Cowards.Tori’srage was evident as the elite locked themselves in their homes, leaving the rest out for destruction.
Theywill pay.Theywill all pay.
Weswept back around outside the city wall.Multiplelegions of enemy soldiers still stood between our troops and the new rift.AsIflew over,IfeltTorirelease her grip on my back.
Whatare you doing, my love?
SomethingIlearned from you.Don’tcatch me.
Shelet herself fall off my back, andIcouldn’t stop my fear as she plummeted towards the earth.Shetwisted her body, andIfelt her call upon my dragonfire again as she shot powerful jets of flames out of each hand.Below, shrieks came from the enemy lines as flesh was melted off bones and armor turned into nothing but molten puddles.
Theflames slowed her descent, so she landed with a soft grace, her hair fluttering around her.Shestood in the crater of destruction and pulled out her sword, commanding our troops.
Iswooped down and snatched her in one of my claws.Showoff.
Shegrinned up at me.Icouldn’t let you have all the fun now, couldI?
Icircled over our troops and out to the safety of the field beyond.
Ilanded, dropping her gently asItransformed into my fae body.Thesmall group who lingered away from the battle surrounded us.Theday had just begun.
Chapter 67
Tori
“I
don’t like this,Tori.”Abraxaswrapped his arms around me in a crushing grip. “LasttimeIlet you out of my sight,Inearly lost you.”
“I’mnot the same asIwas then.Noneof us are.”Igave him a gentle kiss on the cheek before pushing out of his arms.
Hechuckled, “Youcertainly aren’t.”Heran a hand down my cheek before peering over my shoulder. “Andyou certainly aren’t alone.”
Inthe morning light,Icould see all their faces clearly.Avlyn,Jun,Kaleos,Raula, and evenSpinner.Myfriends and family.Itwas quite the entourage, to be honest.I’dmade the mistake of leaving them behind before.Iwouldn’t do that again.
Inthe distance,Icould still hear the ring of battle.Abraxaswould return, our rallying point, but if we wanted to win the day, we couldn’t depend on force alone.
Theking turned toAvlyn. “Commander, without you…”
“Tuliusis in command.He’sgot this.Nowit’s my time to be useful.”Theytwisted their injured arm, a phantom movementof a sword.Theirgaze was steady as they furrowed their eyebrows. “Youknow, as a dragon, you could be much more effective.”
Abraxasshook his head. “Wedecided that once we entered the city,Iwould be too destructive.Thebattle is only a distraction.Ineed to lureHadeonout; the best way to do that will be in this form.”
Avlynnodded. “Notime to waste, then.”
Abraxasgave me one last lingering look. “Goodluck to all of you.”
“SLEEP.”
Thegroup of soldiers we snuck up on all collapsed into a snoring pile.Wehadn’t met many on our journey around the battle to the back of the city, butJunhad taken care of them all peacefully.
Inthe distance, the clash of swords rang out.Eachwas a potential death.Wedidn’t have time to waste.Asif he had read my mind,IfeltSpinnerspeed up untilIheard what we were looking for.
Thewater that splashed out from the grate at the foot of the wall smelled horrendous from the waste of a dozen species mixed with refuse and who knew what else.Itried not to throw my hand over my nose, but it only took a few moments before my eyes were watering like the smell was burning them.
Nopoint in complaining.Thiswas the only way.Luckily,Nokidid it for me.
“Isthis really our only choice?”Nokiwhinged.
