My claws wrapped around the jewel, taking a second to find a comfortable hold, and then with a roar and burst of flames, I was soaring up into the blue sky above. The way I was feeling now, the weather should be storming to match the darkness inside of me. But instead it was mocking me with perfect weather.
What now? I asked the dragon. I was just the co-pilot, while he did the bulk of the work.
We go home.
Home? As in Stratford?
If the aim was to get to Stratford, then the dragon's GPS was broken. We were heading straight up, the sun in our eyes, and the breeze chasing along our spiked body.
Not our home. Hers.
My first instinct was to rumble out: I'm her fucking home. But there was no time for me to stake that claim now. Truth was, part of her home was in Faerie, and maybe he had the right idea taking her back to the jeweled lands. If anything could restore her from the ruby coffin, it was the land that she was borne from, the land of the rubies.
The dragon continued to fly almost straight up, and I was still questioning his sanity when a shimmer crossed the air in front of us. The world flashed for a moment, like a strike of white-hot light, and then we were on the other side.
Darkness covered the land of Faerie.
The ley line is restored. The other beast has fallen.
I had to laugh at the dragon's confidence. He must not have been sure this would work, but he’d thrown us wholeheartedly into it.
How did you cross like that? My brothers can’t.
There was a pause as the dragon oriented himself, before heading off toward the ruby lands. I could see them in the distance—it wouldn't take long to reach them at the pace we were moving.
They will be able to now. The bond between the eight of you has changed everything. You can now draw on the power of your four mates, and especially those with abilities tied to the great ley line.
Holy. Fuck. So the bond hadn’t been destroyed, it just … morphed into something new. More powerful in a way, even if it felt different.
Now I just had to figure out how to save my mate.
Her parents must have felt us coming; they were waiting at the entrance to the lands, their faces drawn. Jepati had his arm around his mate, holding her close … holding her up.
Shifting my wings, I slowed, gliding down to land before them. It took a few minutes, and when I hovered just in front of them, the king reached out to take his daughter. I wanted to warn him about the weight, but he didn't need the warning. His magic was strong here, and the rubies helped him carry Justice.
When I landed, I shifted back into my human form, and, somehow, clothing wrapped around me.
We have new magic.
The dragon was pleased, but now that I was fully in my supe form, all I felt was overwhelming grief and pain. The dragon had been blocking it for me, but he could no longer.
"What happened?" Deloria cried.
Rubbing a hand across my chest in an attempt to ease the burning there, I forced myself to focus on the facts. “A wild dragon and his human ally set this all in motion,” I growled.
Deloria’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped, but thankfully didn’t interrupt me.
The rest of the story was relayed to them, quickly and precisely, finishing with finding Justice like this. "I don't know the specific details of what happened when she left the barrier, and the fact I wasn't able to be with her is my greatest regret. She shouldn't have had to fight them alone. But she saved us all. Saved the world, because if that ley line or Stratford’s power was taken…"
We all knew what would have happened.
Deloria stroked a hand across her daughter. "My darling. I'm so sorry that I didn't support you. Please don't leave us."
The royal couple were touching the ruby, and I felt their power as they tried to find a way to free her, but whatever had her encased, it was beyond their knowledge. We needed someone who had dealt with this before, we needed…
"Josephina," I murmured, nodding as the idea grew stronger. "Yes. We need to get her to Josephina." And hope like hell it wasn't too late.
The king and queen jerked their heads up, staring at me wide