Chapter 13: Decoy and Shadow
The wind whipped sharper over the bluff’s edge as the plan snapped into motion. Sera’s chest ached with every deep breath; the mine dust still lingered deep in her lungs, and the strain of wielding her Soul-Weave earlier left a faint, throbbing tremor in her bones. She pressed one palm to the leather pouch one last time, feeling the solid clink of the pedestal shards inside, before handing it carefully to the apprentice.
“Keep it pressed against your chest. Do not let it slip, no matter what happens,” she whispered.
The apprentice’s fingers closed tight around the pouch, his knuckles pale. He nodded once, a small, terrified promise.
Kaelen guided Shade close to the rock, the shadow dragon lowering his broad back so the apprentice could climb aboard. “Crouch low against his scales. Stay hidden behind his wing. We fly tight to the treetops, no higher. The canopy will mask our outline from riders overhead.”
Zephyr dipped his golden head beside them, his gaze locked on Sera. *I will stay alongside Shade. We will weave through the forest canopy, hidden from the circling riders. Once we reach the watchtower, we will hand over the witness and proof.*
*Be careful.* Sera sent the thought to him, her bond thrumming with quiet fear. She hated splitting from him, hated being separated from the anchor that had kept her alive this long. But she knew this was the only way.
The two cadets fell into place beside Sera, swords drawn. They were the decoy party: three people on foot, visible and unprotected, meant to pull Hale’s riders away from the dragons carrying the truth.
Kaelen swung himself back onto Shade’s neck. “We will split here. If we are separated, the watchtower is the rendezvous point. If you are cornered, do not fight to the death. Survive.”
With that, Shade spread his dark wings and pushed off the stone. Zephyr followed close on his heels, both dragons dropping down fast, sinking beneath the pine canopy. Their great wings barely grazed the tops of the trees, vanishing from sight in an instant, carrying the apprentice and the vital stone fragments away.
Deep within the pine forest, the world dimmed. Shade’s wings sliced silently through the mist between treetops. The apprentice clung tight to his scales, the pouch crushed between his chest and the dragon’s warm hide. He dared not make a sound, eyes squeezed shut as branches brushed past them. Zephyr flew on their left, golden scales dimmed in the forest shade, constantly scanning the sky above for any circling rider.
Back on the ridge, Sera turned toward the west, gesturing to the two cadets. “Now. We run. Make sure they see us.”
They sprinted along the exposed rocky ridgeline, boots pounding over loose stone. Gravel skittered down the steep slope beside them. Sera kept her pace steady, forcing herself not to slow even when her lungs burned and a cough threatened to tear free. She did not need to look up to know the enemy riders had spotted their movement.
A horn blared overhead.
Three dark dragon shapes peeled away from their patrol, angling down toward the ridge. The riders leaned forward in their saddles, shouting commands to one another.
“They’re coming,” one cadet gasped, glancing over his shoulder.
“Keep running,” Sera ordered. “We lead them west, away from the eastern path toward the watchtower.”
They veered along the ridgeline, staying out in the open, making their trail obvious. The dragons swooped low, their massive shadows swallowing the ground around Sera and the cadets. The wind of their passage howled, whipping Sera’s hair across her face. Violet light flickered on the wands held by the enemy riders, ready to unleash severance weave at any moment.
One rider called down from his dragon’s back. “Halt! Surrender, and you will not be crushed beneath our claws!”
Sera ignored the cry. She knew what they were thinking. The riders could not tell at a glance whether the stone fragments and prisoner were with her or elsewhere. Until they captured her and questioned her, they could not risk letting her escape. That uncertainty was their only advantage.
Her eyes scanned the slope ahead, searching for a place they could buy a little more time. Up ahead, a jumble of large boulders formed a tangled rock field, a natural maze where the huge dragons could not land easily.
“Toward those boulders!” she shouted. “We take cover there.”
They sprinted into the maze of stone, ducking and weaving between massive grey boulders. The dragons could not follow them into the narrow gaps, forced to circle overhead, their riders leaning down to track their movement between the rocks.
The lead rider’s wand flared violet. A severance thread snaked down from above, homing in on Sera’s Soul-Weave. Even separated from Zephyr, the bond still hummed, a beacon for the magic.
Sera ducked behind a boulder, the purple thread slamming into the rock beside her. Stone splinters exploded outward. The blast’s shockwave rolled over her, sending a fresh flare of pain through her chest. She doubled over, a harsh rattling cough breaking free, tasting copper at the back of her throat.
The second cadet pulled her upright. “We can’t stay here. They will circle around and cut us off.”
Sera wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her vision swimming for a heartbeat. She forced herself to refocus. “We keep moving through the rock field. Keep drawing their eyes on us. Every minute we hold, Zephyr and Shade get closer.”
Far below the ridgeline, Zephyr and Shade continued their silent flight. A stray patrol dragon passed high overhead, unaware of the two dragons hidden beneath the treetops. The apprentice held his breath, his fingers locked around the leather pouch.
Back in the boulder maze, the enemy riders were not only relying on magic. One dragon dropped low, its rider drawing a heavy iron spear, aiming to strike whenever Sera or the cadets stepped out from behind cover.
A cadet darted from behind one boulder to another, and the spear whistled through the air, narrowly missing his shoulder. The iron point buried itself deep in a stone block with a dull thud.
Sera’s mind strained, trying to reach Zephyr through the bond. She could feel him, faint and distant, flying fast through the trees alongside Shade. No sign of pursuit on their end, not yet. Relief flickered through her, brief and fragile.
Then a new horn sounded, farther along the ridge.
Sera froze.
Another pair of dragon riders rounded the mountain bend. Hale had stationed reserve riders along this entire ridgeline, ready to intercept any escape route. They had reinforcements for the decoy chase.
“We have more coming,” the second cadet warned.
Sera’s heart sank. They had drawn far more attention than they had anticipated. What was meant to be a simple distraction had turned into a deadly hunt. Still, she could not stop running. If she and the cadets surrendered now, all of Zephyr and Shade’s mission would be for nothing.
“Deeper into the boulder field,” she said, gripping the hilt of her sword. “We keep running. We keep fighting.”
The divide between the two groups widened, and the danger on both sides grew heavier by the second.
**— End of Chapter 13 —**
“Keep it pressed against your chest. Do not let it slip, no matter what happens,” she whispered.
The apprentice’s fingers closed tight around the pouch, his knuckles pale. He nodded once, a small, terrified promise.
Kaelen guided Shade close to the rock, the shadow dragon lowering his broad back so the apprentice could climb aboard. “Crouch low against his scales. Stay hidden behind his wing. We fly tight to the treetops, no higher. The canopy will mask our outline from riders overhead.”
Zephyr dipped his golden head beside them, his gaze locked on Sera. *I will stay alongside Shade. We will weave through the forest canopy, hidden from the circling riders. Once we reach the watchtower, we will hand over the witness and proof.*
*Be careful.* Sera sent the thought to him, her bond thrumming with quiet fear. She hated splitting from him, hated being separated from the anchor that had kept her alive this long. But she knew this was the only way.
The two cadets fell into place beside Sera, swords drawn. They were the decoy party: three people on foot, visible and unprotected, meant to pull Hale’s riders away from the dragons carrying the truth.
Kaelen swung himself back onto Shade’s neck. “We will split here. If we are separated, the watchtower is the rendezvous point. If you are cornered, do not fight to the death. Survive.”
With that, Shade spread his dark wings and pushed off the stone. Zephyr followed close on his heels, both dragons dropping down fast, sinking beneath the pine canopy. Their great wings barely grazed the tops of the trees, vanishing from sight in an instant, carrying the apprentice and the vital stone fragments away.
Deep within the pine forest, the world dimmed. Shade’s wings sliced silently through the mist between treetops. The apprentice clung tight to his scales, the pouch crushed between his chest and the dragon’s warm hide. He dared not make a sound, eyes squeezed shut as branches brushed past them. Zephyr flew on their left, golden scales dimmed in the forest shade, constantly scanning the sky above for any circling rider.
Back on the ridge, Sera turned toward the west, gesturing to the two cadets. “Now. We run. Make sure they see us.”
They sprinted along the exposed rocky ridgeline, boots pounding over loose stone. Gravel skittered down the steep slope beside them. Sera kept her pace steady, forcing herself not to slow even when her lungs burned and a cough threatened to tear free. She did not need to look up to know the enemy riders had spotted their movement.
A horn blared overhead.
Three dark dragon shapes peeled away from their patrol, angling down toward the ridge. The riders leaned forward in their saddles, shouting commands to one another.
“They’re coming,” one cadet gasped, glancing over his shoulder.
“Keep running,” Sera ordered. “We lead them west, away from the eastern path toward the watchtower.”
They veered along the ridgeline, staying out in the open, making their trail obvious. The dragons swooped low, their massive shadows swallowing the ground around Sera and the cadets. The wind of their passage howled, whipping Sera’s hair across her face. Violet light flickered on the wands held by the enemy riders, ready to unleash severance weave at any moment.
One rider called down from his dragon’s back. “Halt! Surrender, and you will not be crushed beneath our claws!”
Sera ignored the cry. She knew what they were thinking. The riders could not tell at a glance whether the stone fragments and prisoner were with her or elsewhere. Until they captured her and questioned her, they could not risk letting her escape. That uncertainty was their only advantage.
Her eyes scanned the slope ahead, searching for a place they could buy a little more time. Up ahead, a jumble of large boulders formed a tangled rock field, a natural maze where the huge dragons could not land easily.
“Toward those boulders!” she shouted. “We take cover there.”
They sprinted into the maze of stone, ducking and weaving between massive grey boulders. The dragons could not follow them into the narrow gaps, forced to circle overhead, their riders leaning down to track their movement between the rocks.
The lead rider’s wand flared violet. A severance thread snaked down from above, homing in on Sera’s Soul-Weave. Even separated from Zephyr, the bond still hummed, a beacon for the magic.
Sera ducked behind a boulder, the purple thread slamming into the rock beside her. Stone splinters exploded outward. The blast’s shockwave rolled over her, sending a fresh flare of pain through her chest. She doubled over, a harsh rattling cough breaking free, tasting copper at the back of her throat.
The second cadet pulled her upright. “We can’t stay here. They will circle around and cut us off.”
Sera wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her vision swimming for a heartbeat. She forced herself to refocus. “We keep moving through the rock field. Keep drawing their eyes on us. Every minute we hold, Zephyr and Shade get closer.”
Far below the ridgeline, Zephyr and Shade continued their silent flight. A stray patrol dragon passed high overhead, unaware of the two dragons hidden beneath the treetops. The apprentice held his breath, his fingers locked around the leather pouch.
Back in the boulder maze, the enemy riders were not only relying on magic. One dragon dropped low, its rider drawing a heavy iron spear, aiming to strike whenever Sera or the cadets stepped out from behind cover.
A cadet darted from behind one boulder to another, and the spear whistled through the air, narrowly missing his shoulder. The iron point buried itself deep in a stone block with a dull thud.
Sera’s mind strained, trying to reach Zephyr through the bond. She could feel him, faint and distant, flying fast through the trees alongside Shade. No sign of pursuit on their end, not yet. Relief flickered through her, brief and fragile.
Then a new horn sounded, farther along the ridge.
Sera froze.
Another pair of dragon riders rounded the mountain bend. Hale had stationed reserve riders along this entire ridgeline, ready to intercept any escape route. They had reinforcements for the decoy chase.
“We have more coming,” the second cadet warned.
Sera’s heart sank. They had drawn far more attention than they had anticipated. What was meant to be a simple distraction had turned into a deadly hunt. Still, she could not stop running. If she and the cadets surrendered now, all of Zephyr and Shade’s mission would be for nothing.
“Deeper into the boulder field,” she said, gripping the hilt of her sword. “We keep running. We keep fighting.”
The divide between the two groups widened, and the danger on both sides grew heavier by the second.
**— End of Chapter 13 —**
