Page 78 of Of Blood and Banes (The Arterian #2)

Two of us. One with a sword and one with two daggers.

Back-to-back. Braced against a group of twenty armed men and women perched to slay us.

Or capture us…though, given the sheer amount of carnage left in Cole’s wake, the chance of being hostages don’t look likely.

That, and I’m sure the woman won’t entertain asking me any more questions.

Either way, the odds aren’t in our favor.

I search for the magic beneath our feet.

Tunneling down into the earth and praying it can assist us.

But I’m far too drained to pull such a massive amount of magic it’ll take to defend us.

Especially given the fact I’m already exhausted from pulling straight from the source before I passed out.

And the ley lines still feel too far away.

The throbbing in my skull pounds louder from when I was knocked out.

The mob lurches forward with a disjointed cry, and I shift Cole’s sword into my left hand and raise it. Here’s the moment I can prove myself. Cole’s sword in my hand, void of magic and rings and dragons. What happens to me after this comes down to what I’m capable of.

And I’m not going down without a fight.

Everything explodes into a crackle of metal and screams, sweat running down my forehead and coating my palms as I swing again and again.

I cling to the sword’s hilt for dear life, damn near praying it won’t slip from my grip.

The contact breaks between mine and Cole’s backs, and I shake away my worry, trusting he’ll manage fine without me.

I manage to disarm one man, and the next I slice above their knees.

But it’s no use, there’s no way I can bring down ten soldiers on my own.

And perhaps I’ll never be able to. They fall on me like shadows after the sun sets, evasive and deadly.

As Darian’s taught me, I find that deeply rooted anger within me and use it slowly to feed each stab and block.

Even if it’s only enough to keep me alive for the short term.

Daeja’s roar trembles the ground beneath our feet, and seconds later her massive black shadow falls across the valley and a blast of flames scorches a line in front of me, catching two soldiers on fire and backing the rest of the group away.

Daeja passes overhead and flips into a tight, spiral-like turn, redirecting herself back to us.

She flares open her black, jagged jaws and belts another formidable jet of flame behind me.

As I turn to follow her, I find myself and Cole in the center of a circle of flame.

Cole’s eyes meet mine, the flames dancing in the reflections when I notice blood dripping from a cut in his forehead, slipping down his skin near his eyelid.

I scan the rest of his body, before he nods as if noting my silent evaluation, his breath still shallow in his chest. Then he assesses me. I nod back.

After he sheathes his daggers, he grabs me by my waist and lifts me into the air.

Daeja’s flapping wings flick the flames out in separate directions as she hovers a foot above my grasp.

Cole thrusts me up higher, and I snag one of the stirrups and heave myself up and over.

As soon as I sling my leg over her back, I reach down for Cole and snatch his hand before trying to pull him up with all my strength.

Daeja roars out another blast of fire at the rebels attempting to brave the flames, and they scatter like ants. “Hurry up!”

Cole grips my wrist, but he’s far too heavy for my own strength. “I can’t pull him up!”

Daeja grumbles, turns her head and bumps him up with her nose.

With a breathy grunt, Cole pulls himself up over the saddle in front of me. I wrap my arms around his waist, and he grabs hold of the saddle horns.

“Go!” I call out loud.

Daeja snakes up into the air, and I squeeze my thighs around the saddle as Cole and I lurch back and forth.

“Holy shit,” he grunts, fighting to keep himself up and pressing himself down into the horns to keep himself on Daeja.

Quickly, I wrap the waist belt around him and clip him in before holding onto his waist. The wind whips around us, and the burning camp disappears, fading into a distant cloud of black.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Cole whispers quietly, and the only reason I’m able to hear it is how the wind carries it.

I slide my hand to his on the horns and squeeze for a moment before I let go. We pass the other dragon riders with A’nala at the head.

“A’nala says one of the other dragon riders picked up Archie and should be back at Everden now. The rest of them are going to make sure no rebels are left.”

“Do they need backup?” I twist to look over my shoulder as they fly into the distant smoke.

“If I dare question A’nala’s capabilities, I may very well not live to see tomorrow.”

“Fair point.”

“And Sethan’s already pissed anyway.”

“Of course he is. When is he not?”

It’s a short flight back to Everden, luckily. And as we land, I unclip Cole, and he jumps off immediately, bracing his hands on his knees as he fights to regain his breath.

I slide off Daeja and lean down to rub a hand on his back. “Nauseous?”

He nods, unable to get a word out of his gritted teeth.

A small smile pulls at my lips in nostalgia, unable to stop myself from asking, “First time?”