Page 52 of Deadwood
I managed to get on my hands and knees, crawling toward where I thought Paxon might be. He’d clearly passed out when he was hit over the head, so shouting his name would do no good other than draw attention to myself.
My entire field of vision was filled with white, and then my hand hit something hard and cold—so cold that it stood out amongst the snow coating my skin. I looked up, and the sight immediately stopped me in my tracks. I scrambled backwards, my ankle protesting at the use of it. I muffled my yelp with my hand once I stopped, staring up at the statue.
But it wasn’t a statue.
It was one of Amosite’s guards.
Frozen completely solid in ice.
An ear-piercing roar filled the air, and my eyes darted around frantically. I had no idea what could make a noise such as that, and I didn’t want to find out. I needed to get to Paxon or Lander or a guard.Somebody.
Before I could continue crawling, a thick, white whip lashed out and shattered the frozen guard, his body flying into pieces along with the ice.
My eyes widened, and all too quickly, I realized that what looked like a whip wasn’t that at all. It was a tail.
And the being attached to it was now standing directly in front of me, towering over my body with razor sharp teeth bared, a growl rumbling low in its throat.
A dragon.
All the air in my lungs was sucked from me as fear froze me in place.
Its white scales blended easily with the snow as it took a single step toward me, standing so close now that not a single snowflake fluttered between the two of us.
Its crystal blue eyes narrowed in on me, and my body shook—from fear or shock, I couldn’t tell.
A scream pierced through the air, pulling my attention from the dragon. I looked just in time to see a bandit coming straight for me with a sword raised high above his head.
Fear lodged in my throat, concealing the scream that threatened to escape, and I scrambled backwards once more. My ankle was useless, and I was going to die. I couldn’t move fast enough. Especially not at the speed these attackers were capable of. Were any of my people even still alive?
Accepting that there was no way out of this, I squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe death would be peaceful, less full of the hate that littered Serpentine. Maybe I’d finally get my freedom in the after.
I sucked in a breath, and then the battle-cry of the bandit went silent. Nothing touched me, but maybe death was merciful that way. It didn’t let you feel the pain before you departed, giving you that final moment of bliss so the last thing you felt wasn’t despair.
Open your eyes, burned one,a rough, feminine voice said, the words echoing in my head, likely from the adrenaline.
With the release of the breath I held, my eyes opened. I looked at my would-be attacker, directly in front of me, with the tip of his sword merely a foot from my face. Yet he had never gotten to strike before he was frozen to the core.
My gaze moved to the towering white dragon. It was no longer growling, its teeth hidden now.
Look at your attacker, not me,that same voice said, making my mind spin.
My eyes widened as my heart picked up its pace, realization settling in. The dragon wastalkingto me?
Do not be afraid of me, girl. It is them you should fear.
My chest heaved with my breaths coming in short pants now. The corset, the adrenaline, the dragon standing in front of me—it was all taking over every thought in my mind, weighing down on me like boulders from a landslide.
Somehow, the beast wasn’t talking with its mouth, though. It seemed to have the ability to speak in my mind.
It is rude to stare.
Was it…female?
“Auria!” a voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.
Paxon.
He was awake.
