I threw Earth at them. Water slammed into us. Another wall of Water seemingly coming from nowhere created a tornado. Apparently, one of them was a dual Wielder, using both Air and Water to attack. A funnel with single-minded focus. Knowing this, I used Fire and Earth together, creating a cyclone of my own. It smashed into theirs, shouts of wonder sounding around us. The cones were long, five stories high, at least, as they tangled with one another, our Wielding taking form of another as they fought, rather than with pure power from me or the other Wielder.
They slammed into each other again, separating into the four elements before pulling back and coming together once more. My fingers ached, my hands shaking as I use my Wielding against them. But I was stronger. I didn’t only have two powers, I had five. So, I pushed the other three into my funnel, creating one giant vortex that could take over everything.
The tornado slammed into the League, and they screamed. Some ran for cover, fleeing, running for their lives. The others didn’t make it.
Their existence was extinguished as the flames faded to dust. I knew I should feel horror. I should feel…something. But I felt nothing. How could I when all I had was the person next to me, the person who wasn’t even a person anymore? I ached. The loss burned within me, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Perhaps there was nothing I could have ever done.
Braelynn landed beside me. I looked at her and pulled her close.
She wrapped her wing around me, tucking me against her side, and I sank into the warmth of her scales, letting out a deep breath.
“Well, then,” I whispered. “I suppose we need to keep going.”
“Since when do you have a dragon?” a familiar voice said from behind me. I whirled, Fire in my palms that I quickly extinguished.
“Rhodes!” I screamed and ran to him. He stretched out his arms, his silver eyes focused on mine as he searched for wounds most likely. I jumped and landed on him, holding him tightly as tears slid down my face. He held me even closer. My whole body shook, as did his, and relief poured through me.
My friend. Rhodes. The one I had thought I could have a deeper connection with. We had realized almost too late that it was only a friendship bond in the purest form.
He kissed my cheek, then my temple, before he pulled back and searched my body. “You’re hurt?”
I was covered in blood, and the goddess knew what else. But I was alive. I was as whole as I was going to be. “I’m fine,” I whispered.
Suddenly, Braelynn was behind me, nudging him with her head. Rhodes’ eyes widened.
“I see Braelynn has found her second form.”
I reached back and punched him hard on the shoulder.
His eyes widened more, and he rubbed at the spot I’d hit. “What was that for?” he asked.
“You didn’t tell me about this form. You all thought her being my Familiar was a joke. It would have been nice to know that she could turn into a dragon.”
Braelynn sat on her haunches and wiggled her shoulders, letting her neck elongate just a bit.
“She’s gorgeous. And we didn’t think it would happen for a while yet. Plus, you had other things on your plate.”
I glared at him. “No, you liked making fun of me. Or at least you liked having something to smile about. Since there isn’t much these days, I can’t blame you.”
I searched his face, trying to see what I couldn’t at first. Beneath his light brown skin, I saw the pallor that spoke of weariness and exhaustion. His hair was unruly, and perhaps a little too long. But I didn’t mention that. He looked healthy, whole, if a bit distraught.
He had lost everyone, just like I had.
I wasn’t alone. I knew I had Easton. Still, the three of us had lost so much. We now had each other, though not in the way I had thought I would have Rhodes.
Easton was my other half, my soulmate, the one I was running to.
Rhodes was the one who had found me and brought me to this realm. There would always be a connection between us, an emotion I could never hold back.
And, thankfully, the guys seemed to realize that. They still fought, still grumbled, but I figured it was so they could turn a corner and find a connection that would always be there between them, too. And to let off some steam.
“How are you here?” I whispered.
“We’ve been searching, using our magic to find your path. When we saw the League running to fight, we figured we’d follow and see exactly who they were after.”
“We?” I asked and turned to see a familiar yet weary face.
“Alura,” I whispered. “You’re here.”
“Yeah, I am.” She looked at me then, her eyes dark, and I wondered what she saw. She had helped me so much when I was in the human realm, but then she hadn’t been around enough after for me to get a real feel for who she could be.
I didn’t know her, but she had saved my life before. And I felt like I should trust her.
I still didn’t know who I could trust completely, not with The Gray having spies everywhere.
But if I kept wondering who I could trust and ended up trusting nobody, I would wind up hurting myself more in the end.
“Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”
“It looked like you were doing a fine job on your own,” Alura said, looking around. “Your powers have strengthened since I last saw you,” Alura said.
“Seriously, they’ve strengthened since The Gray had you,” Rhodes whispered.
His hands were on my cheeks, and I leaned into his touch mostly because I missed warmth. “Are you hurting?”
I was bloody, covered in wounds, my soul scarred beyond redemption in some cases. But in the end, I nodded. “I’m okay. But I want to go home.”
Rhodes smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Home is a relative term these days,” he whispered.
“I know, but let’s get our people. Our friends. I have so much to tell them,” I whispered. “Only I don’t know where to start.”
“You escaped The Gray, let’s begin with that,” he said and took my hands. We both looked over at the dragon, at Brae, then we turned towards home.
It wasn’t a court, it wasn’t a castle, but it did have our people. They were our home.
And I was so ready to be there.
Chapter Seven
Easton
My hands inched along the stone as I leaned against the wall, trying to slow my breaths.
It hadn’t always been difficult for me to calm down. Just the opposite, really. The others might think I could smirk and laugh and act the brooding prince without a care for others, but that was just a façade. And those closest to me knew the truth.
Before all of this, I was always calm. I had to be. There hadn’t been another option. My family—my mother—needed me. So, I had been the calm one with the mask that spoke of something else. But that had been what was needed at the time.
Then I met Lyric, and everything changed. Although I hadn’t realized that it’d changed until it was almost too late.
Until I nearly lost her.
And now, it seemed I had.
The Gray had taken me and cursed me with thanks to Lore’s reach, but The Gray now had Lyric. I had to be here to help my people. I couldn’t go to help her.