Page 20 of Echoes of Fire

“You frail, arrogant worm,” he hissed, taking a step forward. His wings flared slightly, casting long shadows down the passage. “You think you’re untouchable because he chose you? Tell me, human, what will you do when this bond proves false? When the council strips him of his honor for this shame he’s branded on himself?”

I gritted my teeth, taking an instinctive step back. The passage behind me was narrow, the walls rough against my fingertips, but there was no escape route. Krazath kept advancing, his hulking frame growing larger with every moment.

His tail lashed out again, brushing against the stone near my leg, close enough to send pebbles flying. My breath caught in my chest, panic dangerously close to winning out, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of showing it. My instincts screamed for help, but there was no one to hear me—not here. Not now.

The roar came like an eruption, not just loud but thick and guttural, shaking the air around us. The sound hit me in the chest, a physical force that reverberated down the passage.

Rath.

His shadow spread over us, massive, looming, impossibly huge. Krazath froze, his snarling confidence melting into something almost comically scared. Rath landed between us, wings unfurled, claws flexing at his sides with deliberate menace. His yellow eyes blazed, locking entirely on Krazath.

“Do you value your life so little that you’d dare threaten her?” Rath growled, the words a rough snarl that carried more weight than any shout could. Each syllable carved itself into the air, vibrating with intensity.

Krazath’s wings twitched, retreating closer to his body. His composure cracked, though his own snarl remained, however dimmed. “I’ve done nothing to your human.” His voice carried an edge of defiance. “But I will not hold my tongue. She doesn’t belong here.”

Rath’s tail lashed sharply. He took a step closer, each movement deliberate, his wings brushing the walls as his presence swelled to fill the corridor. “She belongs where I say,” he rumbled. “You’ve overstepped.”

Under other circumstances I might have felt bad for Krazath.

Almost.

The tension between the two Drakarn was tangible. Rath’s fury was a living, breathing thing, so heavy in the air I felt it pressing against my skin.

But Krazath wasn’t done yet. He straightened, baring his fangs in a last-ditch show of bravado. “Your bond is a disgrace,” his voice rose dangerously. “You weaken yourself by clinging to a creature so far beneath us. The council will not let this stand forever. Even you cannot?—”

The motion was faster than I could track. In a blink, Rath’s claws were at Krazath’s throat, his tail coiled sharply around one of the other warrior’s legs to keep him pinned. The force of his movement sent heat crystals shuddering.

Krazath froze, his wings pinned awkwardly against the stone as Rath pressed him into the wall. The tips of Rath’s claws barely dented Krazath’s scales, but it was enough. The promise of what they could do lingered in the air.

“You forget yourself,” Rath snarled. “I have claimed her. The bond has been witnessed. Speak against it again, and you won’t walk away.”

Krazath stiffened, refusing to flinch despite the claws hovering near the vulnerable seam of his throat. “Kill me here,and you lose what little respect you still have.” He had to strain to speak.

Rath didn’t move, the menace radiating from him crackling in the air like charged embers. His claws flexed ever so slightly, enough to make Krazath’s neck strain even harder against the pressure. Every muscle in Rath’s body screamed restraint about to snap, held in place by a force of will barely tethered.

He wasn’t going to back down. I wasn’t sure hecould. But I had a sinking suspicion Krazath was right.

“Rath.”

The single syllable breached the suffocating silence. He didn’t turn immediately, his wings still flared, chest rising and falling in bursts. But my voice had reached him. Slowly, his head shifted, eyes now more orange than yellow locking onto mine. They burned sharply, though beneath the fury ran something deeper—conflicted, something raw.

I took a cautious step closer, my pulse beating so fast and uneven it was dizzying. “Don’t,” I said, my voice quieter this time. “He’s not worth it.”

Rath’s tail remained coiled, his claws unmoving. Then, with a deliberate exhale, Rath shoved Krazath back against the wall and released him.

Krazath stumbled, quickly regaining his footing, though his entire body bristled with humiliation. He glared at Rath, his wings twitching, itching for retaliation. But he didn’t dare make a move.

“You forget yourself, Flame Heart,” Krazath muttered, voice dripping with venom. His gaze flicked to me, the disdain in his expression twisting my stomach. “This will not end well for you. Or her.”

Rath’s growl vibrated through the stone floor beneath me. “Leave. Now.”

Krazath’s eyes narrowed, but he held his tongue. Slowly, he retreated into the shadows, his claws scraping along the basalt wall until his shape dissolved into the distant gloom.

Silence filled the corridor again. The weight of everything hung around us, choking away the air as my pulse thudded in my ears. Rath still hadn’t moved. His wings remained half-spread, his shoulders locked and tense, even as Krazath’s form grew distant and then disappeared entirely.

All at once, my knees felt weak, and I leaned against the cooler wall for balance, dragging in sharp breaths. The corridor shrank around me—heat, emotions, fear, everything collapsing inward. But it wasn’tjustfear. I looked at Rath, at every line of tension in his frame, and saw something more than rage.

I found my voice, barely a whisper. “He’s gone.”

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