Page 42 of Wild Flame (Wild Bond #2)

Chapter Forty-Two

I couldn’t help the scream that left my lips as we burst out into the night air. Luckily, no shards of glass fell on us, but fiery pain lanced through my side with every beat of Virath’s wings.

Malik’s shout mixed with Azrun’s bellowed roar followed after us, and I knew they would pursue. I knew Malik. And he couldn’t not come after me. I also knew that Azrun couldn’t attack Virath without risking hurting me. Amir was no longer holding a dagger to my throat, but how Malik intended to rescue me from off a dragon’s back while said dragon was still in flight was beyond me.

Glancing down, I suddenly noticed how close we were flying over the city. The lights below illuminating the night around us.

“Pull up!” I gasped. “We’re flying too low.”

“Shut up!” Amir snarled. But the response was halfhearted. He was frantically glancing around, checking the sky behind us. Virath was doing the same. “Where are they?” he muttered.

Belatedly, I realized he meant Malik and Azrun. He knew his brother wouldn’t give up so easily, either. But no dragon flew in the sky around us. The night was still and quiet, save for the sound of the wind and Virath’s beating wings.

When I finally glanced forward, it was just in time to see we were headed directly towards a tall stone tower. “Look out!” I screamed.

Amir cursed. Virath screeched, and it was only by the dragon’s quick reflexes that we were able to avoid colliding with it.

Virath veered so sharply to the side, I nearly slid right off his back. The only thing that saved me was Amir’s arm pinning me to him, where I sat before him in the saddle. The sharp movement made my side throb, and fresh blood soaked my clothes. Feeling lightheaded and drained of strength, I slumped forward, and my forehead fell against the smooth texture of dragon scales. My stomach roiled, and I fought to keep myself from hurling up whatever was in my stomach.

Once Virath leveled out again, he finally flew higher to avoid another near-death experience.

Ignoring the pain in my side, I craned my neck to the side, and it was only by sheer luck that I happened to glance up. I saw what looked like the outline of a wing against the backdrop of the stars, just as a dark shape leapt from that wing and plummeted towards us.

“Wing Walker,” I murmured with a smile.

“What?” Amir snapped, just as the shape materialized from the darkness and Malik collided with him with such force that he ripped him from the saddle. Somehow, I managed to stay seated as both riders went tumbling backwards over Virath’s wide back. It was only by some miracle of the gods that neither of them were impaled on one of the large spikes along his spine.

I blinked through my spotty vision as they both struggled to their feet. The blood loss from my wound was definitely getting to me, and I knew I didn’t have long before I would pass out.

Malik looked to see if I was all right, and Amir took advantage of his distraction. The hit snapped his head back, but Malik returned the favor with a vicious strike to Amir’s jaw.

Virath’s back was not even a dozen feet wide, and the dragon was no doubt trying to fly level for his rider’s sake. We had left the city behind now and the night was even darker around us.

I tried to follow what was happening as Amir tackled Malik and Malik kicked him off, but my head was pounding now, and it was hard to focus. My body had slumped over again, and once more it felt like I was sliding.

“Leida!” Malik cried.

My hands grasped futilely at the smooth surface of the saddle, of hardened scales, as my body weight slowly dragged me sideways. A scream bubbled up in my throat and my vision momentarily cleared as panic gripped me.

I scrabbled for purchase as I tried to twist back. But I was slipping.

I knew I was going to fall.

Then Malik was there, his big hand gripping mine as our eyes met. I held on with all my strength as the wind whipped the hair into his eyes and he pulled me back up with a grunt of effort.

I breathed a sigh of relief once I was stable again, and was about to thank him when my eyes snagged on something behind him.

Amir. The dagger from before was clutched in his hand.

“Malik!” I cried a warning.

Malik didn’t hesitate as he spun around, and in a move that I would have struggled to replicate, twisted the knife from his brother’s grasp and plunged it into Amir’s chest.

The prince’s eyes widened in shock as he coughed and stumbled back. Virath cried out and jerked beneath us as Amir fell to his knees.

Pain flickered across Malik’s face as he spared a final look for his brother. Then, in the next instant, he was scooping me up into his arms. I tried to wrap my arm around his neck, but my body wasn’t responding to my directives at the moment. It didn’t matter, though. Malik didn’t stop moving as he darted for the far edge of the dragon’s back. Amir was dying. We couldn’t be on this dragon when he finally did.

The next moment, we were airborne and then landing with barely a jostle onto Azrun’s back. At any other time, the sheer athleticism of the movement would have impressed me. Virath’s lamenting roar rang out from behind us as Malik made it the rest of the way along the wing and positioned me in the saddle before him.

I blinked heavily as I tried to glance over my shoulder towards the other dragon.

As I watched Virath careen sharply to one side and flap his wings madly as if trying to stay in the air, I thought, as I often had, that dragons dying with their riders was one of the cruelest realities the gods had ever subjected our world to. Then again, perhaps it was actually a mercy. I wasn’t a rider, so I couldn’t begin to understand the complexities of the bond. All I knew was that watching such a magnificent creature in its final moments did not feel like a victory.

My thoughts drifted to Leif and his dragon. So much unnecessary death. All because of one man’s need for power.

At least we are out over the open desert now, rather than over the city. No more innocents had to die. That was my final thought as I began to lose consciousness.

The final image was that of a dragon plummeting in a death spiral to the unforgiving sand below.

When I woke in our bed, my head throbbed, and my side ached.

Azrun sat at the foot of it while Malik sat in a chair beside me. I could tell that he had not yet washed or seen to his own needs. He was still in the clothes he had worn to the meeting.

I met his tired eyes. “I guess it’s my turn to have you attend me in my sickbed.”

My husband’s face didn’t soften at my ill attempt at humor, and I didn’t blame him. I hissed in pain as I attempted to sit up.

“Be careful,” Malik said as he stood to help press a pillow to my back. “The healer only just left. You lost a lot of blood.” At his words, I realized that the weak light coming through the windows was that of early morning. I must have only been unconscious for a few hours.

When I was settled, Azrun moved from the foot of the bed and put his long head in my lap with a huff. I froze and looked at Malik with wide eyes.

A hint of something that was too tired to be humor lit his eyes as he shrugged.

Not quite sure what to do, I patted Azrun’s head, and he hummed. Once again, I found myself oddly touched by this creature’s concern.

Malik sat back down again, and I took his hand.

“I’m sorry about Amir,” I said quietly.

His hand gripped mine even tighter. “He made his choices.” He regarded me. “I’m sorry about Leif. It appears his honor won out in the end.”

Pain lanced through my chest. “I still don’t understand how he—”

“I sent Harun to Halstaff to convince him to return. I wasn’t sure who else might be involved with Nilfren’s scheme, so I wanted someone outside of it all that could step in if things went wrong. He and his dragon waited with Azrun so Azrun could alert him if they were needed.”

Of course, Malik would have a contingency plan if things went wrong. “He must have seen how Azrun changed when the potion affected you both and realized something wasn’t right,” I said. “That’s how he knew.” I looked at Malik. “But how did you know you could trust him . . . after everything?”

Malik gave me a knowing look. “Given his feelings for you, I played a strong hunch that he would not betray you again. It seems I was right.”

I sat with it a moment before I asked, “Helene and the others?”

Malik sighed. “Fine. I kept them under guard until the effects of the potion wore off. Salim in particular is furious. He wants to meet, but I wanted to talk to you first . . . make sure you were all right.” His eyes met mine. “You should also know . . . we lost Selasi.”

My heart clenched at the news as the image of him and Yesh being knocked into the wall came to mind. My eyes watered and my throat constricted as I asked, “And Yesh?”

“Yesh survived with only an injury to his head, but Selasi . . . the healers said he broke something vital and . . .”

My heart broke for the warrior—for the brave man who deserved better. A tear ran down my cheek and I wiped it away before saying, “We will give him a warrior’s funeral.”

Malik nodded. Then ran a hand down his face, and I could see the exhaustion in every line of his frame.

“Come here,” I murmured, patting the empty spot beside me.

For a moment, I thought he would refuse, but then he stood and removed his boots and outer tunic. When he finally lay beside me, he pulled me into his side, careful of my bandaged wound. Azrun moved closer as well, resting his long head protectively across my feet.

“I think he prefers you to me now,” Malik observed.

I smiled faintly as Azrun huffed. But he still didn’t remove his head.

I began to run my fingers lazily through Malik’s hair as he slowly relaxed beside me.

Later, I would let myself think about all that had happened. Later, there would be meetings, and decisions, and funerals. But for right now, I was going to let myself soak in the fact that we had survived, and that the man I loved was lying beside me.

And for right now, that was enough.