Page 29 of The Last Syphon

A thought occurred to her, and she lowered her voice to match his. “Are there books on all magical abilities?”

He pulled back, eyes inquisitive. Suspicious. “Yes. All the ones currently registered and documented with the High Council, that is.” He sounded almost hesitant in his answer. “All except Syphons. Those are all locked away in the Head Venerable’s chambers located in the librarium.”

Damn.

Guess it was a good thing she was a thief.

She hugged him once more. “I’ll miss you.”

This time, he did not hesitate to return her affections. “You as well. Watch out for yourself.”

The colours of the sky danced across the horizon in a beautiful display of orange, red, and yellow. The vibrancy weaved in and out of the clouds, casting big, dark shadows below. The view was nothing short of spectacular.

They had crossed over into Arelia a short time ago, and the sight from above was truly something to behold.

Lush, vibrant greenery, abundant with plant life. Rolling hills and overflowing water streams that Inara knew for a fact weren’t magically induced like theirs were. Clusters of villages, with stone homes and pens with large, stocky animals inside. The difference between Arelian land and the Borderlands was nothing short of staggering.

The Crowned Prince and his dragon flew ahead of them. That stupid cape of his companion fluttered through the wind. Inara was curious about her, especially after Venerable Cias’s words from the night before. The Crowned Family travelled with Shielders as bodyguards. Is that who she is?

Inara had never met another Shielder before. The ability wasn’t as rare as some others, like a Bloodborne—someone with the power to control the very essence of their being—but it was still infrequent enough that people could go their whole lifespan without ever meeting one, especially if they stayed far away from the kingdoms.

Inara wondered how powerful the other Shielder was. What can she do? Curiosity was human nature. Is she better than me? Inara was dying to find out.

“Do we have a plan?” Felix whispered in her ear. His arms were bound around her waist, tight and secure. Inara suspected the only reason he wasn’t screaming his fucking lungs out was because she had shaped her shield into a long, thin rope to bind them to Fraener.

It was entirely for his peace of mind. Inara thought it would be kinda fun to free fall from that height…as long as Fraener caught her, that was.

“Not really,” she said back. “I thought we could just wing it.”

He groaned. “I was afraid you were going to say that. The last time we ‘winged’ it, we found ourselves in a dragons’ den.”

“And look how well that turned out!”

He was silent for a moment. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

“I’m flying on the back of a fucking dragon. Of course I’m not being sarcastic.”

Tydus’s black and blue scales shimmered in the sunlight ahead of her.

It was still so surreal for Inara. She’d seen the Guardians of Arelia before, flying overhead as they did whatever it was dragons did. But she had never been so close to them, so involved with them that she was now sitting on the back of one.

How so much could change in twenty-four hours.

Like she said…Fucking surreal.

Her gaze snagged on the Crowned Prince and did not stray. He sat upon his dragon, spine straight, shoulders back, posture perfect, radiating a terrifying aura even from this distance.

They hadn’t said a word to each other since he vowed to leave Deadhaven in peace, and the fact that he was flying ahead of her, his back in target range with no worry in the world, spoke volumes to her.

He was…bone-cold-chilling. Rumours circled the three kingdoms of his devastating power. He was a Medalist, capable of bending anything metal to his will. That begged the question, though. What the Fates was up with those ice shards he’d blown from his hands?

Were they a gift bestowed upon him by his dragon?

Would Inara inherit a similar gift?

Fates, she hoped so.

They flew for a lengthy amount of time. Inara lost herself in the beauty of the Arelian Kingdom far below her, losing track of time until the outlines of the palace came into view. Her mouth dropped open at the same time as Felix sucked in a harsh breath.