Page 18 of Galadon (Dragon’s Breath #8)
Rayna
Rayna woke to new aches and pains that had her moaning before she opened her eyes. If she’d thought she was broken before, she was truly wrecked now. They’d smashed her bones, rendering most of her body unrecognizable. She was trying to be strong, especially with Galadon watching, but each day was getting more brutal than the last. How much longer could she go on like this?
Wishing she could escape her body, Rayna rolled onto her side. Her legs screamed at the movement as the crushed bones failed to support her change of position. It took her a moment to realize that she could move, but once she did, her eyes shot open.
No manacles covered her wrists anymore. Looking down, she found only one of her ankles had a cuff and chain attached. They hadn’t broken that one, and now she knew why. For the first time in a week, she was practically unbound. Except her body was so damaged that walking was out of the question, and even crawling felt overly ambitious. She started to rise onto her arms but paused in shock when she found a dagger beside her, glinting in the sunlight. How in the hell had that gotten there?
Horror filled Rayna as she realized its purpose. She twisted her body enough to locate Galadon, noting only his ankles—both unbroken—were chained to the ground ten feet away. With his legs smashed to a pulp like hers, he wasn’t going far, regardless. His deep, even breaths told her he hadn’t woken yet. She looked at her chains, coming to the terrifying conclusion that they would extend enough for her to reach him.
A few days ago, she would have used this opportunity to try getting one of them free. Instead, all her slayer instincts came rushing to the forefront, urging her to kill. Even her vision turned a hazy red, which was one of the last signs she was going to lose control.
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening now!
Rayna groaned as the primal part of her mind took control and forced her to grab the knife and edge toward him. The skin on her arms might have been cut in dozens of places, but the bones were intact. That was likely why the Kandoran had only broken their legs. They wanted to make movement difficult but not impossible—all for this last torment. She fought a battle within herself as she crossed each inch of space between herself and the shifter.
“Kill, kill, kill” kept running through her mind, and she had to keep reminding herself that she cared about him. That he mattered. Still, she couldn’t stop, gripping the blade in her hand tightly as she moved little by little. All Rayna could do was force herself to pause and take a few breaths now and then.
One moment she was scooting toward him, wanting to slit his throat. The next, she remembered him carrying her to safety when he found her dying and how he’d been so gentle with her broken body. That memory gave her a precious minute before murderous rage took hold again.
Rayna didn’t see the man as she scooted a couple more inches toward him, using her arms to drag the rest of her body as the chain clinked behind her. She saw a dragon. They were a menace to humans and needed to be eradicated—nothing else mattered.
Pain shot through her as she jarred her crushed legs. She used that distraction to remember how Galadon held her whenever he flew her somewhere. It didn’t matter if he was annoyed because it always felt right and possessive, as if he was claiming her for himself, even though he’d never admit it. She’d felt the special connection between them each time they flew, and she suspected he did as well. It likely drove him crazy. Despite that, he always handled her like a fragile doll, no matter how much she taunted him. It was part of what endeared him to her. He was the strongest and bravest man she knew, and when he let go of his control that one day almost six months ago, he’d been impressive and passionate.
She shuddered. The rage took over once more, and Rayna scooted another few inches. In her mind, she saw an enemy. She had to kill him and any other dragon she could find, no matter how broken her body felt. It was her single purpose in life.
Rayna accidentally cut her other arm with the blade she gripped. The fresh pain brought her situation back into focus, and she conjured more memories. The next image in her mind was of his soft kisses and caresses the day they’d slept together. She’d never had a man worship her the way he had so that his hands and mouth didn’t miss a single part of her. No matter what he said, his actions that day didn’t reflect a person who saw her as an adversary but rather as a lover. He’d burrowed into her heart, and she couldn’t get him out no matter how hard she tried.
Tears streamed down her face as she caught him stirring. Finally, he would wake up, and then he could fight back. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep subverting her instincts.
“Galadon,” Rayna said, her voice coming out raspy. She’d screamed a lot last night while they were breaking her.
He turned his head her way and ran his gaze across her body, noting everything, including the dagger. His gaze narrowed. “Where did you get that weapon?”
Her body shook as she fought to keep her killing instincts at bay, and tears filled her eyes. “It was lying next to me when I woke up. I think this was his plan all along…torture us until we are too weak to escape and then use my slayer instincts to force us into a fight. Whatever they’ve added to my water has only made the urge twice as bad.”
“I’m going to kill him when he gets close enough,” Galadon swore, eyes blazing with fury.
As if that was a possibility when neither of them could walk. She was in full killer slayer mode, and it was taking ages to crawl to him for an attack. Sure, she was resisting the urge with all her might, but her injuries still slowed her down more than her willpower. If she could have leaped at him, the blade would have been in his throat ten minutes ago.
Rayna glanced toward several figures on a nearby hill, standing still and watching them. They’d appeared while she was crawling a few minutes ago, but she’d hardly noticed them through her focus on Galadon. Astaroth was no doubt waiting to see who killed the other. The sick bastard.
She trembled as she pulled herself forward a few more inches. “He’s too smart for that.”
The need to slay was overcoming her again like an addict wanting their next fix.
“Can you resist?” he asked, though he had to see the intense gleam in her eyes.
“I’m trying, far more than you can possibly imagine.” She dragged herself a few inches closer to him, hating herself that she couldn’t stop for more than a few moments. “But this is the worst I’ve ever felt. If you were any other dragon, I would have slaughtered you before you woke. They timed it, so I was up almost fifteen minutes before you.”
“But you’ve been fighting it?”
She drew a deep breath. “Every time my instincts take over and I start to move, I remember all our times together. The way you hold me when we fly somewhere, how you saved my life, and that day we…you know.”
She’d promised not to talk about it.
“That…helps?” he asked, gaze softening a little.
Rayna nodded. “It distracts me for a little while, but the rage always takes back over, and I find myself moving again. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Now you understand why it could never work between us,” he said, remorse in his tone.
Even his words—heartbreakingly true at that moment—didn’t stop Rayna from crawling closer as her need to kill surged once more. She was only four feet away now. Dammit, why couldn’t she fight harder? Of course, the answer was obvious. She was too weak from injuries and hunger, and driven by whatever they put in that potion. It made it next to impossible to resist.
Rayna clenched her eyes shut, and her hand trembled where she held the dagger. “I think I can toss you the blade if you promise to kill me with it.”
“No.” He grunted as he rolled onto his side. “We can find a way for both of us to live.”
Her throat constricted. There was a time when he might have gladly done as she requested. The fact that he didn’t proved that he wasn’t immune to what lay between them.
“I wish you could feel what I feel right now, and then you’d understand,” she said, then she slowly and painfully rolled onto her back. Both of her legs were disfigured, swollen, and discolored by bruises and blood. Changing positions hurt like hell, but Galadon had left her without any other options if she wanted to save him.
Strangled sobs shook her frame as she focused on what she must do.
“Stay still and breathe,” he ordered.
Rayna turned her head to stare into his eyes, rageful as they were at their circumstances, they also held deep concern for her. He didn’t understand how close she was to losing all control.
“I’ve considered all the possibilities,” she whispered, glancing toward the distant sorcerers. “There is no way we both survive this.”
“You can’t know that for certain,” he argued, scooting a little closer to her like a fool. His gaze fell on the dagger, and she knew there was no time left.
If he reached for the blade, she’d lose her last shred of control and kill him.
God, how Rayna wished there was another way because this was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d sworn to see the Kandoran finished for good. Then there was Onyx, and who would look after him once she was gone? Still, no other options presented themselves that wouldn’t end even worse.
“I have to do this, so just take care of my horse for me, okay?” She lifted the blade above her as tears streamed down her face. “I love you, Galadon.”
“Noooo!” Galadon screamed.
In that brief second, as he reached for her, she felt her half of the mating bond click into place. Then she brought the knife down toward her chest, where her heart was located. If not for a flash of light to the east, she would have aimed true, but as it sank through her skin, she tilted it enough so it only nicked the organ before entering her left lung. She choked as new agony spasmed through her body.