attempt, no doubt she had a longstanding grudge against Maiadra. And no doubt Serah and Teju were royally fucked.
“You still appear young for an old hag.”
Her gaze snapped to Gae, whose wings were unfurled, spread like an eagle ready to take flight. “I’m only twenty, and I’m not Maiadra.”
“Liar!” she snapped. “Where is it?”
Serah’s knees trembled. “What?”
“My store of life water,” she said, “that’s what!”
Again, Serah exchanged confused looks with Teju. “Life water?”
“I’m getting tired of your games. Seize them both.” She waved her wand and a birdlike creature flew down from the shadowy recesses of the cavern. It looked part human, part griffin, half his body melted like a ball of wax.
Teju aimed his wand at the creature. “Stand back, or I’ll melt the rest of your face.”
The creature froze, eyes widening.
Back into the water, he said to her.
Serah and Teju slowly took one step back, then another. His heated skin trembled, and she could feel his racing pulse as she clung to his arm. How would they escape if he was still not recovered?
A feline’s roar was their only warning before something pounced on Teju’s back. He fell with a grunt, losing his wand. A beast that looked part black panther, part human, wrapped a tau stone around his neck and chanted a spell.
Serah raced for the wand as Teju struggled in the panther’s grip.
“Swim away, Serah!” he cried out.
No way in fuck was she leaving him. She leaped for the wand, but the griffin swooped down and snatched it from her. Pain ricocheted through her face when he kicked her hard in the chin, knocking her back with violent force. The sound of her skull cracking echoed in her ears as she blinked at her assailant.
“Why?” she mouthed.
He let out an ear-shattering screech before kicking her onto her stomach. She landed on a boulder overlooking the black water, her spinning head making it hard to focus, much less keep her eyes open. She was about to pass out. And that’s when she saw it, the faint lavender glow that pulsed under the well’s smooth surface.
The Fae queen’s scepter? Great Goddess! How would she get it now and what if Gae found it first? That was the last coherent thought she remembered before succumbing to darkness.
* * *
Smoke poured from Draque’s snout as he bit his bottom lip, steeling himself against the pain while Violet sewed the hole in his wings with a wand she’d transformed into a crude needle. She apologized every time she had to poke new holes through the thin membrane while pulling his damaged flesh together with thick rope. This wasn’t her usual treatment for tears, but he didn’t have time to wait two days for her paste to heal the wounds. He had to save Serah and Teju now. The pain was nothing compared to the agony in his heart.
What if he couldn’t save them? He loathed himself for his slow reaction when Teju and Serah were in the water. He should’ve dragged them out or, at the very least, taken Serah from Teju. But Teju was by far the cleverest brother. He’d trusted Teju’s ability to handle the situation.
His brother Thaddeus worked on Ladon’s wing at a slower pace, but he had only one wing to sew, so they finished at the same time. Draque groaned in relief when Violet applied a thick paste to the stitches.
“It’s not perfect.” She grimaced. “But it will do.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice taking on a dark edge as he scanned the horizon. The kraken had disappeared, but the vortex had not stopped spinning. Flying close to sea wouldn’t work. They would have to fly out of the goliath’s reach and then plummet to the island.
He tested his wings, flapping hard, and was pleased to see the stitches hold. “You ready?”
Bastian and Thaddeus joined him and Ladon. Hector, his other brother, stayed behind with Violet, which was wise. She’d have one mate should Bastian and Thaddeus perish.
“As we’ll ever be,” Bastian said before taking to the air.
With a heavy heart, Draque followed and then quickly took the lead. If he and his three dragon brothers couldn’t save Teju and Serah, no one could. The thought was sobering and dizzying at the same time. They could not fail.
They flew in the V formation, flapping hard while pumping huge pockets of air beneath their wings. The higher they flew, the thinner the air became, but Draque didn’t want to take any chances after seeing how high the