Page 9

CHAPTER 4

With a roar that echoed across the valley, he charged. He wasn’t huge—as a race, the Mareritt tended to be short, squat, and powerful—but he was damn fast. He reached the stream before I’d even reached for my flames and was within sword-striking distance when they hit him. My flames were so damn hot they rendered him ash in an instant.

But the damage had been done.

A klaxon bell sounded, a piercing noise that echoed across the valley. As guttural shouts rose in response, I continued on, keeping low, jumping the stream and scrambling up the slope. A short, sharp explosion briefly overran the noise of the klaxon, but it came from the area behind me. Damon, destroying the pin stone.

Kaia? Get ready.

Am.

I reached the flat area and ran as hard as I could toward the privy. Felt the air brush a warning across the back of my neck; dropped low and whirled around, lashing out with a booted foot. The blow hit the Mareritten warrior coming at me in the knee, sending him staggering back but not down. I drew my weapons and lunged at him. Flames would have been quicker and easier, but I had no idea how much strength it would take to cinder their ballistas, and I had to conserve it where I could.

I swept his blade to one side with my knife, then thrust forward with my sword, sweeping it across his body, slicing through leather, then into flesh, gutting him from hip to hip

He didn’t drop, even if his innards now were.

He roared, swung his sword above his head, and brought it down hard and fast, forcing me to throw myself sideways to avoid being split asunder. His blade skimmed my bootheels and thudded deep into the ground, but he didn’t try to free it; he simply lunged—practically fell—at me. I swore, raised a hand, and cindered him.

As his ashes fell around me, I scrambled upright, sheathed my knife, then ran on toward the long privy building.

But there were now multiple Mareritt heading my way. Time was running out, and the damn shield still hadn’t fully dissipated.

Another man appeared, this time to my right. I slashed wildly with my sword—an uncontrolled blow designed to do nothing more than force him to jump back. As he did, there was a soft “thwack,” and he fell backward, the end of an arrow jutting out from his right eye. Damon, protecting my back as promised.

I sheathed the sword and sprinted on, my gaze on the edge of the privy’s roof. Like them, their buildings tended to be squat and square, so with a bit of speed, I should be able to leap up, grab the edge, and clamber up.

Another Mareritt appeared and was shot down.

I lengthened my stride and leapt. My fingers caught the joint between roof and wall, the roughhewn rock tearing at my skin as my body thumped into the side of the building. Pain spun through me, but I ignored it, digging my fingers deeper into the small gap before swinging my right leg up and hooking it over the edge. From there, I was able to drag myself up. My breath was now a harsh rasp, and my heart galloped, but it was the awareness that time was running out, that I would be dead if I didn’t get my butt into gear, that had me scrambling toward the front edge when all I wanted to do was rest a minute or two.

Fog clearing , came Kaia’s thought. Can sweep through.

Wait until I burn their weapons. It’s safer for you, and I can use your attack to get back to Damon.

Me no carry?

You can’t fight with me in your claw.

Truth. Want to fight.

I’ll tell you when.

Hurry.

I gathered every ounce of inner strength I had, then raised a hand and cast a thick stream of fire toward the long line of semiconstructed catapults. My flames were so damn hot, their color was violet blue rather than my normal yellow red, and they instantly crisped any Mareritt foolish enough to not dive out of their way. They hit the first machine, spread across its frame, and, with a satisfying whoosh, the whole thing went up. I directed the flames on, leaping them from one machine to the next, feeding more and more energy into my fire to ensure it remained at its hottest, and the machines went up the instant flame caressed their wooden bones.

Pain pulsed through my brain, and the mote in my eye popped, pouring blood over my lashes. I ignored it, pushing on, until every single machine was burning beyond repair.

Now, Kaia. Now.

With a mighty roar, she dropped through the remnants of the fog, her murderous claws stretched out in front of her as she soared only yards above my head. The Mareritt shouted and pointed; some aimed crossbows while others raised heavy throwing spears. I flicked my flames toward the latter, and though they no longer held the heat to cinder in an instant, they still set hair and skin alight, and, more importantly, destroyed their weapons.

Kaia dropped lower, the force of each wing sweep sending dirt, ash, and men flying. Her claws raked everything before her, scooping up man and machine as one; she swiftly squashed then released the shattered remnants before scooping up the next lot. As she reached the end of the valley and swung around for her next run, I called for Desta, then scrambled to the side of the building and jumped down. My fingers briefly brushed the ground as I steadied myself, then I thrust up and on. Heard footsteps coming in fast from the back of the building. I drew my sword but didn’t stop or attack. If I got too bogged down with fighting, I would die. There were simply too many of them, even if Kaia was killing them off by the dozens.

An arrow shot past me—a blur of air I felt more than saw—followed by a soft thump. Damon, once again proving how skilled an archer he was.

I continued on, down the slope and over the stream. Two Mareritt appeared out of the smoke to my right, one far closer than the other. I drew my knife and flung it hard at the nearest warrior. As he batted it away with a sneer, I lunged in low and swung at his thigh, the sword slicing through muscle, bone, and veins with equal ease. It didn’t completely sever it as my Ithican blade would have, but there couldn’t have been much holding it on, either. He didn’t seem to care; he simply roared and swung his weapon. I countered, the heavy clash of steel against stone ringing out across the haze of noise surrounding us, my arms quivering with the sheer damn weight of his blow. I swore at him, and he laughed, an anticipatory sound if ever I’d heard one.

Laugh at this, you freak , I thought, and flicked a thin lance of fire at his face. He instinctively jerked back, and I swept my sword around and down, completely severing his wrist. His hand and sword fell, but he somehow caught the latter with his left hand. He didn’t attack. He was mortally wounded, and we both knew it. Instead, he raised the bloody blade to his forehead, an acknowledgement of my successful ploy, then cut his own throat. For the Mareritt, there was no shame in taking one’s own life. They believed it to be a far more honorable death than allowing an enemy to claim victory over them.

I scooped up my knife and ran on, but the second warrior was closing in, his gaze a weight I could feel on my back. I tried to increase my speed, but I was running on empty, strength wise, even if I wasn’t yet totally flamed out. Something sharp hit the bottom half of my leg and I staggered for several steps before catching my balance and running on.

But I was hobbling now, and there was warmth spilling into my boot and weakness washing through me.

Movement, directly ahead. Damon, standing tall, bow nocked and aimed. Heard, internally rather than physically, his order to dart left and immediately complied. An arrow shot past me and thwacked into the warrior behind me. He dropped. I hobbled on up the rock-strewn slope, following the line of the barrier that no longer existed.

Behind me, chaos ensued. Kaia continued her sweeping runs, destroying everything she could get her claws on. Another arrow shot past me, but this time, there was no sound of it thudding into flesh, but rather the soft clang of metal against stone. A miss. I swung around, sword raised. Saw two Mareritt coming in at speed, heard Damon’s internal shout to go right, and again obeyed without thought. The nearest warrior followed my movement and attacked, swinging his heavy blade at my head. I raised mine, catching and deflecting the blow, the force of it shuddering through my entire being. Even if I had been at full strength, the likelihood of me beating this particular warrior would have been low. He was too big, too strong, too damn fast. I sucked in a breath and unleashed what remained of my fire. It wasn’t hot enough to melt his blade or even ignite his leathers, but it certainly consumed the exposed parts of his flesh, burning through his eyes and into his brain. The man was dead before he even hit the ground.

Pain exploded through me, and I dropped to my knees, somehow managing to sheathe my weapons before cradling my head in my hands and rocking lightly back and forth. Fresh blood ran down my cheek, and consciousness faded in and out. But I couldn’t let go. Not here. Not now. Not until we were back behind the safety of Esan’s black walls.

Somewhere ahead of me, Kaia bellowed, a furious sound of intent. I come, I save .

Somehow, I forced my head up. Saw, through a bloody veil, a full host of Mareritt racing toward us. Felt the ground under my knees begin to shake, heard the sharp retort of hooves striking stone. Then my squad swept past me and thundered down the hill toward the Mareritt. Desta stopped beside me, snorting softly, the scent of her sweat lightly stinging the air.

I patted her velvety nose, then asked her to move forward and grabbed the stirrup, using it to help drag myself upright. The white-hot heat that shot through my body had nothing to with flame, but rather the agony now radiating from my leg. Warmth continued to flood down the inside of my trousers and fill my boot, and sweat broke out across my brow. As the world briefly spun, my knees threatened to give way and I wobbled, but a hand caught my arm, holding me, steadying me.

“How badly are you hurt?” Damon asked curtly.

“It’s just a cut. Nothing to?—”

“Of course there’s not,” he cut in angrily. “Nothing aside from the fact your face is as white as the ghost fronds, and you can barely even stand.”

“I’m fine, really.” I glanced past him; my vision briefly faded in and out before focusing. The squad were wheeling back toward us, the Mareritt in brief retreat. It wouldn’t last. It never lasted. “And you can berate me later. Right now, we need to mount up and get out of here.”

“You’ll bleed out long before we reach Esan, Bryn. Call in Kaia and let her fly you out of here.”

“ Damon , it can be bandaged?—”

“ Bryn , I can see bone. How the fuck you were even walking, let alone running, I’ll never know.”

Listen, Kaia growled. No bleed out.

I ignored her. “I’m the captain of this squad—I can’t just up and leave in the midst of a battle.”

“Kerryn’s a capable second, is he not?”

“Yes, but?—”

“Look, I admire your determination to stay and lead, but remember, you promised not to get dead. I’m going to hold you to that damn promise, even if it means I have to tie you up so Kaia can sweep in and grab you.”

Like this plan.

Obviously, I was never going to win this particular battle. And in truth, they were both right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. “Fine. We’ll do this your way.”

“A sensible woman. My wife is a rare jewel indeed.”

“You, sir, are an idiot.”

“And you, ma’am, are stuck with me.”

I rolled my eyes and glanced around as Kerryn pulled his mount to a steaming, stomping halt in front of us. The rest of the team swept in a semicircle around us, ready to respond to another attack. Jax had a bloody cut across one eyebrow, and Nico’s mount a shallow wound across his flank, but for the most part, the squad had escaped this first rally unscathed.

It was something that wasn’t likely to hold if we didn’t get out of here fast.

“Kerryn, lead the team back to Esan. Damon will ride with you and provide any necessary magical assistance.”

“And you, Captain?”

“Will fly ahead with Kaia.”

His gaze dropped briefly to my leg. He might not be able to see the wound from that height, but he’d certainly see the blood soaking through my leathers. There was enough of it. “The prince will have to ride on Desta, as we left Red tied up in the forest. We’ll collect him on the way through.”

I nodded, patted Desta’s nose, and informed her of our plans. She wasn’t happy about having a new rider, but the promise of extra carrots secured an agreement not to buck him off. Though I suspected Damon had a good enough seat not to be dislodged by her antics. I unknotted her reins and handed them to Damon. “Take care of her.”

His gaze dropped briefly to my lips, and warmth briefly flooded the chill beginning to seize my body. He didn’t step toward me, didn’t kiss me, as much as I wanted him to. He simply mounted and nodded his readiness.

“You want us to wait until your drakkon snares you?” Kerryn asked.

“No. Go. Kaia can’t approach with all of you here.”

“Good luck, Captain.”

And with that, he pushed his mount past me, into a gallop. The squad wheeled around and followed. Desta half reared, eager to be with them, but Damon held her in check, then leaned down and kissed me fiercely.

“See you in Esan,” he said, then spun Desta around and raced after the squad.

Leaving me standing on the hill alone with the Mareritt racing toward me, their battle cries filling the air and their swords and axes raised high. Behind them, a line of archers was forming. We really were running out of time.

Am above , came Kaia’s thought. Move not.

I glanced up sharply. She filled my sight, her scales glowing like fire in the hazy light of the day. Won’t .

She dropped slowly, carefully, toward me, one leg outstretched, the others tucked up out of the way. But the Mareritt were now far too close, and the archers were nocking their crossbows. We had to get out of here, and fast.

Kaia…

Know.

Hurry.

Am.

But she continued her slow descent, inching toward me, then, when she was finally close enough, opened her claws and, with surprising gentleness, wrapped them around me.

Just as the Mareritt crested the hill and charged.