She sauntered toward me, all grace and power. “You’ve completed the tasks.”
“Have I?” I asked as she stopped in front of me. “Because I don’t have everything I came for.”
She shrugged elegantly. “My Arachanaliths report that you didn’t kill them or their young. And the Hydrera, the water dragon, allowed you to pass. So it seems that you proved yourself worthy.” Her gaze moved to Tarron. “And he appears to be healed.”
I looked back at Tarron, who stood a few feet behind me, clearly healthy again. I hadn’t realized that he’d looked different before—and he hadn’t, not really. But he’d felt different. Like his aura had been off.
That difference was gone now, and he was entirely back to himself. It soothed the not-so-low-level anxiety that I’d been harboring.
I turned back to Perisea. “You’re right. I did heal him. And that was the most important thing.” I ignored his gruff noise of disapproval. “But I’d hoped to get the same crazy golden magic that the false queen has. The speed and power of that is something we can’t possibly beat. We’ve tried.”
“Have you tried everything?”
“Yes!” I wanted to shout the words, but I managed to keep my tone at a reasonable decibel. Barely. “We’ve tried everything, and I’m still not as strong as she is.”
“Perhaps you’re approaching this the wrong way.” Perisea tilted her head. “Perhaps you need to remember who you are.”
“What does that mean?”
A thunderous boom shook the cavern. Slate chips rained from the ceiling, and I staggered, covering my head. Even Perisea stumbled.
Her black eyes widened as they met mine. “She comes.”
“What?”
Before Perisea could answer, a white light flashed in the middle of the cavern.
The false queen appeared, tall and powerful, her lacy black dress looking like it was made of chips of black glass strung together with threads.
“Daughter.” She strode toward me, her hair in an elaborate updo that was threaded through with spikes. “I have been looking for you.”
“Oh, have you?” Fear thrummed through me as I drew my sword and shield from the ether. I wasn’t strong enough to fight her—I could feel the strength of her power wafting toward me. If she struck out, I was going down. Deep in my soul, I knew that my ability to reflect magic would no longer work against her. The power imbalance was too obvious. But maybe the shield could help a bit. At the very least, I needed to draw her attention from the others.
“Of course.” Her gaze flicked to Aeri, who stood about twenty feet to my left. “Both of you are integral to my plan.”
“And what is that?” I asked, stalling for time while I hoped that Perisea might transform into a dragon and fry her ass with some fire. That might be the only thing that could defeat this bitch.
She laughed. “I couldn’t possibly tell you, though I will say that your blood—both pure and tainted—will come in very handy. But rather than explain, I think it’s better that I just take you.”
She raised her hand, magic sparking around her.
I ducked behind my shield.
“You shall not!” Perisea roared. She thrust out her palm and shot a blast of fiery magic at the false queen. It was so bright that it blinded me, but I heard the false queen’s scream.
Frantic, I blinked, trying to clear my vision. I caught sight of the false queen disappearing, the hem of her black dress the last thing to go.
She was gone.
“Is everyone okay?” I spun in a circle, searching for my family and Perisea.
Aeri, Tarron, and Declan looked fine. Perisea, on the other hand…
She was on her knees, her crimson form duller than before. She no longer sparkled under the light, and her eyes were dimmed.
“Perisea!” I sprinted toward her and knelt at her side, gripping her arms to support her.
“Thank you.” She took the help gratefully, her voice hoarse.
“No, thank you.” I looked at the spot where the false queen had once been. “Somehow, she made it here, but you stopped her.”
She coughed and nodded. “That kind of magic is very powerful, but it drains me.”
Aeri knelt at our side. “Will you be all right?”
“Eventually, I hope.”
I called upon my healing magic, hoping that it might work here. I didn’t fully understand it yet—it was somehow related to the soul and capable of things I didn’t understand. But I had to try.
Carefully, I fed the healing energy into her. Tarron joined us, kneeling at my side.
He caught Perisea’s eye and hovered his hands over her shoulders. “May I?”
She nodded. “Though I doubt you can fix me.”
“We can try.” He gently laid his hands upon her shoulders and fed his magic into her. I felt his healing energy combine with mine, and slowly, Perisea’s brightness began to return.
As my magic flowed into her, I grew weaker. My limbs started to feel heavy and my mind to slow. Next to me, Tarron seemed to grow dimmer as well, as if the light of health was fading from his skin.
Perisea pulled back, breaking our hold on her. “Stop. You cannot give me too much.”
“But you could die.” I reached for her.
She dodged, coughing. “I will not. I will heal.” Her gaze moved to the spot where the false queen had been. “And you must retain your strength to fight her. She is most powerful.”
“An understatement.” Despair filled me. “I can feel that I didn’t get what I needed to fight her. She is still too powerful.”
“Remember who you are.” Perisea stared hard into my eyes, as if trying to will me to understand. Stars sparkled in her dark eyes, a strange knowledge lingering there. “Now go. I was able to see what the false queen is planning. What she has accomplished. And it is not good. She has infiltrated your realm.” Her gaze moved to Tarron. “Taken over the minds of some of your subjects. You do not have long before she has taken all of them. Her power grows with every conquest.”
Oh.
Suddenly her growing power made sense.
“What is she planning?” Aeri asked.
“As she said, something with the two of you. Your blood.” She looked at Aeri. “Pure dragon blood.” Her gaze moved to mine. “Tainted.”
I frowned, not liking that term.
Before I could argue, she said, “You have something in your possession that will help. Aranthian Crystal.”
I frowned. “But it doesn’t freeze the false queen.”
“Still, it will be useful. In the moment, you will know.” She flicked her hand. “That is the most I can tell you. Now go. And be victorious.”
The ether sucked me in, spinning me through space. I reached out, trying to stop myself from being dragged away. But it was too late. I was swept into the ether and thrust out onto the street in front of my house.
The last thing I heard was the echoing voice of Perisea, “Have faith. And remember who you are.”
The words floated eerily in the air, fading quickly away.
Nighttime had fallen in Darklane, and the street lamps shed a golden glow over the cobblestones. I spun in a circle, taking in the quiet, empty street.