Page 228 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

Our arrangement clearly means nothing to her.

The dragon veers and dives again, this time on the far side of the army, delivering another devastating arc of fire.

Silver bolts fly into the air, some missing them entirely, a few hitting her shields.

Twice more, they dive.

Malachi seethes as he watches his army burn.

“She cannot maintain that for much longer.” It is too taxing, especially for a beast of that size.

It flies within range.

With a roar, Malachi launches a ball of fire through the air at them.

It hits their side and the dragon jolts from the impact.

“You are right. Already, she weakens.” He sends another one quickly after.

The dragon banks hard, narrowly avoiding it, and they disappear into the clouds.

He nods with satisfaction. “That should keep them away.”

Groans and wails surround us.

“Move forward or fall on your swords!” Malachi urges his horse ahead, its hooves stomping on the charred remains of his fallen pets.

71

Zander

We touch down outside Lyndel’s gates and Romeria buckles, dropping to the ground in a heap.

I rush to her side, just as Abarrane, Jarek, and Elisaf close in, Solange close behind.

“I’m fine!” She holds up a hand to stall us. Her breathing is ragged. “That last hit got me good.”

“Malachi.” I thought Caindra would drop me, her massive body shuddering from the blow.

She nods. “It felt like, I don’t know how to describe it … Like holding on to a metal bar that’s been hit with another metal bar really hard. Like, it was vibrating through me and I had to let go. I can still feel it.”

Elisaf’s brow furrows with worry. “But did it work?”

“Yes, and no. They didn’t see us coming, but Sofie had her shield up too fast.” I shake my head. “We could have been rid of them both. Now, it will be impossible to catch them unaware.”

“It was stupid. We should have come in from behind. I didn’t think she could react so fast,” Romeria says, disappointment radiating from her.

“Hindsight is always far clearer.” I offer my hand and Romeria takes it, allowing me to haul her to her feet. “But they did well. There had to be at least a thousand dead.”

“Yeah, only ninety-nine thousand more to go,” Romeria mutters, and I sense her defeat.

Smoothing a palm over her back, I suggest, “Why don’t we go inside and rest. There is a room set aside for us in the manor.”

But she shakes her head. “How am I supposed to fight a fate when one hit from him did that?”

“You were defending, not attacking,” Solange says. “There is a difference.”

“There is? Will you teach me everything you know?” Romeria pleads, desperation in her voice.

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