Page 13

13

DAIN

R hogar’s voice splits the night.

“Purna!”

The word rips through the camp like a battle cry, like an execution order.

For a second, the world holds its breath. Then, everything erupts.

Gargoyles move, some stumbling back in disgust, others rising with dark interest. Their gazes shifts, locking onto Liora as if she has just become something more than prey.

Something to be destroyed.

Liora presses back against the rock, eyes wide, breath unsteady, her pulse hammering so loud I can hear it from across the fire. The glow from her magic still flickers faintly at her fingertips, uncontrolled, untrained. She doesn’t understand what she’s just done.

But they do.

Rhogar turns toward her, his face twisting into something ugly. He steps forward, claws flexing, voice low and brimming with fury. “You should be dead.”

She flinches, but she doesn’t look away.

Something sharp coils in my heart.

I stand.

The motion draws attention.

Rhogar’s head snaps to me, confusion flickering through his rage. “Dain,” he sneers. “Step aside. Unless you suddenly have a weakness for filth.”

I don’t speak.

I step forward, putting myself between them.

Rhogar’s expression shifts from confusion to understanding. Then to something worse.

The gathered gargoyles stiffen.

Someone mutters under their breath. Another growls low, rumbling, waiting.

Rhogar exhales a slow, dark chuckle. “I see.” His molten eye gleams in the firelight, his lips curling into something cruel. “You were always good at tearing things apart, weren’t you? I hear from the others.” He tilts his head. “But now you defend her?”

Liora stares at me, silent, her breathing sharp, uneven.

I do not look at her.

I look at him.

“Step away,” I warn. My voice is quiet, deadly.

Rhogar laughs.

“Do you hear that?” he calls to the others, arms spreading wide. “The Stone Tyrant has found himself a pet.”

A ripple of dark amusement spreads through the gathered warriors. Some look entertained. Others look furious.

One of them moves.

A smaller gargoyle, fast, eager, too young to be careful. He lunges, claws reaching for Liora’s throat.

I strike before he touches her.

My claws tear through his chest, my body moving before my mind, instinct outweighing hesitation. Bone cracks beneath my grip, his blood hot against my skin.

He makes a choked sound, eyes wide in shock, in betrayal.

I do not let go.

I rip him apart.

The body drops, the stench of blood heavy in the cold night air.

The silence that follows is thick.

Liora trembles behind me.

Rhogar’s smirk is gone. His tail lashes once, slow, calculating.

“You’ve made your choice,” he murmurs.

I already know what comes next.

Rhogar moves first.

He closes the space between us in a heartbeat, claws slashing for my throat. I barely shift in time, his strike grazing my jaw, the sting immediate, sharp.

I counter, slamming my fist into his ribs, twisting. The impact cracks against bone, but he doesn’t slow.

We collide, wings flaring, claws tearing through stone and flesh.

The others don’t interfere.

They watch.

Waiting to see who bleeds first.

Rhogar fights like a war-forged beast, brutal, unrelenting, his strikes carrying more than just rage, more than just betrayal. He wants me dead.

I block one hit, but the second lands, claws raking deep into my side.

Pain flares.

Liora gasps.

I snarl, ignoring the burn, slamming my head into his, using my body to throw him off balance. He stumbles, but he doesn’t fall. Not yet.

He spits blood, grinning. “All this for a Purna whore?”

The words ignite something in me.

I lunge, sinking my claws into his throat, squeezing.

His eyes widen. For a moment, the world narrows to just this.

His blood drips between my fingers, his pulse struggling beneath my grip.

The others shift, waiting.

Kill him.

I should. But Liora moves.

Her hand brushes my arm—just barely, just a whisper of contact, but it’s enough.

Magic flickers. Soft, weak, but there. She’s losing control. Instead of helping, she’s adding to the injury!

It pulls at something inside me.

I falter.

Rhogar takes the opening.

He slams his knee into my ribs, claws tearing against my wounded side, twisting.

Agony bursts through me. My wings falter, my body sways.

Another moves, a second gargoyle, lunging, aiming for Liora.

I react without thinking.

I throw her into my arms, wings snapping wide.

The wind rushes against my skin, pulling me up, dragging us both into the night.

Below, Rhogar shouts my name like a curse.

“Betrayer!”

The others take up the cry, their roars shaking the mountains, their rage a storm of hatred and bloodlust.

I don’t stop. I don’t look back.

Liora’s hands clutch at my shoulders, her breath uneven, her body trembling against mine.

I don’t let go.

The sky swallows us whole.