against my back as she jerked. I turned my head, and my heart plummeted.
The small town outside the gates of Damon’s castle was engulfed in flames.
Up ahead, dragons circled above the spires and turrets, locked in battle in the snowy sky. The enemy had already arrived. The castle itself appeared to be unharmed so far; its high stone walls and heavy drawbridge must have prevented the raiders from entering on foot.
Though by the ferocity of that attack, King Damon wouldn’t be able to hold off the marauders forever.
I snapped out of my shock and refocused.
There wasn’t time for distractions. I had to stick to the plan.
Soaring high above the castle, I circled, spotting a walkway where I could land safely. The moment my feet touched the battlements, Marienne slipped down off my scaly back.
She turned to look at me. Her eyes were full of unspoken promises. There were a thousand things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t shift back and speak to her. There wasn’t time.
Go, she mouthed at me.
I didn’t need telling twice. With one final look in which I poured everything I was feeling but couldn’t say, I pushed off from the wall and soared into the air, ready to join the fray.
***
MARIENNE
That look. Even in his dragon form, I almost melted at the heat and promise in Erik’s eyes. But there was no time to dwell on it.
I sprinted down the narrow, twisting hallway as fast as my legs could carry me, glancing out of every window I passed to see if the raiders had breached the walls.
So far, Damon’s people seemed to be holding strong—for now.
I followed the corridors until I heard people—dozens and dozens of frightened voices—and then I followed those sounds, dashing past suits of armor and old tapestries until I reached a dimly lit, musty hall.
A group of people huddled in a corner close to the small fire. All of them looked up when I rushed in. As far as I could tell, the group mostly consisted of women and children. Every face held an identical expression of complete terror.
“Have you come to help us?” A sharp voice rang through the crowd.
I craned my neck until I identified the source: a young woman with the same pale, ice-blue eyes as King Damon.
I nodded. “I’m Marienne.”
The woman visibly relaxed. She moved through the crowd, which parted easily to let her past. “Erik’s queen? Damon said you’d come.”
Erik’s queen? I didn’t correct her. Didn’t want to. It sounded wonderful, even if it wasn’t true.
“I’m Lenora, Damon’s sister,” the woman added.
“Nice to meet you.” I glanced around, taking stock of the huddled mass of refugees. “Is this everyone from the town?”
Lenora looked grim. “Yes. All the women and children, at least. We managed to get as many people out as possible before... they came.” A shadow fell over her face. “But there are more people coming from further afield. Farmers and such. They don’t have anywhere else to go, but...”
She bit her lip, looking anguished. “I don’t know how they’ll make it through the battle and the raging fires outside, and get safely into the castle.”
“Leave it to me.”
I spread my fingers, letting a shimmer of my magic swirl out into the open air. Several people gasped; children hid behind their mothers and peeked at me, half-frightened, half-awed.
This was what I knew. The curse I was born with. The terrible gift that I could never escape. I would turn it around, and use it to help these people who were staring at me with little hope in their eyes.
Without another word, I whirled around and stalked to the huge window overlooking the outer walls of the castle. I murmured incantations and spread my arms wide. The magic flowed out, glimmering, sinking into the stonework, trickling down every nook and cranny.
Protective enchantments.
I had plenty of practice with them. Under Magnik’s orders, I’d covered every inch of our castle with binding spells. It wouldn’t keep out raiders forever, but it should at least slow them down.
A roar outside trembled the glass in the window opposite, and a jet of flame rushed past. Several people screamed.
I turned around, finding Lenora in the crowd, and beckoned her over. “Keep everyone in here. Make sure they stay away from the walls, okay?”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “You’re leaving?”
“You said there were people beyond the gates.” I kept my voice soft and even, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help them if I can. You’ll be safest in here. Bar the doors until you get my signal.”
Lenora looked lost, but she nodded. There was a glint in her gaze, a semblance of steel behind the terror.
Good.
“Signal?” she asked. “What signal?”
I gave her a smile and, instead of answering, held out my palm and let the magic shimmer and dance across it.
“You really are a witch.” Her eyes were round with amazement.
“I prefer sorceress.” I shrugged. “And I’m going to use my magic to help as many of your people as I can.” I didn’t wait to hear her response. I hadn’t come all this way to sit around in hiding. I had a job to do.
***
ERIK
I flew higher and higher, touching the misty underside of clouds as I banked and turned. Below me, the castle shrunk in size. I circled it, assessing the high walls for signs of weakness.
The battle raged below. Outside the burning town, our armies clashed with a ravenous mass of raiders.
There were fewer of them in number, but they made up for it in ferocity and skill. The air was thick with the clash of swords and the cries of the wounded. I skimmed lower, spread my wings, and soared down to take a closer look.
The enemy hordes were like something out of a nightmare. Vicious and bloodthirsty, they hacked through our armies with battleaxes wielded with deadly precision. In amongst them were huge, deadly wolves. They fought alongside the raiders like attack dogs, tearing into anyone they could get their jaws on.
I spotted Stavrok in the thick of the battle, wielding a broadsword. I couldn’t fight like him. It was safer for me to stay in dragon form and help those of Damon’s men in the sky.
Stavrok was in his element, though, if the fire in his eyes was anything to go by.
I pushed higher, rolling in the air, and flew to the top of the castle where two dragons scorched the skies with their fury.
As I watched, a paler one, which I assumed was King Damon, released an icy blue stream of fire, hitting his opponent square on the wing. The opponent roared with fury.
My stomach dropped as the other dragon barreled forward, catching Damon’s wing in its claws and dragging him down toward the earth.
Damon struggled, but it was no use. He was plummeting to the ground at a speed impossible to survive if they impacted.
I didn’t think twice. I shot through the air and crashed into the side of the enemy hard enough to force him to release Damon, and sent the raider hurtling down against the castle wall.
Damon twisted in midair and recovered himself, shooting upwards to join me. Together, we turned to face our adversary.
We didn’t need words; one silent glance was all it took. We brought down the dragon together, like we had been fighting side by side for years. Brothers on the battlefield, bound by blood and fire.
Below us, the tide of the battle was turning. Our army was beginning to overwhelm the raiders, forcing them back through the burning streets of the town and out into the flat, barren wilderness.
I spied one small group of Damon’s soldiers near the center of the fighting. They were cornered, but like trapped animals they were even more ferocious, baring their teeth at anyone who dared to come close. They were guarding the drawbridge.
My heart plummeted when I saw the reason why.
A huddled group of stragglers stood in the middle of the fray. Women and children. They were trying to head to the castle, but a pack of wolves prevented them from getting past.
I roared with fury and spread my wings wide, swooping down, all set to burn the raiders to the ground. But as I flew closer, I realized I couldn’t risk the fire spreading or hitting innocent people with the force of my wrath.
A small figure appeared on the drawbridge. Slender and fragile against the massive stone walls behind her, she was surrounded by a glowing purple mist.
My heart froze. Marienne? Oh, gods, she would be harmed if she stayed there.
She reached the edge of the drawbridge, moving with slow, delicate purpose. The raiders froze, slack-jawed. Like moths drawn to her flame, they stepped closer and closer. The purple clouds wavered and trembled and the raiders began to twitch, shaking off her enchantment.
There were too many of them for Marienne to handle on her own. She began to back away as their large wolves advanced, slavering at the sight of their prey.
It was too much. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Mari.
My roar split open the sky above us. The ground trembled, and everyone looked up.
Marienne was in danger, and I would level entire cities before I let any harm come to my mate.
The burst of my fire swept through the raiders and wolves, clearing a pathway edged with molten, glowing flames. The group of stragglers rushed toward Marienne, and she quickly ushered them over the bridge. Her magic cocooned them, protecting them from my fire. Her spell melded and fused together, sparking in strange and beautiful patterns. Working together in this strange yet wonderful way, we soon got everyone safely inside the castle.
The battlefield faded into the background. All I could see was Marienne, picking her way through the rubble and ruin, casting spell after spell to protect the castle and all those who sheltered inside.
I landed on the battlements. My dragon itched to get back into the fray, to burn, to destroy.
I wanted to kill every vile raider who had dared to threaten my mate.
With difficulty, I pulled back, calmed myself and focused my energy inwards, already feeling the air start to shimmer and morph around me.
I knew it was a risk, to walk through the heat of battle as Erik instead of in the safe body of my shifter. But I had to get down to the ground level. I needed to find Stavrok and Damon...
Ignoring my nakedness, I grabbed a sword from a fallen soldier and paced along the top of the battlements, eyeing the chaos that continued to rage outside the castle walls.
Below me, Stavrok staggered out of the fray. He sported a nasty-looking wound on his shoulder, but other than that appeared unharmed. I raised a hand to get his attention, and his eyes brightened. He climbed up the side of the wall like it was nothing, and I reached down and helped him the final few steps to safety.
Together, we stood watching the battle from our elevated vantage point. Stavrok was panting hard.
“Some fight, huh?” He turned to look at me, grinning.
I nodded. I had just opened my mouth to ask him what to do next when he bellowed out a warning, lunging toward something just behind my left shoulder.
I didn’t have time to react.
I felt rather than saw the axe blade that cut deep into my side. The pain was immediate, and excruciating. I twisted to face my attacker as he pulled his axe free.
His eyes... the hate-filled green. Those were the eyes of the dragon I’d taken down in defending Damon. I should have been more careful with his human half. I should have finished him off.
My attacker met the end of Stavrok’s sword, but it was too late for me. The damage was already done. Marienne’s scream pierced through the air. And then I collapsed to the ground.
***
MARIENNE
My legs threatened to fold out from under me. By some miracle, I managed to stagger closer to Erik, holding onto the wall for support as I went.
“No, no. Erik!”
I had been so close. I’d rounded the corner just a half-second too late.
Stavrok bellowed out a battle cry, tearing after the group of raiders who had managed to get past the castle walls. The lifeless body of Erik’s attacker lay beside him.
I ignored the corpse, dropping to my knees, and tugged at Erik until his head was cradled in my lap.
This was my vision and it had come true. Nothing I had done today had changed the course of fate. And now I had to watch the man I loved die right before my eyes.
“Mari.” Erik blinked up at me. His face was pale as ash, and he was clutching his side. He started to say something else, but broke away, coughing.
“Shh.” I stroked back his hair, swallowing the tears that threatened to fall. “Shh. Erik, we did it. You did it. You were amazing.”
He just stared up at me. There was a wonder in his eyes, like I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
I pressed a hand against the crimson spot over his torso.
“No,” I whispered, mostly to myself. “Not now. You don’t get to leave me, Erik, you hear me? I have waited too damn long for you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, burning with grief and fury. Something was building inside me. My powers were coalescing, gathering, stronger than ever before. Fate may have brought us together, and I wouldn’t let it tear us apart.
You don’t get to take him from me! He’s far too precious.
I threw back my head and let the power surge within me. Normally, I would dampen it down, keep it inside, afraid of what my magic would do if I let it free. But not this time. This time, I let go of my death grip and released my magic into the ether.
Wave upon wave of power pulsed out of me, pouring into the air. There were no incantations or rituals. No herbs or potions. No control. Just sheer, raw instinct, lighting up the atmosphere around us. The sky rolled with dark, thunderous clouds, and white lightning struck overhead. For an instant, I thought the entire castle would come crashing down.
I was beyond caring.
This was Erik, and he was dying in my arms.
I focused on him with every ounce of my willpower.
Don’t die. I love you. Please, Erik. Please. Do. Not. Die.
The wind lashed at my face, and the magic kept on coming.
Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the surge was over. I slumped back onto the cold flagstones, completely and utterly spent.
***
ERIK
Dying wasn’t as painful as I’d once imagined it to be.
The world had taken on a dreamlike, hazy quality. Silver, and purple. My vision dimmed at the edges, then brightened and warmed. Marienne appeared, hovering over me like an angel.
I must be dreaming.
I didn’t care. I wanted to reach up and touch her. She was so beautiful, so perfect. But I didn’t have the strength to move.
I couldn’t believe that, for a brief, shining moment in time, she had been mine.
Her lovely eyes were full of tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
No, that’s not right...
She didn’t have to worry about me now. I had given my life to save Damon’s kingdom, but I knew I’d made the right choice. I couldn’t have done anything else.
Mari’s beauty pierced my soul. I could barely stand to look directly at her; she was like the sun, haloed by light, almost glowing with radiance. Except, there was no almost about it. She was literally glowing.
I wanted to raise my hand again, but I still couldn’t move. She was so bright; too bright. The light engulfed her completely, and a searing, blinding pain shot through the wound in my side. I grit my teeth to stop from screaming out.
The light spread, unfurling in all directions, darkening the sky above us and making the very earth tremble beneath me. At the center of it all, Marienne’s small frame swayed like a reed, right at the heart of the chaos she had somehow unleashed.
She looked strikingly vulnerable. It was too much. She was going to hurt herself, but I was powerless to help her.
At long last, the light faded, and it was over.
I gasped like a landed fish, taking in lungful after lungful of air and marveling at the lack of pain when I inhaled and exhaled.
Marienne slouched beside me. Her dark hair pooled to her waist, obscuring her face. Gently, I tucked a few strands behind her ear. Alarm bells rang in my head. Her skin was pale. Too pale. Her eyes were no longer the luminous, swirling mass of indigo blue-purple I had come to know so well. They were dull and magic-less. She looked up and met my gaze, smiling softly. I found her hand and squeezed it, trying not to show my shock at how cold she was to the touch.
“You’re alive,” she whispered. There was wonder in her tone.
I sat up, staring down at my side. My wound appeared to be healed. Her magic had put me back together. But what had it done to her?
“Can you walk?” I asked. I could hear the worry in my own voice, but she didn’t seem to register it.
She nodded. “I... I think so.”
Slowly, I helped her climb to her feet. She stood there, listing slightly to one side, and I darted in to slide a firm hand around her waist before she could keel over.
“Marienne.” I pulled her close, pressing my fingers to her wrist to check her pulse. It was faint and irregular, but the sound of it reassured me. “What did you do?”
She reached up and touched my face. I turned my head and pressed a kiss into her palm, watching her eyelashes flutter at my touch.
“You saved me,” she whispered. “I had to save you, too.”
She made it sound so simple.
I wanted to yell, to tell her she’d been reckless. The truth was, it frightened me to see her like this. I didn’t know what the power drain meant, if she would recover her energy. What if she’d weakened herself too much? What if...
I couldn’t think it. I focused instead on what I could do: find the others.
The sounds of battle had grown fainter in the time we’d spent up here. It sounded like our forces had taken control of the situation.
Good.
I’d done all I could. Now it was time to take care of my own. I needed to take Marienne home.