Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Solandis wasn't going to let them go without loading them down with food.  None of them were going to argue with her either, not that they would have. 

Before leaving Filwey, Allel had tried shifting, but could barely even manage changing the color of her hair.  That in itself made Jai, Gideon, and Thia all do a double take.  Because they'd only seen her shift into different creatures, not into another person. 

"Have you actually tried being another person before?  Going where they go, interacting with those who know them?" Thia asked curiously.

"Only a few times...but it makes be uncomfortable, so I stick with creatures," she told them. 

Jai still could tell she was getting used to Gideon and Thia actually showing they cared for her as a friend and genuinely curious about her abilities rather than cursing them.  It would take her a little longer for her shifting magic to build back up, though, so for now, she was going to be on the back of Roshan with Jai. 

Roshan and Erly, however, still didn't really take to her.  Roshan's attitude shown through, even with his head forward and Jai not being able to look into his gray eyes.  He wasn't in his toddler or child phase anymore, that's for sure.  He was acting more like a moody teenage now. 

"I don't think I'd blame him for not really forgiving me," Allel admitted as Jai held out a hand and helped her up onto the saddle behind him.

"Oh, you know he more than likely will soon."

She moved into a more comfortable position with her hands fisted into the back of his jacket.  She leaned back over to rub Roshan's side once in comfort.  The dragon hummed once, glancing back at them, probably thinking it had been Jai since his gray eyes narrowed when he looked at her hand.  Allel met his gaze with hers, never wavering, before he huffed out a sigh.

"See," Jai grinned back at her.  "Told you."

"He tolerates me now because he knows we're close to getting Lyv back."

"Ro hasn't met anyone he hasn't liked.  I'd take it if I were you, because you know you'll grow on him."

"Maybe."

Jai laughed as Roshan took to the skies, Erly following closely behind as they left Filwey for the mountains north of the city. 

At first, the dragons were flying at a speed that would get them to the base within an hour.  It wasn't until Roshan let out a hesitant hum beneath him that Jai realized just how worried he was.  The Camdover Mountains were large and looming, snowcapped even through spring was upon them with the equinox being just a few weeks away.  There was a different feeling that surrounded them the closer they got...a feeling of dread and death and suffering.  The cold that whipped around them didn't help.  It was no wonder no one ever dared to go even to their base.

Allel's hands tightened into fists against Jai's back before pointing in front of them.  Jai followed, seeing nothing until Roshan and Erly broke through the dense cloud cover just past the first ridge. 

In the valley between three peaks stood something Jai still couldn't believe was real.  There was no way he could guess an accurate number, but what had to be thousands of Corliss's dark creatures, the oskurreia, stood in silent droves.  There was no order to them, no movement either...until they all looked up as one with pitch black eyes trained on the dragons and their riders.

But still, they didn't move.  They wouldn't until their mistress commanded them to.

Jai motioned over to Thia to follow him before he redirected Roshan down.  They swooped down just past the creatures, never once coming into contact with them.  Jai leaned forward, hands tightening on the saddle, as Allel pressed herself into his back.  Roshan knew just what to do with little guidance, dipping and diving and banking around the mountains as he headed for the shoreline.  They needed the water behind them, not the mountains.  A storm was rolling over the Whelm, a dense fog proceeding it that would hide them in their escape once they had Lyv.  Jai thought he could see something within that fog...but his concentration was redirected toward the structure on the cliff edge in the distance. 

Then, a low rumble echoed around them. 

A scream of frustration followed, one Jai had heard before whenever Lyv had broken the golden cuff from Allel's wrist. 

Corliss.

Both Roshan and Erly let out thundering roars, but halted their advance toward the Keep, the water crashing below them against the jagged rocks. 

It all happened in a stretch of time that seemed endless.

Two figures – male and female – appeared on a balcony that overlooked the Whelm beyond, locked in a battle of magic.  The male was disheveled, his eyes pitch black and a maniacal grin on his face.  The flash of burgundy and silver had Jai's heart crashing in his chest as he yelled for Roshan to go.  The dragon stayed put in the air...and for good reason.

As Lyv and the conduit fought, another rumble quaked through the earth below them.  A wide arcing ward began its ascent from the center of the Keep before it fell.  If it reached the ground, he knew Lyv would never be able to get out until it was brought down. 

She knew this, too, pausing to watch it descend around them.

Crying out in pain and rage with tears streaming down her face, Lyv threw a blast of power at Mik, a strange mixture of both light and dark magic that crippled him in an instant. 

Then she was running, jumping from the second story balcony and falling to the grassy hillside below.  She rolled several times before pushing herself.

The ward was close to closing.

She sent another surge of light and dark magic to stop it long enough for her to escape it. 

Corliss's raging scream echoed around them as soon as Lyv passed the ward, which closed not a second after she passed.

And launched herself into the crashing waves of the Whelm below.

***Well, guys...here we are.  The great escape chapters! 
We needed Jai's prospective first...but next we'll get Lyv's!  I'll upload this weekend, definitely, so get ready!
What are your thoughts?  Comment and vote!
Happy reading!
- Ansley***