Go the direction Hannon would’ve walked, I said, pushing up close to the surface of my dragon’s consciousness, watching the ground.
Guards dressed in white looked up as we passed. There were thick clusters around the actual castle, but their ranks thinned out the farther away we got. Only one walked the path we usually took to the gardens, and a sole guard idled in the gardens themselves, staring out at nothing. He or she glanced up as my dragon sailed over, swooping low and searching the ground for Hannon. In a moment, though, it became clear he wasn’t there.
My dragon landed near the guard who’d turned to face us. I took over, resuming my human form and walking toward him as Nyfain continued to circle above.
“Have you seen my brother?” I asked the guard as I got closer. “He’s the tall and kinda robust ginger? A couple years older than me? Real calm. Always very pleasant. Have you seen—”
The smell hit me first. The funk. And then the guard’s skin changed, turning a little darker and then greenish. The creature smiled.
“Yes, I saw him. If you hurry, maybe you can save him. You’ll need to offer yourself in his—”
I was on him in a moment, wrapping my arm around his neck and leaning back so that his suddenly flailing arms couldn’t reach me behind him.
“Where is he?” I demanded as Nyfain sent up a mighty roar before landing not far from us. He was in his human form quickly and running our way. “Where is he?”
“Back in the forest, toward the water,” the demon wheezed, scratching at my arm now, trying to free his neck. “Go alone if you want him to live.”
Rage washed through me as another dragon sailed overhead. Vemar. Then more, Tamara and the rest of my guard. Micah followed them.
“Oops. Too late,” the demon said before starting to cackle.
I released him, but only so I could grab his face in my hands and twist. His neck snapped, and he slid to the ground at my feet as I turned around. Rage and power still pumped through me…but also terror. Fire curled across my skin.
“You heard him. I’m supposed to go alone,” I told Nyfain, pushing back so that I could shift.
“You’re going to believe a demon?” Nyfain shook his head. “Their goal will be to kill him regardless. The best we can do is try to pry him from their hands.”
Wolves ran out of the bushes all around us, Weston in the lead. He’d been moving into position to surround a possible enemy. He jogged closer and then slowed, waiting. He’d heard the situation and stood ready.
“Fuck!” I said, the terror making me wobble. It felt like I couldn’t get enough air. “Goddess help me, don’t let them hurt Hannon,” I said as I pulled my dragon to the surface.
They couldn’t hurt him. They couldn’t. Not kind and gentle Hannon. Not the backbone that had held our family together after Father got sick. All he’d ever tried to do was help others. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be in danger.
My dragon rose into the air as Nyfain’s did, cutting across the sky in the direction the demon had indicated. That could’ve been a lie too, for all we knew, but what other choice did we have?
Our heart thumped against our ribs as we flew, leaving the castle grounds behind. The trees condensed the further away we got, but nothing moved within them. We flew slowly so the wolves could keep up, silent shadows running below and behind us. We didn’t see anything, and neither did they. All was silent.
Fuck, what if that demon was trying to draw us away? I thought, my dragon scanning the ground. What if their goal is to storm the castle?
They are definitely trying to draw us away, but not to storm the castle. We’re the ones they want. They want to get us away from the king’s guards, and they found the pressure point with which to do it. They found Hannon.
All this time they’d probably been waiting patiently for an opportunity, and Hannon had provided it to them. Dolion was no fool—he’d know I would sacrifice everything for someone I loved. I’d done it for Nyfain, after all.
A plethora of emotion pushed through the bond, and then I saw what Nyfain had.
Oh goddess please, no!
Adrenaline roared through me. Then came power. My mind went blank, and my dragon’s vision tinged red.
Up ahead was a large clearing at the top of a little hill. Horrible creatures like the ones that used to grace the Royal Wood were tied to the surrounding trees. Their horrible, twisted jaws dribbled saliva as they pulled at their tethers, intent on the human offering in the middle.
Hannon.
He stood straight, his arms pulled behind him and secured around a thick wood post. Blood leaked from a gash down the side of his face and wet his white shirt near the breast. Another wound had soaked the pant leg on the right. The monsters growled and chomped at the air, desperate to get at him.