Slay (Fuse Book 4), page 29
A stream of fire rained down on them both, making a long line that blocked their escape.
Rush jumped back and toppled to the ground, almost getting burned. “Flare is weak, but we’ve got no choice.”
“Hold on…give it a sec.”
“Cora, we’re about to be burned to death.”
“He’ll come!”
“He’s a flying horse, Cora. He’s not—”
Moose appeared out of the darkness, landing right beside her.
Rush’s mouth was still open.
“Quick!” Cora tugged him to the steed and mounted his back. “Haul ass!”
Moose kicked off the ground, just missing the line of fire that would have scorched him half a second ago.
“You think we’re going to be able to get away from Obsidian on this guy?” Rush asked incredulously.
Cora held on to the hair at the back of his neck, streaking past the castle and heading into the wilderness outside the city. “He’s not as fast, but he’s small. It’ll be easy to hide. We just gotta get to cover…”
Obsidian was fast on his tail, his roars shaking the night.
CORA.
I’m on Moose with Obsidian behind me. We’re trying to shake him.
Rush grabbed on to her waist, looking over his shoulder. “We got company.”
“Who?”
“Uh, everyone.”
She peeked herself and saw three dragons and a sea of Shamans on steeds. “Oh man…”
They lowered to the ground at the tree line and disappeared under the foliage. Moose was small enough to fly underneath the branches, to move between the trunks effortlessly, even in the dark.
Fire scorched the forest, the stream lighting everything on fire.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea…”
“We’ll never outrun them on this guy,” Rush said. “No offense, Moose.”
Moose sent her an image of him flying alone, everyone chasing him.
“We can’t do that.”
“Do what?” Rush asked.
“Moose wants to be bait so we can get away.”
Moose sent her the image again, him heading to the Shadow Lands, a cloak tied to his back to give the illusion they were still there.
“I can’t do that to you.”
He gave a loud moan.
“You’re sure?”
Moose landed under the trees, the fire burning in a different direction from them.
Cora quickly tied their cloaks to his back before she gave him a scratch behind the ears. “It won’t take them long to realize we’re gone, so run to safety afterward. Don’t come back for us.”
He rubbed the side of his head against her cheek then took off.
She watched him go, worried about him the same way she worried about her friends.
Rush got her attention. “When they pass, we’ll head the opposite direction.”
They watched the fire continue north, the dragons and Shamans flying past overhead.
“Alright, let’s go.” Rush made it to the clearing and instantly became Flare.
Cora climbed on, and they kicked off from the ground.
Flare struggled to use his wings, the connection between his mind and body severed. He dropped several feet toward the ground before he caught himself again. He pointed himself in the direction of Eden Star and tried to pick up speed.
ROOOAAAAAARRRRR.
Cora looked over her shoulder. “They’re coming.”
Flare couldn’t go any faster, his body unable to cooperate.
Cora kept her eyes behind her. “We gotta Shaman coming on the left… I’ll take care of him.”
He came close on the steed, his palm raised to fire.
Cora dropped him from the sky.
More of them swarmed, dozens on their steeds, releasing their firebombs.
Flare miraculously dodged them all, but now he was dangerously close to the ground.
There’re too many.
Cora could feel the end before it arrived, knew how this story would end for all three of them. Three dragons were on their tails, getting into formation to take down Flare. The Shamans used their magic and hit Flare with a jolt of death magic.
It made him drop farther.
Cora took out as many as she could, but they were simply overwhelmed.
Then Obsidian made his move, jumping on Flare from above and striking them hard into the ground.
Cora lost all orientation. She held on to the scales and felt her body lurch left and right. They hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her stomach and lungs. She blacked out, but she didn’t know for how long, the dust rising from the ground and blocking out the night.
She snapped back into it and reached for Flare. “Rush?”
Rush was already on his feet, holding her blade made of dragon scales, ready to fight even though one of his legs seemed to be broken. “Come on! Let’s do this!” The dust continued to obscure everything around them. Cora pushed to her feet, having nothing to defend herself now that her blade had been taken.
Then he appeared, in his full armor, sword in hand.
King Lux.
Rush spun the sword around his wrist. “Not a coward anymore? Not gonna run off and hide?”
He stepped forward, murder in his eyes. “You can barely stand. This won’t be a fight—but a slaughter.”
“Yeah?” Rush spat on the ground, a big glob of blood. “Try me.”
King Lux smirked, actually smirked with mirth, and then attacked.
Somehow, Rush blocked it, getting all his strength from his one good leg. His blade spun around beautifully, slicing through the dust in the air and scraping the metal that protected his father’s body. The rage and adrenaline overrode the pain of his broken body, and he fought like General Callon on his best day.
Cora was so overcome she could only watch.
King Lux moved back from his son’s offense—and now that smile was long gone.
“Let’s end this.” Rush continued. “For good.”
They fought back and forth, ducking each other’s hits, their blades clanking loudly into the night.
Cora, do it.
So mesmerized by the fight, she forgot about the aid she could provide.
She pushed her mind out and hit him hard, using all her energy to destroy the greatest foe in Anastille.
But then chaos ensued.
ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRR.
Scales dark as night blocked out the dust and came straight for King Lux on the ground.
King Lux changed, turned into the brilliant blue dragon, and black and blue became entangled in a battle of talons and teeth.
“Ashe!” Cora collapsed to the ground, seeing her dragon take a deep gash along his back and leg.
Rush changed into Flare and jumped on top of Obsidian, biting him hard in the neck so he would release Ashe.
The dust finally blew away, revealing Ashe on all fours, beautiful and ferocious, his jaws bright from the flames that burned in his belly. A furious roar escaped his open jaws before he moved on Obsidian again.
Obsidian grasped Flare hard in his jaws then threw him aside, his red body flying through the air until it collided with the ground.
Cora didn’t know what to do; she was utterly powerless. She pushed her mind forward to invade Obsidian’s, but it was only enough to make him wince and lose his footing, not enough to kill him. Without being fused with Ashe, her powers weren’t enough, not after all the energy she’d expended on the Shamans.
His guard dropped long enough for Ashe to smack him hard across the face, to tip him over onto his side. Ashe moved in, ready to bite his neck and rip his throat through his scales. The war was about to end. The king was about to be slain.
Then the unthinkable happened.
A net was dropped from the sky—directly on Ashe.
“No!” Cora grabbed her fallen sword from the ground and sprinted to him.
Ashe tried to bite through the chains, but there were too many for him to break free. The rocks that weighed him down were too heavy. He couldn’t escape.
Cora was knocked flat on her stomach.
“Cora, there’s nothing you can do.” Rush grabbed her and pulled her back to her feet.
She shoved him off. “Let go of me!”
He yanked her back. “Cora!”
She screamed. “Ahhhh!”
He locked his arms over her chest and forced her back. “We have to run while we still can.”
Ashe didn’t give up his fight. He exerted himself trying to break free, trying to find an exit from the chains that pinned him to the soil. Like a frightened animal locked in a cage, he kept going in circles, desperate to be free.
Cora immediately sobbed. “No!”
Go.
She sobbed harder. No!
There is no escape. Ashe gave up the fight. He let the chains press down on his body as he collapsed to his stomach, the weight too heavy for him to hold. His snout was pinned down, and he closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to look at her—or see her look at him. I came to save you—and I succeeded.
You weren’t supposed to do that.
You’re my hatchling…I had to.
No…
Rush continued to drag her away, getting her into the tree line.
One of the soldiers approached Ashe and injected him with something.
Ashe went still.
I’m going to get you out of there. I promise.
Silence.
Ashe?
He was gone.
THIRTY-ONE
The Traitor
The journey back to Eden Star was torturous.
With Rush’s broken leg, he couldn’t move quickly, and without dragon tears, he couldn’t heal himself either.
Cora supported his weight most of the journey, trying to get there as quickly as possible, not remotely concerned about the Shamans and dragons that hunted them overhead. She didn’t hide her frustration at Rush’s slow pace, giving loud groans in irritation when he had to rest.
She hates me.
She doesn’t.
If she hadn’t saved me—
We’ll get him back.
He leaned against the tree trunk and watched her look into the expanse, trying to gauge the distance between their location and the desert. “They’ve stopped pursuing us. Let’s cross the desert.”
“We’ll go at nightfall.”
Cora turned and regarded him with an ice-cold stare. “We don’t have time, Rush.”
“We’re both weak, and the heat might kill us.”
She gave that frustrated sigh again and stormed off.
Leave her be.
Like she didn’t have enough reasons to hate me as it is…
She doesn’t hate you. It was Ashe’s choice to come.
I’m worried about him. Whatever my father wants with him…it’s not good.
Cora disappeared for a couple minutes but returned with a vengeance. “So, I have great news.” The sarcasm was like a hammer to a nail. “Bridge says King Lux blew a hole in the mountains, so Fazurks and demons are invading Anastille.”
Unable to process that horrifying information, Rush just stared, eyes wide.
“So now we’ve got to fight the empire and these monsters. Because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”
Rush turned his head like he’d been slapped with brass knuckles.
Cora threw her arms down and let out a scream. “Ahhhhhh!” Her hands shook, and she collapsed to her knees, so overwhelmed with her anger that she dropped her face into her palms. “Everything has gone to shit. Everything.” She threw her arms down again then sat there, catching her breath.
She’s speaking out of anger.
You think? Rush limped to her side then kneeled. “We’ll cross the desert at nightfall, return to Eden Star by morning, and then we’ll figure out what to do. We will get Ashe back. That’s a promise.”
She kept her eyes down. “What am I gonna do…?”
He stared at her, unsure of her meaning.
“I just show up at Mist Isle and ask for their help when their king has been captured? None of them are going to help us then.”
Not help you, but they will help Ashe.
“Now that King Lux knows about the island, they aren’t safe there anyway,” Rush said, swallowing in self-loathing. “They have to fight. There is no other choice for them. And we have to win—because this chance will never come again. There will be no descendants powerful enough to oppose him. The remaining free dragons will be captured and slaughtered. It’s now or never.”
“You think I don’t know the stakes?” She raised her head, her eyes vicious. “You think I don’t understand that our entire plan is forfeited? There is no element of surprise. He knows exactly what he’s up against. Did you tell him about the Shamans?”
“I…I’m not sure. But probably.”
“How are you not sure?” she snapped.
“Look…you don’t understand.”
She gave him a cold stare before she got to her feet.
He joined her. “I know you’re worried about Ashe—”
“Worried?” She released a maniacal laugh along with a cry. “You think I’m worried? I’m utterly terrified that the being I love so deeply is chained like a damn god. The being I love like a father sacrificed his life for me…and I have to live with that. I have to look his wife in the face and tell her that her husband is gone. His hatchlings…lost their father.”
“He’s not dead, Cora.”
“He’s enslaved to the vilest king that ever lived—and he probably wishes he were dead.”
Flare made it across the desert, and they returned to Eden Star.
Rush’s leg had only gotten worse in their travels, and by the time they reached the border, he could barely stand. He fell to his good knee in the grass, taking a moment to breathe through the pain.
Callon immediately emerged from the forest, coming to Cora’s call or because he’d been watching the perimeter and waiting for her arrival ever since she left. Relief washed over his hard expression as he grasped her and held her close, his eyes shutting as he embraced the niece he loved like a daughter. “Are you alright?” He pulled away to look at her face.
She shook her head a couple times, the tears breaching the surface before they turned into full-on sobs. “No…”
“Sor-Lei?” He grasped her arms, alarmed. “What happened?”
“Ashe…they took Ashe.”
“What?”
“He came to rescue me, and they captured him.”
Callon stood there and watched her sob, powerless to do anything else.
Rush bowed his head, sick to his stomach.
Minutes passed as the tears splashed down her cheeks and to the grass at her feet. As if Callon knew she needed it, he stood silently and let it happen, let her rid the poison that infected her heart. He didn’t promise to retrieve Ashe, didn’t buoy her with hope that he couldn’t fulfill.
She eventually returned to calm, wiping her nose and dabbing the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry…”
“You owe no apology, Sor-Lei.”
“Crying doesn’t solve anything.”
“If you don’t release them, bottled tears will make it hurt worse.”
Rush got back to his feet, putting his weight on one foot. “We’re going to get him back, Cora. I promise you.”
Callon turned his icy stare on Rush. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
He stared back, venomous. “I will keep this promise—if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I need Talc to heal his broken leg,” Cora said. “Can you unfuse?”
Callon didn’t hesitate, the green dragon appearing beside him, green like the backdrop of the forest. Talc approached Rush and bowed her head to examine his injury. Rush took a seat and rolled up his leg to expose the bone that popped out of the skin.
It took minutes for Talc to muster the emotion to shed the tears, and the enormous drops splashed across his skin, creating clouds of smoke as they floated to the sky. Rush grimaced at the pain before she fed him her tears.
Callon stared at Cora. “I’m sorry about Ashe, but I’m relieved you’ve returned.”
She gave a slight nod.
“We must strike as soon as possible. I’m sure they’re preparing to march on us, so we must reach High Castle before they can vacate it. If the war is fought here, we’ll lose.”
“King Lux made a passage in the mountain. Fazurks and demons have invaded Anastille. They’ll fight with him.”
Callon didn’t show any reaction.
“And he knows everything…”
Callon stared for several heartbeats before his gaze shifted to Rush, accusation brewing.
“Shadow invaded my mind,” Rush said, albeit defensively. “Flare and I couldn’t stop it.”
Callon still looked aggrieved, as if that didn’t make the slightest difference.
“You could barely grasp your sword when your mind was invaded,” Cora reminded Callon, hoping to silence the ferocious words that were about to explode from his mouth.
Callon kept both his anger and his silence. “The Shamans have arrived. They’re stationed far outside the perimeter.”
“Good. Bridge and the others should be here shortly.”
“You must fly to Mist Isle and organize the dragons. Now that King Lux knows of their existence, many more of them will die. Every dragon they have will be forced into a fuse and made to fight. Without the element of surprise, our chance of victory just became that much smaller.”
Cora gave a slight nod. “It’ll take you several days to reach High Castle. Leave now—and we’ll join you.”
Callon gave a look of agreement. “We must come to battle together. Otherwise, they’ll slaughter us.”
“I know. The pirates will hit their cannons in the harbor, and the Guardians will take the slaves from Rock Island and strike from the west. Even if they know the attack is coming, it’ll still be a hard fight to win.”
“I hope you’re right.” He stared for a while, wearing the hard gaze of a king.
Rush returned to his feet, his leg fully healed but the pain still throbbing. It would feel that way for the next day or two, but he didn’t have time to rest. “Then let’s get going so we can reach the island before dark.”
