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Which meant I’d be sparring with Killian a lot more.
“Okay,” I said, steeling myself. “Let’s get started.”
After lunch, I took an hour to groom Solstice before training began.
It took some convincing, but finally she allowed me to take her to the medical center to extract liquid from her dragonfire sac.
Only if I donated blood, too.
Apparently the Academy had started a blood drive for the new Wild Dragons that had been cleansed and were still sick. I suspected that Lily had something to do with that. Regardless, I was grateful to offer up my arm and be able to help ease someone’s pain, somewhere.
I feared that by the end of this, a lot more blood would be shed before this was done.
CHAPTER 5
And so our training began.
All of us were going to the Shadow Realm.
Jasmine—despite the fact she was still not talking to Vern—and of course the man himself.
Killian, me, and all of our dragons, made up the rest of the squadron.
The mood was heavy with the knowledge of what Vern was giving up, but we had a job to do.
And I still had an idea of how to help him.
Maybe it wouldn’t prevent the worst of his sacrifice, but if the Vampire King could fashion anchors for death…
Perhaps I could make them for life, too.
I did have goddess blood in my veins, after all.
There were countless hours spent meditating, praying, and lots of various hand-to-hand combat drills.
While the physical training was grueling, I found myself growing stronger with each passing day.
Before I knew it, the day had arrived.
We were back in the cemetery and this time the air held even more dread than before.
Unlike last time when there hadn’t been a single star on the horizon, tonight glowed with brilliant diamonds that speckled the sky. The moon threatened to wash them all out with its silver light, only challenged by the rumbling of dragonfire in our wyvern’s bellies.
Solstice practically glowed. With wings of varied shades of gold, she looked regal as she stretched them out. Her eyes were glittering, molten orbs that were made of sunlight and fire. She radiated determination and courage through our bond, her nostrils flaring as she exhaled a flame of bluish-gold.
Topaz, Killian’s sapphire-blue dragon, seemed to be dancing in the wind as he flew close to Solstice with a protective air. Even though she was a Dragon Queen and wasn’t in need of protection, he would be her guardian anyway. Based on how she allowed him to take the lead, she approved of his motives.
His wings were wide, flying in neat strokes that matched his mate’s, and his glittering blue eyes searched the area for any sign of the vampire.
Jasmine rode her emerald dragon just a few wing-strokes away while Obsidian guarded her flank with Vern on the ground. I couldn’t see Jasmine’s expression from up here, but I knew she had her game-face on.
She might not be on talking terms with Vern, but that was how Jasmine worked. She thought she could protect her heart by withdrawing from him.
I was afraid that would backfire.
Thumbing my backup plan in my pocket, I hoped that my farfetched idea would actually work once we arrived in the Shadow Realm.
I hadn’t used my family’s heirloom in a while. The pendant was solid gold and shaped into a Celtic knot that wound around an egg-shaped opal in the middle.
