Page 26

Movement caught his eye, and he pulled out a short sword from his belt with his left hand when he spotted two Lorne soldiers climbing aboard. Arrik attacked, each movement made with brutal efficiency until he was the only one standing.

His gaze once again sought the fierce beauty.

It was a pity she was fighting on the wrong side.

There was a spirit to her—a savagery—that he wanted to experience, tame. His gut clenched as she fought off his men, slowly losing ground. Arrik cursed himself and wiped more rainwater from his eyes. Savage beauty or not, she was the enemy. There was no room for compromise.

The Rider and her dragon managed to take out another half-dozen of his soldiers when a bolt grazed her shoulder, causing her to drop her bow. She had no other weapons, and her dragon could only claw and bite so many soldiers at once. The beast took to the air.

“Don’t let her escape!” Arrik commanded, numbness starting to invade his senses once again. They couldn’t allow her to get out of range. Even so, he found himself hoping that they’d make a clean getaway.

The pair was the stuff of legends. They deserved to live.

Several different crossbows aimed at the dragon and its ferocious rider.

Impassively, he watched as the bolts went whistling through the air, chasing the near-invisible creature as it tried its damnedest to get away.

Three.

Two.

One.

One of the bolts hit true.

The creature screamed in agony and crumpled, plummeting from the sky.

A flicker of guilt and sadness moved through Arrik as the dragon and Rider hit the tumultuous sea with a crash that should have been deafening but was instead swallowed by the sound of the storm all around them.

He stared at the waves for a moment, willing them to break the surface.

They didn’t.

More deaths to be laid at his feet.

Arrik locked his feelings away. His thoughts were dangerous. He only had one purpose. Bring the isles to their knees. To succeed, he needed to become the beast his father championed. A conqueror without mercy.

Nobody was spared in war.

9

Wren

She screamed as Aurora shrieked and then plummeted toward the ocean.

This was it.

The thrashing unforgiving sea rushed toward them and Wren closed her eyes.

The impacthurt.

She clung to Aurora as they tumbled in the dark water. Wren opened her eyes, trying to discern which way was up and pressed her heels gently into her dragon’s side.

Aurora didn’t respond.

No.

Wren used her dragon’s frill to heave herself over Aurora’s head. She spun, pushing her tangled hair out of her face as she reached for her dragon’s snout. Aurora’s eyes were wide and glassy; nothing remained behind them.