Luckily, Kerrigan’s room had been left untouched. Within minutes, she had everything she needed in her saddlebag. Then, she met Fordham in the armory. She strapped a sword to her belt and a staff to her back. Armor went in a second bag. She hoisted them both up, nearly toppling over at the weight of it. Her magic was refueling but slowly. She needed to eat and drink and sleep for another day. But she didn’t have the luxury.
Fordham went to help her with the burden, but she stepped back. “I have it.”
He nodded and went to help Audria.
With the few minutes alone, she dropped gracefully into the spirit world and called Tieran to her. “Come back to the mountain. The walls fell in the House of Shadows, and we’re being called to battle.”
Are you certain? We were just removed from service, he said when he appeared.
“I don’t have time to explain, but I’ll tell you on the way. Meet me in the western aerie.”
We’re still not bonded.
Kerrigan smiled. “I have good news. We don’t have to be.”
What do you mean?
“I figured out a way around it.”
This sounds like trouble.
Kerrigan laughed. “Might be.”
Tieran looked intrigued but just nodded and promised to meet her. She was back in her body when Audria and Roake were finished. Then, the four of them left the training quarters behind forever.
55
The Crux
Tieran waited for Kerrigan in the aerie when they arrived.
She threw her arms around him. “It is so good to see you. We have so much to talk about.”
Indeed, we do. I came at your behest. I will fly into battle with you, Kerrigan, but I thought this was the end for us.
Tieran anxiously looked around the aerie. Luckily, with the upcoming battle, no one paid a lick of attention to which dragons were and weren’t present.
“It’ll be okay. Helly said that she is going to appeal the decision on our behalf. Nothing is set in stone.”
He huffed. Then, why did they detain me?
“Things changed quickly. I am sorry. You didn’t deserve what happened. Can I explain the rest in the air?”
Tieran nodded, and she climbed onto his back. Helly appeared next to her, astride her dragon, Tavry.
“Ready?” she asked.
Nerves pricked at her. In the rush of getting ready, she hadn’t considered what she was doing. This wasn’t the first time she had flown into battle. She’d gone with Helly and Tavry across the world to protect Cyrene’s homeland, but somehow, it felt different now that she was in charge of her own dragon.
“As I’ll ever be,” she finally said.
Helly smiled kindly. “You’ll do just fine. Instincts will kick in.”
Tavry touched her mind. Just like we did in Eleysia, right?
Kerrigan laughed. She loved Tavry so much. “Right. Let’s do this.”
One moment, they were all waiting, and the next, Trulian led them into the skies on the back of his beautiful dragon, Androma. Tieran took off in the middle of the pack. Fordham, Audria, and Roake formed around Kerrigan, settling into an easy formation with Fordham at the head. In practice, Audria had flown lead, but things had shifted, and Fordham had taken over.
It was a several hours’ flight north to the House of Shadows and then east to Lethbridge. Trulian hoped to cut the House of Shadows off before they reached the fortified town. It had a large stone wall surrounding it, and if they took it, they would be in a much better position than if they were out in the open. They had no explicit ground forces. Lethbridge was Sayair tribe territory, but their standing guard would be much farther north, high in the Vert Mountains. Which meant that Bryonican forces would be called in and they were several days away by foot, maybe farther. Kerrigan hoped it wouldn’t last that long.
Once in the air, the dragons spaced out. Kerrigan got her first glimpse of what an aerial army looked like, flying in formation. It was terrifying. Even with so few active dragon riders in the mountain, at least forty or fifty were flying out today with more on the way.
I never thought that I’d see battle, Tieran said in her mind.
“Our circumstances changed quickly—that’s for sure.”
How did this come to be? Explain yourself.
Kerrigan leaned forward on Tieran’s back and began to recount her story of what had happened after she left his side. How she had inspired a march through the streets and then come back and blacked out, only to remain locked in her own mind on the plane for three full days, where she saw what had really caused the wall for the House of Shadows.
And you believe that your blackout caused the wall to come down? he asked carefully.
She shivered. Zina had suggested that she’d had some part in what happened. She’d connected to the wall when she was in the House of Shadows. She’d received the visions from Mei’s memories. It was possible that she had also caused the wall to shatter when her magic was erratic.