The Rise of Ancient Fury Read online

  She’d done it. She had freed her people.

  Condor had always hoped Avian would do it, but he’d been a stubborn old bird. Now it no longer mattered; Avian was dead, and with this revelation, injustice would have a much harder time when next it tried to take root in the Sky Realm.

  “All you need to do is touch the stone, and it will remove your need for capes. You will be able to fly freely, uninhibited. The stone is powerful enough to transform every Windgale in existence. Come forward and claim your inherent power.”

  With that statement, Lilly tossed the Aerostone into the crowd. A haggard man without a cape caught it, and his eyes widened with surprise, then delight, as his feet left the ground on their own. His eyes fixed on the skies, and he passed the Aerostone to the next person without even looking. Then he shot into the air, whooping and hollering as he flew.

  The woman who received the Aerostone next tore her cape from her shoulders, then she held out the Aerostone for her two children and her husband to touch. They did, and the four of them ascended together as a family.

  On and on, the Aerostone worked its way through the crowd, birthing new Wisps in seconds, never losing its power, never letting anyone down. Lilly had given the Windgales a profound gift, one unlike anything her father could’ve even conceived of.

  Condor reveled in the moment. Ever since he’d rebelled against the Premier, this exact moment, this revelation of the truth to all of his people, had been his end goal. In one mighty blow, Lilly had shattered the system of castes within the Sky Realm forever.

  The best part of it was that though Condor’s greatest dreams had been realized, he’d done virtually nothing to make it happen. Perhaps it was better that way—the Premiers of old had instituted this method of control, and now one of their descendants had done away with it.

  Condor’s grin widened into a smile.

  Next to him, General Balena exhaled a long sigh. Why shouldn’t he? For all his good qualities, General Balena was both a product of the Sky Realm’s status quo and perhaps its most stalwart defender now that Avian was dead.

  “We’re doomed,” General Tolomus muttered. He stood on Condor’s right and covered his face with his palm.

  “Hardly.” Condor probably shouldn’t have said it, but he’d never liked General Tolomus anyway.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” General Tolomus hissed.

  “When has that ever stopped me before?”

  General Tolomus just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “She did the right thing. I’m sure it bothers you because making the right decision isn’t something you’re used to,” Condor said. “But it needed to happen.”

  “You’re a traitor to the realm. Your opinion carries as much weight with me as the Sobek’s.” General Tolomus glared at him and motioned at Magnus over his shoulder with his thumb.

  “They called me a traitor because I wanted to do what our Premieress just did. Would you brand her a traitor as well?”

  “You’re a traitor because you tried to assassinate the Premier and succeed him as ruler of our realm,” General Balena interjected. “And whether she knows it or not, Lilly has just changed our society forever. Our entire social structure was built upon that secret.”

  Condor stared out over the crowd, now bustling with Windgales shedding their capes and taking to the sky. “Then we will just have to lay a new foundation in its place.”

  Calum grinned at the sight of a young Windgale mother near the front of the crowd and her two young children, a boy and a girl. Together, they each touched the Aerostone, then the mother passed it along.

  She’d already taken off her torn and tattered cape—a black garment that Calum recognized as one they’d taken from the Raven’s Brood and later distributed to the Windgales at the base of the fortress several weeks earlier. Now she gripped her children’s hands and hovered with them into the air.

  Their dirt-streaked faces contorted with fear at first, then they shifted to wonder, then pure elation once they realized they could control this newfound ability. Within moments they looped through the air like excited blue jays, giggling with gigantic smiles on their faces.

  When Calum chuckled, Axel grunted, “What’s so funny?”

  Calum hesitated. He wanted to point to the family, but they had vanished among the ever-growing swarm of Windgales swooping through the sky above the valley. He exhaled a short breath and nodded toward the Windgales. “They’re all so happy.”

  “I find it interesting that the Premier and his goons kept that knowledge from their people for so long.” Axel folded his arms. “They’re just as bad as the King and his soldiers.”

  “Can’t argue with you there.” Calum caught sight of Lilly’s blue eyes, and he found he couldn’t stifle his smile. “But she made the right call.”

  “No doubt. She set them all free. And she just earned their lifelong loyalty.”

  Calum noticed General Tolomus, his posture rigid as if his spine were the straightest tree in Kanarah, scowling at Lilly. “Most of them, anyway.”

  “General Tolomus? He’s a steaming pile of horse manure, as far as I’m concerned. He would’ve left all these people to die just to preserve the Windgales’ secret.” Axel huffed. “I bet he’d feel differently if he didn’t already know the truth.”

  “At this point, he commands almost half the remaining Windgale army,” Calum said. “He’s not someone you want to aggravate.”

  “But he reports to General Balena, and they both report to Lilly now.” Axel smirked. “She’s officially the most powerful person we know, aside from Lumen.”

  “Power doesn’t mean what we used to think it means. Her father had power, but Condor rebelled and almost managed to assassinate him.”

  “Almost. But he didn’t.”

  “Still,” Calum rubbed his chin, “I don’t trust General Tolomus.”

  Axel thwacked Calum on the back of his shoulder. “No sense worrying about it. Nothing you can do about it anyway.”

  Calum didn’t know if he believed that or not, but arguing with Axel wouldn’t accomplish anything. “If you say so.”

  “What’s next?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what happens next?” Axel asked. “Lilly’s in charge. She has an army—even if it’s only a small one. She knows we’re supposed to bring forces to Lumen to fight against the King.”

  “We head north, next,” Magnus’s deep voice said from behind them. “These Windgales will want blood for their fallen comrades and family members, and so do I. We will head toward Reptilius, and I will have my chance to avenge my father’s murder.”

  Calum smiled. “And then we’ll have two rulers on our side. And two armies.”

  Axel huffed. “And two over-inflated egos.”

  “Spoken as someone who has never known true power or the yoke of responsibility that accompanies it.” Magnus shook his head at Axel. “We must stop in the Desert of the Forgotten along the way. I require that sword.”

  Riley’s ears perked up when Magnus uttered the words “Desert of the Forgotten.”

  He’d hung near the back of the group with Janessa, Dallahan, and Embry, just watching and observing the Windgales flying after touching the Aerostone. He’d heard Condor argue with the generals, and he’d heard Calum and Axel talking through their concerns regarding General Tolomus.

  He’d heard everything, as usual.

  But Magnus’s mention of that place, his former home, bristled the fur on his hide. All but the bravest—or stupidest—of travelers avoided that desert so the native Wolf tribes wouldn’t attack them.

  Lumen had told Magnus that the Dragon’s Breath sword, supposedly the key to defeating Kahn, was hidden somewhere in the Desert of the Forgotten, but Riley had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it. Traveling back to that desert for a mythical sword, whether it existed or not, was not something Riley wanted to do.

  The last time he was there, it had cost him far too much, an
d it had entirely rewritten the path of his life in the process. If he had to go back there…

  Behind him, Embry and Dallahan nipped at each other while Janessa watched, unamused. He envied them and their rambunctious demeanor. None of them had been banished from their tribe under penalty of death like Riley had. They could afford to behave like carefree pups in a litter.

  They had always belonged somewhere, always had each other, but Riley had gone for more than a year without a home or a family or friends. Now, with Calum, Lilly, Magnus, Kanton, and even Axel and Condor to call his friends, plus three remaining Wolves under his charge, Riley finally felt like he’d found true companionship.

  He growled, low and long. Returning to the desert would end all of that.

  Along with his life.

  “General Tolomus.” Lilly approached him, focused and poised, yet certain of the sour turn this conversation would soon take. “I require one third of our army to accompany me north to Reptilius. The other two thirds will remain here to protect and train all able-bodied citizens to fight, should the need arise.”

  General Tolomus blinked at her and tilted his head as if she were a child who’d proposed an outlandish idea. “Premieress, do you mean to attack the Crimson Keep, despite assertions that doing so would be a fool’s errand? And with only one hundred and fifty men?”

  Lilly bit back her impulse to match his attitude with one of her own. “I mean to give Magnus his chance to end Kahn’s rule once and for all.”

  General Tolomus scoffed. “Even if you could reach the Crimson Keep with so few warriors, how is one Sobek going to defeat a Dragon? Avian himself couldn’t do it, and he had the Calios.”

  “Lumen revealed the location of the Dragon’s Breath sword to Magnus.” Lilly recognized that if her father had given the order, he wouldn’t have had to explain any of this. General Tolomus would’ve just obeyed. She continued, “It’s a legendary blade capable of piercing Dragon scales. It lies somewhere in the Desert of the Forgotten.”

  General Tolomus’s eyes narrowed. “You wish to head to Reptilius by way of that desert? Premieress, it is a barren, desolate wasteland littered with savage beasts and Wolf tribes who would just as soon eat you as rob you.”

  “It’s also the most direct route to Reptilius. As for the bandits, that is why I require one third of our army.” Lilly smiled at Condor, who stood within a few paces of General Tolomus. “And my Royal Guard, of course.”

  “And who will command this army?” General Tolomus stopped short of sneering at her, but she could tell he wanted to. “With respect, Premieress, someone with more tactical experience than yourself ought to accompany you to provide counsel.”

  “I fully agree.” Lilly shifted her smile to General Tolomus, who’d unwittingly played right into her hands. “You will join us and command the soldiers who accompany us. General Balena will remain with the rest of the army to protect our people here.”

  General Tolomus’s nostrils flared, and his jaw tightened. He stole a glance at General Balena, who nodded. “By your command, Premieress.”

  “Divide the army at your leisure, but ensure that those who accompany us have the resolve to complete the journey. Let the remaining forces rest here with our people.”

  “At once.” General Tolomus grumbled and hovered over to General Balena.

  “Lilly?”

  She turned her head and found Riley towering next to her. She still wasn’t used to having to look up at him since he’d changed into a Werewolf.

  His voice flattened. “Er—Premieress?”

  “Yes, Riley?” She smiled at him.

  He held out the Aerostone, glowing yellow as it had before, for her to take.

  Her smile widened. “Honestly, I hadn’t expected to see this again.”

  “I couldn’t let it disappear after every remaining Windgale in your realm got their chance to touch it,” Riley said. “Besides, I figure you’ll need it the next time a Windgale parent has a baby.”

  Lilly chuckled. “Well, maybe not too soon after they’re born. I wouldn’t want any Windgale babies to float away while their parents weren’t looking.”

  Riley smirked, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Instead, a somberness lingered there that Lilly didn’t quite understand.

  “Anyway, I also realized, accidentally, that it doesn’t just make Windgales into Wisps,” he said.

  Lilly tilted her head. “What else does it do?”

  He held his hand out, and she placed the Aerostone back in his hand. Then, without warning, he lifted off his feet and hovered a yard off the ground.

  Lilly gawked at him. “You’re kidding!”

  Riley’s smirk returned, but this time, it was more genuine. Apparently, flight had that effect on people—especially when they couldn’t normally fly.

  “Not unless you can see strings attached to me.”

  “How high can you go?”

  Riley glanced around. “High enough. I tested it out a bit on my own, but I wanted to keep it quiet. After all, a flying Werewolf is pretty much everyone’s worst nightmare come to life,” he quipped. “In the end, I decided I don’t like flying all that much. I prefer to have my feet on solid ground.”

  With those words, he landed again and handed the Aerostone back to her.

  Lilly couldn’t imagine living her life without the ability to fly, especially after having that power stripped from her during most of her time in Roderick’s captivity, but everyone was created differently.

  “Thank you,” she said to him as she slipped the Aerostone back into the pouch on her hip. “I really appreciate it.”

  “I also wanted to warn you of something.” That somber quality returned to Riley’s eyes. “A third of the army won’t be enough. The desert is home to more than just my canine brethren. There are other things there, other dangers. General Tolomus was right to express his concern.”

  Lilly studied him. In the whirlwind of everything else that had happened in the last few days, she hadn’t even thought to get his insight on how they should plan for their venture into the desert. “What should we expect?”

  “You should expect to die,” Riley replied, his voice flat. “Or at least to lose half of your forces trying to cross to Reptilius. The bigger our party, the more unwanted attention we’ll attract.”

  “So you’re saying we should travel to the desert in a smaller group?”

  “Yes. We can more easily conceal twenty of us than a hundred and fifty.”

  Lilly wondered at his suggestion. “But if we encounter danger, won’t more soldiers stand a better chance against whatever is out there?”

  Riley raised a lupine eyebrow. “Perhaps, but only because there will be more of us to kill.”

  “What do you mean? What’s out there?”

  Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Surely you’ve heard the rumors.”

  Lilly shook her head. “Enlighten me.”

  “Over the past several decades, a new threat has infected the desert. Horrific creatures, bearing the shape of Wolves but lacking in anything resembling a soul, have claimed more and more of the desert. We call them Wargs,” Riley said. “They’re monsters. Overgrown, mangy, vicious and brutal beyond anything you’d see from even the most enraged Wolf.”

  “They’re like the Dactyls we fought back at the Central Lake,” Condor piped in.

  Both Lilly and Riley turned toward him. Lilly asked, “Another piece of secret knowledge from your time as the Captain of the Guard?”

  Condor shook his head, and his smirk faded. “No. I learned of them from my time enslaved in the Blood Chasm. They killed many of us there.” Condor stared off into the distance. “Too many.”

  “They primarily emerge at sundown, but when I left the desert a year ago, they’d begun to venture out in the daylight. Even the strongest of the Wolves avoid them.”

  “Riley’s right.” Condor nodded, and his smirk returned. “Every nightfall in the Blood Chasm, the Wargs emerged from the various caves and crevices and
pursued us. We only found safety—if you could call it that—within the walls of Oren’s fortress, and that’s only because they couldn’t get in. No opposable thumbs to open doors, and all that.”

  “When we were there, none of them bothered us.” Lilly turned to Riley. “Didn’t you pick up their scent?”

  “That’s part of what makes them so dangerous. Unlike Dactyls, they give off almost no scent whatsoever.” Riley shrugged. “I don’t have the slightest idea why, but they just don’t. Wolves rely on their sense of smell for everything, but even a Werewolf like me can’t smell one of them until it’s almost too late.”

  Lilly weighed Riley’s warnings and Condor’s experiences in her mind. “You’re saying these Wargs now occupy the desert?”

  “A lot of it.” Riley nodded. “Not all of it, but the Wolves have been avoiding them for years. It got so bad that about four years ago, we had to start actively resisting them and fighting back. The numbers were in our favor then, but even so, all we succeeded in doing was holding them at bay.”

  A moment of quiet contemplation lingered between them.

  “None of this changes what we must do,” Lilly finally said. “General Tolomus was right—if my father couldn’t defeat Kahn with the Calios, I can’t possibly hope to defeat him either. But if Magnus can get the Dragon’s Breath, we have a chance. And if we intend to join with Lumen in his quest to overthrow the King, we need Reptilius’s strength.”

  Riley sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  “You don’t have to come along, Riley,” Lilly said. “I can’t make you.”

  “I’m bound to you by the Law of Debt just as you’re bound to me. We’re in this together no matter what.” A low growl emanated from Riley’s throat. “So I’m coming. I just want you to be aware of what we’ll be up against.”

  Lilly smiled. “I’m honored to have your support. The question still remains—do we take a large force or a small force with us?”

  “Our numbers at the Blood Chasm didn’t matter,” Condor said. “The Wargs came every night either way. As was suggested, a small force may escape notice easier, but a large force would better defend against enemies should we encounter them.