Page 23 of Surrendering Her Heart

They’re too fast. Too strong. My mind is screaming at me to run, but I can’t leave Zamis. I won’t. This isn’t just survival anymore. This isn’t just about the fight or even my own redemption for failing to protect the ship.

This is for him. This feeling that’s been slowly taking root in my chest. The way he smiles. The way he feels when he touches me.The way I feel. How he has never pushed me, nor made me feel less. Accepting me as I am, without ever trying to change me.

I love him.

The realization crashes like a tidal wave. It doesn’t come as a gentle epiphany but as something fierce and undeniable. A truth that was always there, lurking beneath the surface, waiting for a moment like this to rise and take hold.

I plant my feet, raising my rifle. If they want him, they’ll have to go through me.

The one in the lead smirks, a cruel glint in his eyes, his lip curling into an evil grin. He knows I’m outmatched. A deep growl rolls from his chest as he stalks forward, his lochaber glinting under the harsh sunlight.

I squeeze the trigger.

The shot clips one of them in the shoulder, sending him stumbling back, but it’s not enough. The other one has a rifle too. He pauses and returns fire, but the shot is wide. On purpose. They’re playing with me.

Hands shaking, I drop to one knee, setting the rifle against my shoulder. I take careful aim, intent on dropping at least one of the bastards.

The closer one leaps, wings wide, catching the wind and gliding. His shadow falls over me as he gracefully arcs through the sky. I raise my rifle, tracking him, aiming just in front of where he is. I tighten my finger on the trigger.

A bolt hits the boulder in front of me before I finish squeezing. Sharp shards of rock slice my face and I miss my shot. The Zmajlands on the ridge with a heavy thud that feels like it echoes inside my chest.

I roll to the side, trying to get some space so I can use the rifle. Hoping against hope for one shot. I just need one.

He laughs.

Deep. Rumbling. Certain. The look of joy on his face promises pain. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even on the monsters that attacked the ship. Those bastards were evil, doing heinous crimes, but they were perfunctory about it. They weren’t taking any perverse joy in their actions. This guy’s smile tells an entirely different story.

“Gah! J’karan!”

The approaching Zmaj stops, looking back down the cliff where Gaius and the Eye were. And then the sand explodes, momentarily blocking our view.

I take my shot.

The blast hits square in his chest. Purple energy crackles as it spreads across. He jitters and shakes, his jaw clacking as it opens and snaps, his eyes wide. He drops to the ground. The other Zmaj fires, forcing me back behind the boulder.

“Stop! Zirthoan, I order it. Stop.”

Peeking around the edge of the boulder, now I see what’s happening. Figures burst from beneath the dunes, rising from hidden tunnels like wraiths. Zmaj from the outpost.

The ambush is instant and devastating. They have Gaius and the Eye, with blades pressed against their throats.

The battle is over.

I quickly move to Zamis’ side, pressing my hands to his chest.

“Zamis, stay with me.” His breathing is ragged, but he’s alive. He blinks, his eyes unfocused. I cup his face, my heart pounding. “You idiot,” I whisper, my voice thick. “You’re not allowed to die. Do you hear me?”

His lips twitch in the barest hint of a smirk.

“I obey, my treasure,” he says in a hoarse whisper.

Relief crashes over me so hard it nearly knocks me flat. I grip Zamis’ hand, anchoring myself in the storm of what’s to come.

14

AVA

“What do you mean he fucking planned it?” I shout, leaping to my feet and slamming the palms of my hands on the too tall table. “He knew? He wanted this?”

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