Excerpt
“The magic Titania used
to secure her crown in the mountain will not yield to one of half-witch blood.
Only a full-blooded faerie can retrieve the crown. It was her insurance that no
one other than a full faerie could be her usurper.”
“You mean her
successor.” I hated to think of myself as overthrowing the monarchs of Faery.
He rolled his eyes. “If
you prefer. All you need to remember is that this dragon will use telemetry to
sense your plan of attack. I can block his attempts, but you will be far more
enticing to him, once he catches wind of your scent. Do not let the fog enter
your mind. Keep it clear and free from thoughts and worries. I will return to
the mountainside with the crown. We want to gain access by stealth, for we may
not win through strength of arms. Your only task it to stay here, at the mouth
of the cave and hold his attention. Can you do that?” He searched my face.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Always.”
“Yes. I can do that.” My
heart pounded. I was a bundle of nerves and terror. “Is there anything else I
need to know?”
Zanthiel withdrew his
canteen of water and handed it to me. “Don't bleed. They are attracted to it.”
“Wonderful. Anything
else? Never mind, don't tell me. Don't want to know.” At least I had magic to
fall back on. There was some consolation in that. I swallowed several gulps,
letting it splash down my neck and chest.
“Darkness will bleed from your soul should
you turn to it too often, Lorelei. You need to live a life without reliance on
your dark magic. If not, in time it will consume you.”
Frowning, I handed back
the canteen. “You used to encourage that.”
“I no longer do,” he
said in earnest. “I couldn’t bear to watch you become something you are not.
Something you were never meant to be.”
“Picked a great time to
grow morals. Right now I don't have any other choice, do I?”
“You use that excuse far
too often. You always have choices. It is when you claim not to have any that
they are taken from you.”
Of course I had choices,
but they were never between good and bad, or right and wrong. They were between
horrifying and catastrophic.
His expression shifted
from warrior to protector. “You hold too much beauty for this world. Too much
goodness resides within your heart. I see it daily, and it pains me to watch it
diminish as you fight to save those you love. It’s why I agreed to the madness
of this plan. If you are no longer being hunted, then the need for you to use
dark magic to protect yourself diminishes too, at least somewhat. Then, you
will allow me to protect you. At least, that is my hope.”
I nodded. “I don’t want
dark magic to change who I am. Not in that way.” I didn’t know how else to
respond. His raw honesty always caught me off guard. “Let’s just get through
this, okay?”
He gave a single nod,
his inner warrior firmly back in the lead. “First the beast will use the smog
to read the mind of its opponent, gaining a sense of their intentions. Should
that tactic fail, and it must, it will resort to fire. An even greater threat
when the beast becomes airborne.”
This was daunting. I
paced a few steps, pressing my fingers to my temples, refusing to picture what
was sure to be our end.
“Dragons have one weak
spot,” he continued. “The throat, just under its chin. If I can pierce it, it
will kill it.”
My pacing stopped.
“Okay. This isn't a goblin or even a wyvern we're talking about. It’s a dragon. It’s like a million times bigger
than those other two, and they're hard enough to kill. You’ll never succeed.”
“Your lack of faith in
me grows tiresome.” He pulled out faerie armor from his pack. The silver leaves
embedded on it were impossibly strong and impervious to fire.
“I mean it. How are you
going to stroll up to a fire-breathing monster and just stab it in the neck?”
“I won’t. You will be
outside of the cave, drawing its attention. I will retrieve the crown. Only if
needed will I slay the beast.”
“Distract him?” I nearly
laughed out loud. “Distract a dragon?
With what exactly, a puppet show?” I shook my head. “And if I can’t hold its
attention, and it doesn’t barbecue me on the spot… how will you get close
enough to stab it?”
He reached over his
shoulder, withdrew an arrow from his quiver and handed it to me. The head of it
ignited with a yellow flame.
“A flaming arrow. Much
better plan.” I passed the arrow back.
“Remember all I’ve told
you. It cannot see you clearly. It can only find you through your fear and its
sense of smell. It can detect motion, so move slowly. You will have an
opportunity to use all of what I've taught you, combined with all that you
already know.” He strapped armored lapels to me, yanking the belt tight to
secure them.
I lifted my arms above
my head as he wrapped more armor around my midriff. “Okay, see, the thing is I
really don't know all that much.” I frowned. This plan grew more terrifying by
the moment.
His hands lingered on my
waist as his gaze held mine. “You know enough. I'm trusting that you do. You
must trust it too. Otherwise we are both dead. From what you've told me, that
isn't something you want.”
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