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“No!” I shouted, but it wasn’t my voice anymore. The word was thick, garbled by smolder and ash in my mouth. I shook my head, watching in horror as he charged me, his blade glinting.

My body burst. Ripped free of my clothes in a blinding flash of light.

Shock crossed his face as he brought his sword down, descending toward me for a deathblow.

I inhaled deep from within my contracting lungs and blew out a river of flame.

Arkin was right. There were many dangerous things in these woods.

I just never realized that I could be one of them.

20

Fell

TAMSYN HAD BEEN GONE FOR A WHILE. TOO LONG. Ididn’t like her being out of my sight. I told myself it was about being in control, about safety, about knowing where everyone was at all times: my warriors and now... Tamsyn. She was no warrior. Obviously, she should be monitored for her own protection.

Of course, it was more than that. More than I was willing to admit to myself. The feeling was different and unfamiliar, like the fit of a new sword, the grip strange in my hand.

When I returned from watering the horses, Mari pointed in the direction Tamsyn had gone, and I set off, following her meandering tracks, easy enough to find in ground still moist from the recent rain. I shook my head as they went deeper and deeper into the dense forest. She should not have strayed this far. My frustration with her was tempered by my own sense of responsibility for not keeping a more vigilant eye on her.

I crouched low, assessing, touching the freshly broken ground as another set of tracks joined hers. They belonged to a man. Blood rushed to my head. I unsheathed my sword as I stood and wildly glanced around. Heart pounding, I increased my pace, jogging lightly on booted feet, stealthily, circling and following tracks that suddenly became wild and abundant on the forest floor. Were they... running?

I resisted the urge to call out for her. I didn’t know who else was out here with her, but I didn’t need to alert them that I was on their trail.

That goal fled at her first scream.

Squawking birds bolted from their branches.

I started in one direction, my ears straining, detecting distant cries. The sounds of struggle. Thuds. Grunts. Flesh striking flesh.

Bitter saliva coated my tongue, flooding my mouth. I paused, swinging around, sword poised, roaring her name.

She did not respond. Instead, there was a man’s bellow, followed by an eruption of light from the trees to my right. An explosion. I lunged that way, smelling smoke as my sword cut through moss and foliage until I pulled up at the sight of a charred and smoldering body motionless on the ground.

I gagged at the overwhelming stench of scorched flesh. I was accustomed to the trappings of battle in all its forms. I knew the odor, but it did not make it any less offensive. I surged forward, examining the body. My chest deflated with a breath of relief.Not her.Not Tamsyn. The words reverberated through me in a comforting mantra.

I peered intently at the smoking corpse. The bulk of the damage was to the face and upper body. Hair and skin were gone, revealing only widespread patches of white and blackened tissue, but it was a man. My gaze trailed down the rest of the body.

His legs and boots were still identifiable.Recognizable.I knew those boots. My gaze went to his sword beside him. I knew the sword as well.

Arkin.

My chest sank. What was he doing out here?Dead?Had he followed her? What happened to him? And where was Tamsyn? Had the bandits followed us and decided to claim her anyway? Or was this the work of something else?

I circled sharply, muscles taut and ready to spring as I searched for her, for an attacker who had done this...

My heart seized in my chest when I spotted scraps of Tamsyn’s clothing littering the ground. The familiar fabric of her riding skirt. The blue shredded bits of her cloak.

“Tamsyn!” I roared, acrid panic eating its way up my throat.

A branch creaked and groaned. Leaves rustled, several falling, raining over me.

My gaze shot up, searching the tree, colliding with a pair of eyes. I went cold beneath their searing regard. Dark vertical pupils flickered and shifted, snakelike, following my movements warily as I withdrew my bow and pulled an arrow from my quiver.

The beast moved, and the branch splintered under its weight. It emerged from the tree, the color of flame, and dropped, all twenty feet of it catching itself on the air, its great shuddering wings unfurling with a snap around its lithe form, creating a gust of current that lifted the hair off my shoulders.

Dragon.