Page 75 of Rise of a Fallen Man

“Ari?” I dragged her out of the water and leaned over her. “Are you hurt?”

It was a stupid question. Her gown was ripped on her shoulders. The dragon’s claws left deep gauges in her flesh. Water sluiced down her skin, mixing with blood and soaking the shredded fabric.

“Salas...” Her eyes opened wide behind her glasses. “What happened? What did you do?”

I held her face in my hands. “I made you fall.”

Terror melted away from her expression as she ran her gaze over my face.

“That you did,” she breathed out. “I have fallen. Hopelessly.”

I didn’t dare to believe the true meaning of her words.

The sand shifted around her head, and I realized with horror that we lay right in the middle of the opening to the worm tunnels.

“Move!” I rolled to my side, taking Ari with me and shielding her from the worm’s round toothless mouth poking from the sand.

Fire blasted from the worm’s mouth, scorching the bear hide on my back. Pungent smoke enveloped us.

The dragon had made a tight loop in the air and was now coming back for us.

“Come.” I sat up, helping Ari up as well. “We need to get out of here.”

“Your cape is burning.” She tore at the bear hide frantically. “Take it off.”

I opened the buckle on my left shoulder. Coughing from the stench of the burning fur, Ari opened the right buckle for me. We tossed the hide into the pond, where it spattered and hissed in the water on its way down.

The dragon lowered his head on the approach. A worm spewed a spray of flames in his path, and the dragon lurched away. As a fire breathing creature himself, he clearly disliked the flames of others.

I grabbed Ari’s arm.

“Come.”

She pulled the train of her dress out of the pond, and I helped her gather it all. We only made a couple of steps before the dragon straightened his course, aimed his head at us, and closed his eyes.

“He’s going to—” I tried to warn Ari. But there was no escaping the bright blue flame that rushed out of the dragon’s mouth toward us.

“Down!” Ari shoved an elbow into my side. I dropped to my knees, and she tossed the water-soaked train of her dress over us both.

The fabric steamed in the fire. Hot air scorched my lungs. Ari coughed, tossing the train back. The dragon had passed, and we were still alive.

“Smart.” I tipped my chin at the scorched fabric of her train that had saved us.

“Thanks.” She beamed, climbing to her feet.

The dragon appeared to be momentarily distracted by the screaming crowd rushing to the exits. He blew fire, setting aflame the empty top seats. But he might turn back any minute. I had to get Ari to safety.

I’d lost the advantage of the high ground of the mountain where I was supposed to catch the dragon’s tail. Even when the dragon had attacked us, he remained too high for me to reach.

“We have to go,” I said.

Ari made a move toward the exit from the arena, but I stopped her.

“The worms.” Fire blasted from the ground where she was about to step. “Watch for the blue markers.” I tapped a post with my boot.

She nodded, following me between the markers along the safe path. “I was wondering how you do it.”

“You watched me?” Thousands of spectators who came to the show watched me every week. But the fact that Ari was one of them was the most important.

---