I stared at the moon as it glowed over the forest. Its distant light hinted at the secrets it harbored.
“Do you think it’s true that the elves built a station up there?”
“No idea. But someday soon, I hope to find out.”
A gust of wind brushed a few strands of hair across my face. Kull reached out and tucked them behind my ear.
“You look so beautiful in the moonlight,” he said. “Almost as if…”
“As if what?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
“Nothing? Tell me.”
He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to my ear. “Almost as if you were made of magic.”
An explosion came from the Wult keep’s towers. A giant orange fireball ignited the topmost parapet, and in its glow, I saw the silhouette of a silver dragon.
Kull’s face fell. All the happiness I’d seen in him disappeared, replaced once again with the haunted look—a look conjured from his nightmares.
“Silvestra has returned,” he said quietly.
Chapter 14
I ran with Kull down the stairs but felt that no matter how fast we went, it wasn’t fast enough. Time seemed to slow down as we raced up the hilltop to the castle. My only thought was of Kull’s family trapped inside the burning castle.
When we neared the keep, the dragon’s shrieks cut through the air. The silver dragon flew over the towers, pumping her massive wings that seemed to spread from one end of the horizon to the other. A pillar of flame burst from the dragon’s mouth, igniting the keep’s topmost tower.
A group of people had gathered outside the castle walls. We pushed through the crowd, though as we neared the gates, I wasn’t sure what we could do to stop the dragon. She would burn the castle to the ground without a second thought.
My heart raced as we finally made it through the main gates. As we raced for the keep’s entrance, the dragon screamed, and I stopped when I saw another form swoop down and block out the stars.
Fan’twar barreled into the dragon, knocking her back. The light cast from the flaming tower reflected off his gold and her silver scales. As the dragons fought, my heart clenched. Fan’twar hated violence. It had been the norm for his kind for so long, and he’d tried so hard to erase that stigma from their past, but now it looked as if he had no choice but to fight.
The silver dragon snapped her massive jaws, barely missing Fan’twar’s neck. He dodged to the side, then swung his tail and hit her side, knocking her off balance. She struck at him again, but he moved away.
Overhead on the tower, the flames had been doused, leaving large clouds of smoke to replace the flames. The sharp scent of burned wood filled the air and was carried through the valley on the breeze. Bright embers flitted on air currents, drifting away from what remained of the tower.
The crowd of people grew larger as everyone fled the keep to the open courtyard. Kull’s mother and Brodnik were among them. The queen’s cheeks were smudged with soot, and she couldn’t seem to stop coughing as they limped outside.
“Kull,” she said, grabbing his arm.
“Mother, what happened?”
“I… I was in the tower when the witch appeared.” Her coughing fit started again, and she motioned for Brodnik to continue.
“The witch demanded to speak to you and Olive. When we couldn’t find you, she transformed and blasted a hole right through the tower.”
Kull clenched his fists as he stared up at the battling dragons.
“Have you a sword, Brodnik?” he asked.
“Aye.” He pulled a short sword from a scabbard at his waist and handed it to Kull. “I doubt that blade will do anything against a dragon. You don’t mean to go and fight her, do you?”
“I will do what I must.”
I grabbed Kull’s arm. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?”
“Kull, no! She wants you back. It would be better to hide.”
“Olive,” he said calmly, though I saw the panic in his eyes, “don’t you see? She’ll never stop until she has me. We never escaped her at all. There is only one way to the end this.”
“But it’s suicide. You’re no match for a dragon.”
“Then you’d best stay here,” he said and entered the castle.
“Brodnik,” Kull’s mother said, “we must go after him. We can’t let him confront the dragon.”
Brodnik stared up at the two battling dragons, his face pensive. “There’s not a word I can say to convince him otherwise.”
“Then let me speak to him.” She choked as she spoke, and I knew her lungs were possibly damaged from inhaling so much smoke. “He can’t do this,” she said. “I’ve already lost his father…” Her voice wavered. “I can’t lose him, too.”
“Nay, it’s too dangerous in there, and you need a physician.”
“But someone has to stop him!”
I spoke up. “I’ll go,” I said, my eyes meeting hers. “I can stop him.”
“You, Olive? But, no, I didn’t mean you. It’s too dangerous for you.”
“It’s all right. I’ve had a little experience dealing with dragons. And with your son—who is more stubborn than the dragons, I assure you. I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill himself up there.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes.” I turned to Brodnik, speaking quietly. “Make sure she sees a physician soon.”
He nodded, and then I backed away to enter the castle. Most of the people had cleared out, making the place eerily quiet as I took the stairs up to the topmost tower. The beating of my heart thudded loud in my ears. The acrid scent of smoke grew stronger the higher I climbed.
As I passed one floor and then another, the dragon’s shrieks pierced the stillness. I reached the top of the tower and entered an enormous, circular room, where a few piles of wood still smoldered, casting their flickering lights over Kull’s silhouette. He stood at the center of the room, while above
