She laughed, her black hair escaping its plait as she wove around the trees. “You’ll never catch me, Elyxander.” A giggle filled the air as she taunted me. “I’m the fastest of them all!”
Every day, we played in the same forest. Every day, she said the same thing.
She had never won this game yet.
That memory dissolved, another taking its place.
“Come on, Elyx,” Saena whined, pulling on my arm. “I wanna play with Teli.”
She was four, maybe five, at this time. Her head barely came halfway up my chest, and her black braids hung to her waist, swinging as she tried to move my body. Even now, I was much larger than her, and Saena could not move me.
“Mama said we have to come back for dinner when the sun is setting.” I glanced at the sky, frowning. “It’s not safe for us to be out alone.”
She pouted, her hands on her hips. “Why not?”
Sighing, I bent and gestured for Saena to climb on. She clambered onto my back like a monkey, weaving her hands around my neck. I grabbed her spindly legs, holding her tight against me. “You know why. We must be careful.”
She scoffed, the sound so dragon-like that I thought for a moment she had shifted behind me. “Ihatebeing careful. It’s so boring.”
More visions flashed in quick succession. Saena twirling her doll as she laughed with the other dragon shifters in our village. Me chasing her around, playing tag in the yard in front of our humble cottage. The first time Saena shifted. The two of us flying together in the sky, speaking through the mental connection all shifted dragons had. The last night before Mama died, the three of us sitting at the kitchen table, eating and laughing together.
But that was the past. Those memories were so old, they were nothing more than reminders of the life I’d once lived.
Just like that, the happiness I’d felt at spending time with my mate dissolved into thin air.
Groaning, I ran my hands through my hair. “Tell me, Daegal,” I said. “I need to know. Saena is my responsibility.”
Daegal’s brows furrowed. “Xander, her actions aren’t your fault. She’s a—”
“Tell me,” I growled.
Sighing, he began to speak. With every passing moment, that dread gave way to horror. Cold and bitter, it churned like a storm in my stomach.
The little girl I had once known was long gone. Saena had become a monster, and she needed to be stopped. If not, the Four Kingdoms would run red with blood.
I would do anything to stop that from happening.
Shadowfell Mountain
AILEANA
Today I learned that even if something looked close on a map, it could still take hours to reach on foot. We had left our campsite early in the morning, and now the sun was high. My cheeks were warm, my stomach churned, and my muscles burned from exercise. I had sent my magic forward to encourage a particularly thick bramble to move off our path when I saw it.
I stumbled to a stop, the ribbons I’d been weaving hovering in the air.
“Do you think we should break for lunch…” Ryllae’s words trailed off as she came to stand next to me. “Oh.”
I jerked my head, the movement barely a nod, as words continued to escape me. One by one, the rest of our party joined us, conversation slowly drying up until the wind was the only sound remaining.
“It really is made of fire,” I whispered as Xander’s large hand landed on my shoulder. His presence was comforting, though it did not lesson the shock of the raging river in front of me. Somehow, the spider-skulls paled in comparison to this. A wall of heat came at us and sweat broke out on the back of my neck.
“This is… interesting,” Xander said.
That wasn’t the word I’d use. This was dangerous. Frightening, even.
A babbling river ran before us, but there wasn’t a drop of water to be seen.
“Lava,” Kysha breathed.