Page 185 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

The Striker’s claws gouged the ground as it prowled forward, its rider moving in perfect sync with it. The man’s steps were precise, mirroring the dragon’s movements as if they were one mind. The Striker’s sharp tail twitched, and I knew what that meant—one strike from that barbed whip could pierce dragon scales or cut through armor like parchment.

“We can’t let it separate us,” Zander called. “Tighten the circle!”

We shifted, our squad forming a ring with our dragons around us, blades drawn and ready. The Blood Fae advanced in unison, their dragons pacing like wolves waiting for a weakness to exploit.

“I haven’t practiced this,” I murmured to Kaelith, feeling the weight of my rapier in my hand.

Trust me. You fight with me, not against me,Kaelith said, her voice unwavering.We will move together.

The Striker’s tail flicked, and the rider lunged.

“Move!” Zander barked.

Kaelith surged forward in tandem with me, her body twisting to intercept the blow. The Striker’s barbed tail lashed out, but Kaelith’s scales hardened, and the blade-like tip skittered off her shoulder. The rider slashed low, aiming for my legs, but I pivoted with Kaelith, using her bulk as both cover and shield. My rapier darted out, catching the rider’s side and drawing blood.

He hissed, his face twisting in rage. “You’ll bleed for that.”

“I’m waiting,” I shot back.

The Striker lunged again, but Kaelith met it head-on. Her powerful tail whipped out, slamming into the smaller dragon’s ribs. The beast staggered back, snarling, and its rider stumbled with it.

“Circle it!” Zander ordered.

Tae and Kaila flanked the Striker from either side, their dragons mirroring their movements. The Blood Fae rider tried to retreat, but Kaelith wasn’t giving him that chance.

Now,Kaelith whispered in my mind.

I lunged beneath her wing, rapier flashing as I slashed low. The Blood Fae dodged, but his dragon couldn’t. My blade caught the Striker’s front leg, slashing deep.

It shrieked, and in the same breath, Kaelith’s powerful claws raked across the rider’s chest. He dropped to his knees, gasping.

I didn’t hesitate.

I pressed the tip of my blade against his throat.

“Tell me why you’re after me,” I demanded.

The Blood Fae’s voice twisted in my mind like smoke curling through cracks. His eyes gleamed, dark and unnatural.

“You have been chosen,” he said, lips curling into something between a grin and a sneer. “You are the instrument of the Blood King. The vessel.”

My rapier pressed harder against his throat. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” he hissed, gaze flickering to the other fae as they circled like wolves. “But the king has searched for you for hundreds of years.”

I scoffed. “I’m only twenty. That’s impossible.”

His lips twitched. “Your birth was preordained. You are not what you think.”

“Then what am I?”

Before he could answer, a pulse of crimson energy shot through the air. I ducked in time, rolling hard across the dirt as the blast scorched the space, I’d just been standing in. The heat of it stung my face, and when I turned back, the Blood Fae I’d pinned was gone, retreating into the shadows.

“Shit,” I swore, springing to my feet just as Tae and Kaila finished off one of the black Swordtails. The rider fell with a bone-rattling scream, clutching his chest as his body began to decay.

The Blood Fae swarmed us like smoke, flickering in and out of the shadows. Blades flashed and magic surged in the air as they struck from all sides.

I spun to parry an incoming blow, narrowly missing a dagger that shot toward my ribs. Kaelith’s growl vibrated the ground beneath me as she swiped her claws toward a nearby Blood Fae, tearing him down in a spray of blood and shadow. His dragon swayed back and forth before lying down on the ground.