Page 96

Rurik roared, unleashing hate-filled fire in front of him as he flew.They descaled Mahesh!They forced Rurik’s hand, made him kill his own kind in mercy.

A blinding rage Rurik had never experienced to such a high degree clutched him by the throat.Vile abominations! Sick, twisted, demented creatures!

And he’d almost allowed them to capture him.

He released another roar, feeling pain around his throat and arm as well as his tail. Blood dripped from him, and Rurik vented his anger to the sky because he had no idea how else to do so. It wasn’t fleeting. It didn’t fade, but instead grew inside him as he flew to his lair.

It was building, his body visibly shaking with it. He wanted to turn back and maim the Witches. He wanted to strike Strolguil down for what they had done, what he had seen they were doing to his own kind.

Rurik needed to kill, to vent this horrible bloodlust that filled his chest, but he couldn’t go back to do it to the people who deserved it.

I am running away like a fucking coward!The only Witch Rurik had ever run from was Strolguil, and knowing that made his scales puff around his head.

Infuriated with himself because he hadn’t been strong enough to defeat them, he also felt undeniable shame.

Amalia sat by the entrance of the cave waiting for any sign of Rurik.

He has to return. He cannot leave me to face the world alone.

She didn’t want him to die.

Her heart hadn’t settled since he left, and she was too worried for him to be able to sleep. She’d been unable to eat, unable to read, unable to do anything else than to wait for him.

Her focus constantly switched between watching the night sky for the Dragon and staring at the ward, praying to whichever Gods may be listening for it not to fall.

Please do not fall. Please do not tell me he is dead.

Her head turned so she could cuddle into the nook of her knees while she hugged her legs, biting back the urge to cry. She feared if she let a single tear fall that it would be the reason he died, as if her sadness and lack of faith in him were what might get him killed.

I care for him. He is not allowed to leave me.

He was her friend, her companion.

She shook her head, taking in a deep breath before she looked back up to the sky, determined to see him.

The moon was waning, only half full and barely shedding light over his lands.

It was well into the night when she finally saw a shadow cross over it. She could tell it was a Dragon by the shape when it flew over that light as it headed away. Then it turned, banking to the left until it was heading straight for the cave entrance.

She didn’t even have time to get out of the way before he flew over the top of her and into his lair.

Relief washed over Amalia, and she scrambled to her feet to chase after him. She ran down the tunnel and watched him land in the main room of the cave.

When he set his four paws down, one gave in. He tripped forward, righting himself before he shook his head.

“You are alive!” she shouted with obvious relief. “I was so worried.”

“Stay back!”

Her footsteps slowed.

It was only when she entered the space that she could hear him snarling and see he was digging his claws into the ground in fury. She paused when she noticed his whole body was quaking as he shook his head again.

Something is wrong.She was just about to take a step forward when he roared, but it wasn’t like how he usually did.

No, Rurik let loose such a bellowing, bone-chilling shout that he stood on his hindlegs at the power of it to release it against the ceiling. His forepaws were clenched into fists, showing her just how much force he used, before flames followed behind it, covering the rocky ceiling with fire and heat that made her step back with a gasp.

It startled her, but she wasn’t afraid of him or his fire, knowing he would never unleash it on her. However, it still made her skin pale and sweat at the sight of it.