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I jiggled the handle. And then kicked, with all my strength.
Once.
Twice.
On the third kick the door shuddered open, revealing a massive opening to one of the many layers of roofs of the Unseelie palace.
I quieted my breathing, listening for any sign of someone nearby. But I couldn’t hear a sound. I hurled myself through the door, quickly turning to face my blind spots.
But that only made what I saw worse. There were plenty of places to hide around the corner from the door. Old piping systems wound through a courtyard-like opening up here.
A chuckle had me reeling on my feet, and I dodged a fist flying at me, rolling down on the ground and out of the way.
“It’s over,” he said. I was sure if I could see his face there would be a smile plastered there.
I snorted. “For who you? In case you missed the memo, we’re on the castle roof. You have nowhere to go.”
He lunged toward me, spinning his body to kick out his leg. I shifted, batting the attack down and trying one of my own.
He seemed surprised at the way I was able to recover, and I used it to my advantage to lunge at him.
Not enough.
I growled, furious at the doubt wading around like a welcome guest in my mind. I threw myself into the man and we grappled on the ground, rolling a few paces before untangling and resuming our attacks.
He laid a punch to my side and I yelped.
His head turned under that damn cloak a few times like he was looking for something. I ran forward once more, attacking in a combination Lieutenant Tomas had focused on with me ad nauseum when I kept getting caught off guard at first. It worked, but only slightly. By the third strike, the man seemed to know what was coming and blocked each one.
He let out a sharp cackle from under the hood.
“You'll need to do better than that,” he said.
Not enough.
The words ate at me again, taunting me. I didn’t give up though, no, I couldn’t give up.
I was growing weary but refused to yield. There was no other option. The man was a skilled fighter, but I wasn’t totally unprepared. While he lay a few solid punches on me, I got in a few of my own.
I crawled to my feet, running toward the pipes I’d seen earlier. If I could hide or find something on the roof of the palace to use as a weapon, I might get the upper hand.
Somehow.
A screeching howl sounded from above my head, halting my sprint immediately. I snapped my gaze to my right side where I’d kept an eye on the man in my periphery while I attempted to move toward the semi-shelter near our fight. But the attacker’s gaze was no longer on me.
An extraordinary wind from behind me brought me to my knees, and when the screech sounded again it felt as though it were right on top of me.
I lifted my head to look over my shoulder and suddenly, silence enveloped me. The sheer panic of seeing the creature made all sound obsolete. The fear and inner fighting about not being enough, questioning my abilities—it all stilled.
I staggered back a few paces as I stared into the large yellow eyes of a real-life dragon.
