a heartbeat he doubted his instincts, doubted the spark in her eyes, but when she whispered his name again he closed the distance and met her lips.
“Blind faith,” she whispered just before her hand rolled limply to the ground.
Ren screamed her name, but Aidan didn’t respond. Her head rolled to the side and her arms went slack. A dusty light hovered above her. It trembled before it slowly began to move. When it touched him a warmth shivered through him. It felt like her smile, the way he felt when he looked into her eyes.
Somehow the light was linked to her. The light was stripping her spirit, taking her from him. He prayed for it to change direction. The dragon roared in pain as the light brushed its silver skin.
Ren suddenly understood. Someone was transferring Aidan’s spirit inside the dragon. Someone was using magic.
He remembered Aidan’s words. He had the broken thread.
He closed his eyes and felt it inside him, churning with anticipation. It was a strength he had drawn from since he was a child yet something he had never fully known. It was a heat, a light, a fire of conviction, and for the first time in his life he held nothing back. He breathed it in, welcoming it to unleash the fury of his emotions. He felt the Quy flood inside him.
The earth rocked beneath his feet. People screamed in terror, but he didn’t hear them. His mind was focused, sure. Finding the dusty light, he commanded it return. Aidan’s spirit drifted toward him, but as soon it moved her silent scream tore through the air. He felt her pain. She was already merging with the dragon. If he forced her back she would be torn apart.
His hopes crumbled. The dragon bellowed as more of Aidan’s spirit seeped through its skin. Ren whispered for her forgiveness. Her spirit would be lost inside the dragon, engulfed in the dragon’s essence. Although her spirit would live she wouldn’t remember. Without her body she would become the dragon. The dragon would be too strong for her to resist.
But if her body went with her …
Ren looked down at Aidan’s limp form. Her hair spilled over his arms in an auburn waterfall. Her eyes were shut as if in sleep. He brought his emotions to the surface and cultivated them to flame. His pain came first, burning hot, blazing through him with angry precision. Then came hate, black as night, incessant and demanding. Then came love, rising through him like a tidal wave: fast, sure, furious.
The emotions roared inside him, swelling with force.
He focused on the light in his mind. He breathed it in, letting it fill him to the point of pain, and slowly began weaving her body in the air, memorizing her shape, her essence. Within a few breaths he had created almost a blanket of her form. It moved above him like a specter before it began seeping inside the silver creature, joining with her spirit, keeping her whole.
As the last of her essence left him Ren fell to the ground. Who had done this? The ground shook with violent pulses, but he rose without pause. Onlookers screamed and stumbled away, but the dragon had yet to move. It watched him with an inexplicable perception. Its eyes were slightly clouded, as if the dragon were a twin listening to its other half.
Everything around Ren was vivid, clear, but the screams behind him were far away. His mind throbbed as the Quy’s thread pulsed with his heartbeat and tingled through his body with a vibrant intensity. Where before he felt determination and love, now he felt rage – intense rage. It burned to be released. Someone near him emanated the residue of the power. He saw it in the air: a fine trail of conjuring particles, vibrating more violently than the surrounding atmosphere. The trail led to a downstairs window.
Nothing existed but his target and his rage. He held onto the rage, stroked it, and intensified it. The window shattered at his command. Valor and a deformed woman stood in front of the broken shards of glass. The woman’s hideous features were
“Blind faith,” she whispered just before her hand rolled limply to the ground.
Ren screamed her name, but Aidan didn’t respond. Her head rolled to the side and her arms went slack. A dusty light hovered above her. It trembled before it slowly began to move. When it touched him a warmth shivered through him. It felt like her smile, the way he felt when he looked into her eyes.
Somehow the light was linked to her. The light was stripping her spirit, taking her from him. He prayed for it to change direction. The dragon roared in pain as the light brushed its silver skin.
Ren suddenly understood. Someone was transferring Aidan’s spirit inside the dragon. Someone was using magic.
He remembered Aidan’s words. He had the broken thread.
He closed his eyes and felt it inside him, churning with anticipation. It was a strength he had drawn from since he was a child yet something he had never fully known. It was a heat, a light, a fire of conviction, and for the first time in his life he held nothing back. He breathed it in, welcoming it to unleash the fury of his emotions. He felt the Quy flood inside him.
The earth rocked beneath his feet. People screamed in terror, but he didn’t hear them. His mind was focused, sure. Finding the dusty light, he commanded it return. Aidan’s spirit drifted toward him, but as soon it moved her silent scream tore through the air. He felt her pain. She was already merging with the dragon. If he forced her back she would be torn apart.
His hopes crumbled. The dragon bellowed as more of Aidan’s spirit seeped through its skin. Ren whispered for her forgiveness. Her spirit would be lost inside the dragon, engulfed in the dragon’s essence. Although her spirit would live she wouldn’t remember. Without her body she would become the dragon. The dragon would be too strong for her to resist.
But if her body went with her …
Ren looked down at Aidan’s limp form. Her hair spilled over his arms in an auburn waterfall. Her eyes were shut as if in sleep. He brought his emotions to the surface and cultivated them to flame. His pain came first, burning hot, blazing through him with angry precision. Then came hate, black as night, incessant and demanding. Then came love, rising through him like a tidal wave: fast, sure, furious.
The emotions roared inside him, swelling with force.
He focused on the light in his mind. He breathed it in, letting it fill him to the point of pain, and slowly began weaving her body in the air, memorizing her shape, her essence. Within a few breaths he had created almost a blanket of her form. It moved above him like a specter before it began seeping inside the silver creature, joining with her spirit, keeping her whole.
As the last of her essence left him Ren fell to the ground. Who had done this? The ground shook with violent pulses, but he rose without pause. Onlookers screamed and stumbled away, but the dragon had yet to move. It watched him with an inexplicable perception. Its eyes were slightly clouded, as if the dragon were a twin listening to its other half.
Everything around Ren was vivid, clear, but the screams behind him were far away. His mind throbbed as the Quy’s thread pulsed with his heartbeat and tingled through his body with a vibrant intensity. Where before he felt determination and love, now he felt rage – intense rage. It burned to be released. Someone near him emanated the residue of the power. He saw it in the air: a fine trail of conjuring particles, vibrating more violently than the surrounding atmosphere. The trail led to a downstairs window.
Nothing existed but his target and his rage. He held onto the rage, stroked it, and intensified it. The window shattered at his command. Valor and a deformed woman stood in front of the broken shards of glass. The woman’s hideous features were
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