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Pull! Pull it now!I screamed mind to mind.
Two Silver Company soldiers spun around, grabbed the narrow wooden ramp—built just wide enough to accommodate the carts—and pulled. A pit of sharpened wooden stakes yawned. Hellion stood just on the other side, their khopesh drawn. Their eyes widened as they realized what I already knew. I was trapped on the other side of that pit with the dragon and nowhere to go.
I cursed and pulled back on the reins. The horse reared, and I lost my grip at the worst moment. The world tilted, and I fought to grab onto something, anything, but there was nothing.
Thrown from a horse and trampled by a dragon. Not the way I would have chosen to die.
My back slammed hard into the ground, leaving me gasping for air. One moment, I was staring up at the bright blue sky, trying to remember how to breathe, and the next, a scaled foot came barreling down toward my chest.
I rolled and slammed into the rock face.
Wood splintered and broke, the sound of a dozen trees being felled at once. The dragon screamed.
I fought to push myself up. Ahead, the dragon’s whole front end writhed in the pit of sharpened stakes. Ragged wings flapped and fought, but it could not pull itself free. Another pained cry from the dragon and a weak explosion of fire chewed through some palisades, but it was too late. The wooden stakes had bitten deep. Blood and gore sprayed from the dragon’s torso, legs, feet and neck, filling the pit.
Company, fire the ballistas!
Thwang-thwang-thwang. Three metal cords fired in quick succession, loosing sharpened spears.
The look of sheer, sweet panic on Brenna’s face… I wished I could bottle it, just to savor it. She let out a shriek and threw herself from the dragon to avoid being skewered. All three spears found their marks, piercing the dragon’s thick hide. The beast let out one last desperate cry and stilled.
I staggered to my feet.
Brenna stood just feet away, her teeth clenched and trembling as she watched her dragon die. Slowly, she raised her eyes to mine.
I spat blood and smiled.
Brenna’s army crashed into the pass, a wave of blackened, fireproof steel. Some tumbled into the pits, blind. Thousands of them were about to descend on me, and there was nowhere to go. A deadly yawning pit blocked my only escape.
I was stranded behind the line, a dead man walking.
But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. She could kill me, and it wouldn’t change a damn thing. She had lost. Even with superior numbers and all her seething hate, she hadlost.
Her shoulders heaved. She drew the sword at her side. Fire raced down the blade, licking at her hand. “Nisang sends his regards.”
My smile faded to a snarl. I pushed away from the rock cliff. “You lie.”
A glint of something dark and wicked sparkled in her fangs. “Do I?”
Her army came to a stop, clogging the pass with their blades drawn. There was no way back. No way out.
At the far end of the pass, I could hear Cian and Hellion barking orders, trying to form a plan to get to me, but they’d be too late.
The corner of Brenna’s lip curled up. “Maelstrom,” she spat. “Let’s see how good you are.” She unleashed a column of flame.
I called a shield of lightning to my defense, holding it up with one arm. Brenna’s sword came down. I caught it with my hammer, but she followed it with a bone-shattering punch to my jaw. I staggered.
Brenna moved so fast I didn’t even see her. The pommel came down in the center of my back between my shoulder blades and she spun away, still wearing that smirk. She drew one foot across the ground in a small arc. The ground spat sparks that became arrows of flame, shooting into the oncoming army.
I lifted a weak wall of lightning to stop the fire, but the effort cost me. Steel bit into my exposed side and sank in. Heat rushed into my body, searing my insides as she wielded the flame racing down her sword. The sword came out, fire cauterizing as it went.
She let out a small laugh. “Did you really think you could beat me with a little lightning? You’re nothing. No one. You were born nothing, and that’s exactly how you’ll die.”
I tried to take a step, but the pain was too much. I fell to one knee and remained there, shaking.
She pulled the blade back, a snake ready to strike again.
I tried to lift my hammer.
