Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Ride the Wave: Chapter 30

As my dragons soared over the peaks of the mountains, the valley beyond it came into view, and with it, our army. It was the day of the Fall Equinox, and hundreds of men and women had come to fight for our cause. I was honored by their bravery and their belief in us, but also felt the heavy weight of their lives hanging over my head. I was responsible for all of them and would mourn every life lost in my name.

On the eastern side, Onyx Army soldiers were assembled, their scaled black armor decorated with the yellow markings on their shoulders that meant they were from the Air Realm. Mixed in with them were others in golden armor with the symbol of House Killian on their chest, representing the royal guard. The King had truly come through for us, and by sending his troops he was showing the world he stood with us against the Dragons. If we failed today, it would likely mean the end of his reign.

To the west, a more ragtag group of men and women had gathered, which I assumed was a combination of the Resistance, the Assassin’s Guild, and Cadock’s people. They wore common clothes and whatever armor and weapons they possessed. Some were bandits. Some were farmers. Some were assassins. Many were seasoned fighters, but many more were not. Yet they were all here, willing to fight for what they believed in. I prayed we weren’t sending them all to their deaths.

In the center, large tents had been set up, and that’s where we headed. Faces looked up at us and cheered or simply stared in awe as my four dragons flew overhead. As we descended, I heard shouts about the ascendants and cheers for the Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Citrine Dragons. The men might not love the names, but as Brin had said, they’d already stuck.

People backed away as my dragons landed, giving us space. I slid off Slade’s back and nodded at everyone. I wasn’t used to so much attention and didn’t particularly like it, but I had to get used to this sort of reception. I’d spent so much of my life hiding and running, sticking to the shadows and avoiding being noticed, but those days were over. Everything had changed now, and soon the entire world would know who I was, no matter the outcome of this battle.

While Brin and Leni dismounted, a man in gold armor stalked toward us. I immediately recognized him as one of Auric’s brothers, even though we’d never met before. He was ridiculously tall, even taller than Auric, and wasn’t lacking in muscles either, judging by the way he filled out his armor. But where Auric’s face was chiseled perfection, this man was plain, with blond hair cropped short, pale gray eyes, and a square jaw.

My dragons shifted to their human forms, sending a ripple of awe through the crowd, and Auric stepped forward. The two blond men clasped each other in a hug.

“Thanks for coming.” He turned toward me with a smile. “Kira, this is my brother, Garet. He leads the King’s Guard.”

“A pleasure, my lady,” Garet said, with an elegant bow.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

“Garet will be leading my father’s troops,” Auric said.

His brother nodded. “Yes, we have men and women from both the King’s Guard and the Air Realm’s Onyx Army division. We’re ready to serve however we can.”

“We appreciate your help,” I said.

Brin moved to our side with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Garet.”

The three nobles continued chatting, but my attention was drawn to another man approaching us. I walked toward him with a smile I couldn’t hide. “Cadock!”

The man I’d once considered my first love grasped me in a friendly hug before stepping back. He looked down at me with his bright blue eyes, while his tousled blond hair blew in the breeze. “You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”

I smiled but ignored the compliment. “I’m so happy you changed your mind about helping us.”

“I didn’t want to, but your man here is pretty persuasive,” Cadock said, nodding at Jasin, who’d come to stand beside us.

Jasin shook Cadock’s hand with a wry grin. “I did what I had to do.”

“How did you convince him in the end?” I asked. “I never got the whole story.”

Cadock smirked. “Jasin challenged me to a fight. If he won, I had to agree to support your cause.”

“And if you won?” I asked.

“He’d have to clean our outhouse for a week.”

“Don’t worry, there was no chance I was going to lose,” Jasin said.

Cadock chuckled. “So you say, but as I recall it came pretty close there at the end.”

I shook my head as they continued to joke around, and spotted Faya speaking to some people, including Slade’s sister, at the edge of the crowd. I made my way over to her with a frown. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Hello, Kira,” Faya said. “Of course I should be here. I’m the leader of the Resistance now.”

“You’re also pregnant,” I said.

“Only a few months,” Faya said, waving it away. “I’ll stay back during the fight, but I’m not going to send my people into battle without me. What kind of leader would I be?”

“And if the fighting reaches you?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine.” Faya touched the hilt of her sword. “I can still fight. And now I have another thing worth dying for—my child.”

Leni moved to Faya’s side. “Don’t worry. Brin and I will protect her with our lives.”

“I appreciate that,” I said.

“I don’t need protection,” Faya snapped, but then she sighed. “But I wouldn’t mind having two friends fight beside me.”

Cadock and Jasin strolled over. The bandit leader bowed before Faya, then took her hand and placed a kiss over her knuckles. “Why hello there. I’m Cadock, leader of the Thunder Chasers. You must be Faya. I’ve heard a great deal about you, but no one ever mentioned your beauty.”

Faya rolled her eyes. “Probably because they knew I’d cut them in half for speaking about me that way.”

A charming smile spread across Cadock’s face. “Beautiful and fierce. I love it.”

Reven caught my attention, bringing over an older woman with short, white hair and a tattoo of a dagger on her neck. She was dressed in all black, with a hooded cloak that didn’t conceal the numerous throwing knives at her waist. “Kira, this is Zara. She’ll be speaking for the Assassin’s Guild. She also helped train me when I first joined.”

“Is that so?” My eyebrows shot up. This was the first person I’d ever met from Reven’s past. “What was he like back then?”

Zara grinned. “Just as surly and brooding as he is now. A fine fighter though. I knew the moment we met that he was meant for something big. I had no idea it would be this though.”

“None of us expected anything like this,” I said. “We appreciate the help of the Assassin’s Guild.”

She shrugged. “We go where the coin is. And we’ve been promised a lot of it.”

“You’ll definitely be compensated,” I said. Assuming we made it through this alive.

Zara slapped Reven on the back. “We protect our own too. Reven is one of us, and now he’s a Dragon. We’ll do whatever we can to assist him.”

Reven looked surprised by this. “Thank you, Zara.”

“Don’t get too soppy on me,” Zara said with a grin. “We’re mostly here for the coin.”

“Of course,” I said.

Another familiar face emerged from the crowd. Calla, the High Priestess of the Fire God. She was a beautiful woman in her forties, with hair the color of straw, and she wore the red silk robe of her station. She started to bow before me, but I grabbed her in a hug instead.

“I’m so happy you’re okay,” I said. “Many of the other priests have been killed by the Dragons.”

“So I’ve heard,” Calla said, as she stepped back. “The Air Realm has been kind to us, although I do miss our home at the volcano. I pray we’ll be able to return to the Fire Temple once this is all over.”

“I hope so.” I chewed on my lower lip. “Although we’ve discovered everything is more complicated than we expected.”

I quickly told her about the Spirit Goddess and Nysa, hoping she had some advice for how to stop her.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Calla said. “But if anyone can stop her, it is you.”

“Do you think the Gods will truly help us?”

“I cannot say. Sometimes the things they do seem confusing to us, but later on they make sense. They see a much larger picture than we do.” She touched my cheek. “Have faith, Kira. You were destined for this, and you will succeed.”

Jasin raised his voice, drawing our attention. “If you’d all head inside the tent, we can get started working on our strategy for tomorrow’s battle.”

I drew in a steady breath as the gathered people stepped into the large command tent to begin preparations. Jasin and Auric had made some changes to our plan after Doran left, but they wanted to get the input of the other leaders too. I watched them all filter in through the tent flaps, and then I followed them inside.