The Shattered Crown by Maxym M. Martineau

Author:Maxym M. Martineau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2021-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Four

Leena

Taming the Vyprale was a relatively quick process, thanks largely to Oz’s role as bait. At first, he was as uncertain of how to behave as he was with women. Restless and fidgety, he couldn’t help but swipe at the gold paint covering his body, smearing it so badly we had to apply a second coat and reattach the vibrant, teal feathers dangling from his clothes. After that, it took nearly an hour of coaxing to get him to shimmy appropriately—a necessary tactic to draw the Vyprale’s eyes to the flashy feathers—and nearly twice as long for him to perform an acceptable birdcall. At one point, he attempted a “sexy” caw that had us all rolling on the ground in tears. But eventually, his antics worked, and the radiant beast had appeared. Oz had only suffered a few wounds, too, which I counted as a total success. The stories I’d heard of Charmers taming Vyprales almost always ended with missing limbs. But his ability to slink into the shadow realm at a moment’s notice made it possible for us to avoid that unfortunate outcome, and I was able to drop out of the sky atop Onyx and tame the confused Vyprale the second Oz disappeared.

And despite it all, he never complained.

“I think I need a drink,” he muttered for the tenth time since we’d returned to Veles. I only shook my head and smiled. He certainly deserved one, but we had more important things to worry about, like our impending return to Lendria. Maddox and Jayla had flown home ahead of us atop her beast to set everything in motion. Apparently, the moment Elianna caught sight of her daughter, she’d honored her deal and set Rhyne’s forces in motion. Ships were already readying in the harbor off the city by the time Noc, Calem, Oz, and I arrived, and troops had seemingly amassed out of nowhere. Their jade armor was intimidating. Instead of smooth lines hugging the shape of their bodies, the cuts of metal were sharp. Severe. As if their armor was a weapon in and of itself. They marched with deadly precision toward the waiting ships, and I was immediately thankful we’d gained such a promising ally.

We waited in the courtyard just inside the castle gates, while Jayla and Maddox circled above us. Her Vyprale was stunning and powerful. Its slender, snakelike body was covered in shimmery, reflective feathers that made it hard to look at directly. With a falcon’s head and lustrous mane that trailed the length of its form—not to mention a pair of wings that spanned the width of a decent-sized house—it was a beast of legend. And that was before it even unleashed its devastating attack. Channeling power from the sun, it stored energy in its wings and rained magic arrows down like hellfire on its prey.

I was only somewhat disappointed I hadn’t been able to keep the beast for myself. Large enough to fly several people at once, incredible strength… But it had to be done, and I had every faith Jayla would show it nothing but love and devotion.

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