Page 70 of Reign of Betrayal

The wyvern blows a stream of fire toward the boulder Marshalla is protected behind. The fear radiating from her is palpable.

“It has a messed-up wing. I can shoot an arrow into it, and when it comes toward us, we strike. Reign, you be the bait,” Jake says.

“Absolutely fucking not,” Elm yells.

The wyvern stomps closer, spraying fire everywhere. Each stomp sends fear rattling into my bones. Whatever we do, we need to be fast. Marshalla shrieks a scream from nightmares as the wyvern closes in on her. I can’t let her die. I rise from behind the trees and boulders, running toward her, putting myself in the wyvern’s line of sight.

As I approach, I see half of Marshalla’s body is burned. Half of her beautiful face is unrecognizable. Angry red blisters and charred skin cover her left side. The smell of burning flesh is putrid. I draw the sword Christolyn gave me.

The wyvern sees me and turns its beautifully terrifying head toward me, opening its mouth and unleashing a plume of fire.

“Reign! Reign!” Elm screams a heart-wrenching cry, as if he’s already lost me. While running, I dive behind a boulder but not fast enough. My lower left leg gets burned. I can’t help the scream that escapes my lips. Panting heavily, sweat beads on my face as I slam to the ground next to Marshalla, whose breathing is shallow and labored.

Looking down, I notice my pant leg is burned off. Angry red blisters appear on my calf. I don’t see muscle, tendon, or bone, so I guess it could be worse, but gods, does it hurt. I hear the wyvern getting closer, the ground rumbling with each step it takes, shaking the earth and my very soul. Then, I remember what Luke said: follow my heart. Maybe we can get the thing to fly off. He has a deformed wing, but maybe he is just fiercer because he fears he will be cut down for it.

Do wyvern even think? I know what it is like to be different. My whole life, I was looked at and teased for having purple hair and eyes. I was always on the defensive. If someone was laughing, I always assumed it was about me, even if it wasn’t. In the Hollows, if someone even looked at me suspiciously, I assumed they were going to attack me. So before that could happen, I killed them.

That brings me to another thought: do the wyverns understand us? Luke talks to Wrath, and she seems to understand everything he says. I grab the boulder to pull myself up, take a deep, shaky breath, and step out from behind the rock. ‘Never fear, never falter, never fumble.’ I let Lukene’s words play in my head as I drop my sword, staring right into the wyvern’s eyes. Its amber eyes blaze with fiery ferocity.

I may have miscalculated this situation, like I seem to be doing with every situation lately. But I have to try, or I’ll die trying.

“I know what it’s like to be different!” I shout as I pull the litham away from my mouth. “To always need to look over your shoulder.” I see Elm out of the corner of my eye, waving his arms, trying to get my attention. Jake comes out from the other side of the boulder, sword in hand. “Fly away from here!” I yell to the wyvern. “Don’t be the monster they believe you to be.” The wyvern cocks its head as if listening and understanding my words. I limp a step closer, then another. “I don’t want to hurt you. I think you are a beautiful creature. But if you stay here, they will send someone else to kill you, even if you kill us all.” I take another step closer, my heart hammering away.

I see Jake raise his sword and run toward the wyvern. “No!” I shoot my hands out, sending a small ball of fire to knock the sword from Jake’s hand.

The wyvern roars, rumbling the ground. Suddenly, an arrow shoots into the wyvern’s tail. I look behind me to see Marshalla on the opposite side of the boulder, panting with a bow in her hand. Before I can react, the wyvern charges her, swallowing her whole.

It turns to look at me, fire glinting in its killer eyes. I swallow hard, bracing myself for what is about to happen. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elm creeping up. I hold my hand out to stop him.

“I don’t want to hurt you. But I also don’t—” I take a cautious limping step toward the wyvern— “want anyone else to hurt you either.”

The wyvern steps closer to me, I freeze. The next thing I know, the wyvern is towering over me. He is much larger than Wrath, and so far, Wrath was the biggest wyvern I have seen since I’ve been here. He has saliva dripping from his massive teeth. His hot breath blows my hair back.

He lowers his head to me in submission. I glance back at Elm, my eyes wide. He mirrors my shock. I take careful steps into the space between the wyvern’s neck and front leg. The wyvern swings its massive tail forward, careful not to impale me with its barbs, and helps me up onto its back.

Once I am seated, I grab one of the spikes, and he takes off. I wasn’t sure he could fly with his wing, yet we are soaring in the sky, getting lost amongst the clouds.

“Where in the hells is she?” I pace at the palace entrance. Elm and Jake got to the sandstone palace hours ago.

“She’ll be fine, Luke,” James says, stepping beside me. “You need to stop underestimating her. She can handle herself, clearly. She made a wyvern submit to her in less than a day—something that usually takes our soldiers months to do.”

Grunting in frustration, I continue pacing, my mind in shambles with every worst-case scenario running through it.

“Luke, you need to let her go, especially now that she won. You always knew what the winner of the trial must do. This doesn’t have a happy ending for either of you if you continue down this path.”

I close my eyes, letting the cold wind cool my searing temper. Inhaling deeply, I press my thumb and forefinger into my eyes, as if that could help the situation I find myself in.

“Luke, look at me.”

I hesitate. I don’t think I can hold a mask in place right now, and I don’t want to show my weakness. But I do… I look at the man who has been the father I needed all these years while still desperately seeking for my actual father’s approval.

“It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to say anything, not to me. Just know Kylo and I are here, and everything will be fine—If you listen to me.”

“Are we done here?” I snap.

James sighs. “You’re angry because I’m right. Cut her loose, or you’ll damn both of you. Think of her, Luke. You know the king will force you to marry soon. They’ll never accept her. Never. And we don’t know what will happen once she leaves for her task in Armadon.”

A heavy sigh escapes me as James claps me on the shoulder. Words elude me while I struggle to swallow the unfamiliar storm of emotions inside.

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