As I turned to see the last one, I noticed that Easton was riding atop it, Rhodes using Air to move it up. And then Easton made a swishing motion with his hands, Earth strangling the chimera. I screamed as Easton slammed into the ground along with the chimera, the beast’s head rolling off as Easton landed on his feet as if he hadn’t just been riding a giant mythical creature.
I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck.
“What in the realms possessed you to do that?” I asked, slamming my mouth onto his.
He held me, kissed me back harder, and then smiled, looking so much younger than he had over these past few weeks.
“Well, he tried to eat me. So, I had to take care of business.”
We all started laughing, the carnage around us now smoldering. The smell of burnt chimera tickled my nose, but I ignored it.
We had won another battle and had been strong enough to do it ourselves.
We were going to survive this. I had to have hope.
The air shifted around me, and I froze before letting my Fire out again. All of us stilled for a second before turning around in a circle, our backs to one another. Braelynn had returned to her cat form and now stood on Luken’s shoulder.
Men and women in black robes emerged, each with a silver raven logo on their shoulders, the stitching prominent in the light.
They surrounded us, Fire at their fingertips, so hot it burned bright blue.
I had only seen Easton do that, and he rarely did it since it used up so much energy. It seemed this group wanted to put on a show.
Everybody was on edge, and I had no idea who these people were. If they were part of The Gray’s army, we would defeat them. I’d had enough.
“Spirit Priestess,” a man said. Before I could answer, Easton took a step forward.
“You were supposed to be dead,” Easton said. I swallowed hard, confusion and a feeling almost close to betrayal sliding over me. Who were these people? And how did Easton know them?
“Easton?”
“These people are the Unkindness of Fire.”
Rhodes and Teagan and Wyn all sucked in breaths, while Luken and I looked confused.
“Hello, King. We are sorry for hiding so long, but we needed to keep our numbers intact. To find those who were lost amongst the ruins so long ago.”
A man stepped forward, the one who had spoken. He pulled back the hood of his robe.
He looked almost like Teagan, but not really. I wasn’t quite sure who this guy was, but he seemed to be the spokesperson for this group, this Unkindness of Fire.
“Spirit Priestess, kings, those of the court. We are the Unkindness of Fire, as King Easton has said. We are an old, nearly lost society. We have not been needed for centuries because of Queen Cameo and our King Easton. But when Lore began his scheme, and The Gray started to move again, our ancestors were called forth, and we knew we needed to train. We are only now back to this realm, but we are ready for you.”
They all dropped to a knee around me, and I froze. I wanted to reach out for Easton but I didn’t want to look weak.
“We vow our allegiance to the realm, not to a kingdom or a territory or an element. To the realm itself. And to you, dear Spirit Priestess. To the one who will unite us all. We, the Unkindness of Fire, come to you. We will fight for you.”
I didn’t look at the others, but I knew they were turning to me, wondering what I would do next. So, I bowed my head and took a step forward, knowing that my friends trusted me.
“Thank you. All of you. We have been searching for those who can aid us. And it seems as if your ancestors are right on time.”
Actually, I thought they were a little late, but I didn’t say that out loud.
“What will you have us do, Spirit Priestess.”
I looked at Easton and gave him a tight nod before looking at the new group. “Rise, and let us make plans. You will be needed to train the others we send to our armies spread across this former kingdom. War is coming, and you are desperately needed.”
“For the realm, for the Priestess, and for our future.”
At their words, every member of the Unkindness of Fire speaking as one, their blue flames shot into the air. I looked up, knowing this had to mean we had hope.
We had more fighters for our army now, more people who could save our realm and our innocents.
Or, we would have more cannon fodder if The Gray got what he wanted.
We just had to ensure that he didn’t win.
For the survival of everything.
For the revival of hope.
Chapter Fourteen
Lyric
That night, we camped near where we had killed the chimeras.
I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind whirled in a thousand different directions as I tried to figure out exactly what our next step should be.
I sat cross-legged near a small fire and rolled my shoulders back, just trying to breathe. To focus. If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well work to soothe my aching nerves.
The others were either on patrol or resting—a smarter choice than mine since they were saving their energy. But I couldn’t do it. My brain needed a bit to slow down. Only I couldn’t focus long enough to make that happen.
“Talk to me, Priestess,” Easton said as he sat next to me, his thigh brushing mine. He leaned into me, his arm on the other side of my hips. I inhaled his scent, the Fire and Earth that was so much a part of him. It wrapped around me as if it had always been meant to do so. My soul reached out for his, aching for more, a confirmation that we were together in truth. We didn’t have time for such desires or needs right now, though.
“I should be sleeping,” I whispered, aware that the others might be able to hear us. We were all close enough that they would probably be able to listen to us just fine.
Wyn and Teagan slept near the edge of the camp. Luken and Rhodes were out on patrol, each taking their turn. Braelynn lay on the other side of the fire, curled into a ball with little snores coming out of her nose every once in a while. She had started on my lap at one point but had moved to the other side of the flames, giving me the space I needed.
“Let’s get inside the tent and get some sleep.”
I looked over at Easton, then kissed his jaw and rested my head on his shoulder. “I don’t think I can sleep.”
“That’s not the smartest thing.”
“So says you, who isn’t sleeping either.”
I looked down as Braelynn made her way to my lap once more, kneading my thigh before curling back into a ball. She yawned widely and went back to sleep.
I held back a laugh and ran my hand down between her wings, scratching her fur. She arched into my touch for just a moment before settling back in.
“Well, if we’re not going to sleep, what should we do?”
I gave Easton a look as he tried his best to look innocent. There was nothing innocent in those eyes, but I just smiled and shook my head.
“Not today, my king.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.” He kissed my temple before leaning against me, and we sat there staring at the fire.
I wondered how Drake was doing—the little firedrake that had followed me home last time. We had left him back at the Fire Estate with the others, and I hadn’t seen him. He’d gone to stay with the other firedrakes on the estate. He didn’t answer to me or need to stay with us. After all, he wasn’t a pet.