Page 117 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
With gratitude in her gaze, Phoebe turned and walked back toward the corridor.
The human servant came from the kitchens, balancing three plates as he headed toward them. It was a traditional breakfast with eggs, sausage, and biscuits. They quickly began eating, having worked up an appetite, and he returned a minute later with bowls of freshly cut fruit. Orion perked up at that and immediately started eating an apple slice.
No one spoke for a while as they ate, but then Orion looked between them. “I should tell you about my other dream.”
“You had more than one?” Ruari drew his brows together, thinking the higher powers needed to give the child a break.
The little boy nodded slowly. “It was different.”
“In what way?” Freya asked, cuddling him closer.
“A red-haired lady told me the three sorcerers won’t come until the shield wall is down.”
Shock filled Ruari. They’d never talked about those things in Orion’s presence, and he was certain Aidan and Bailey wouldn’t have either. How could a young child know such a thing? Most of the time, his dreams were more vague.
Freya turned him in her arms enough so she could see his face. “Was that all?”
“No.” Orion’s eyes filled with tears. “The bad dragons and people are going to attack the fortress. Mommy and Apa will have to stop them, but it will be very hard.”
“When?” Ruari asked, taking the boy seriously.
“I don’t know, but it’s after the shield falls.”
Well, that went without saying, but he wouldn’t fault the child. He was too young to grasp theconcept of time fully. They would simply have to be ready when that happened.
“Thank you for telling us,” he said.
Orion nodded. “I think I’m ready to go back to bed now.”
Freya stood, still holding him close to her. “Then we will escort you there, sweet boy.”
“Okay,” he said, giving her a faint, sleepy smile. His golden gaze revealed wisdom far beyond his four years, making Ruari wonder what he’d be like when he was fully grown. Hopefully, less weird than Uncle Kade.
Chapter 36
Galadon
The Kandoran dragon spit multiple balls of green fire from its wide-open mouth. It took every bit of Galadon’s strength and speed to avoid them, angling his wings to the left and right, then closing them so he dropped twenty feet before flaring them again. The heat from the flaming sphere sailed inches over his head.
It was rare to encounter one of the enemies who could produce the strange fire magic. This was his first since the war started ten days ago, but he’d heard of others facing them. Most hadn’t survived. They were so difficult to defeat that some speculated one of the three sorcerers directly controlled them and fed them their power. It corresponded with what Bailey faced months ago when she first encountered a Kandoran’s green flame balls.
Beating his wings hard, Galadon surged upward toward the dragon passing overhead. He lifted his arms and raked his talons into the soft underbelly. It was easier than usual. The scales were thin and brittle, allowing him to shred the skin underneath. Blood and guts poured out and fell to the earth.
The Kandoran let out a painful screech that pierced his ears.
He maneuvered backward a few feet and targeted the dragon’s left wing, biting into it. Small bones crunched between his teeth. Once he had a good grip, he began jerking hard. The wing tore further as Galadon dragged the weakened dragon across the sky while he fought his hold. Another ball of green flames soared past him, missing his head by a foot and dissipating before finding a target. The Kandoran began to fall, and most of the massive beast’s weight tugged at his mouth.
Not letting go of the wing, he worked to bring them down slowly so he could continue tearing the appendage to render it useless. Down below, the moonlight twinkled across the Red River. He’d been battling the Kandoran for a while, not realizing he’d migrated so far north. Galadon had avoided going near that area again, preferring to steer clear of a certain female slayer.
The wing he’d latched onto suddenly ripped from his foe’s body, and the dragon broke free, plummeting to the ground five hundred feet below. Sounds of bones crunching reached him as he made his way to the twisted heap.
As he landed, he noted the Kandoran’s raspy, uneven breaths. Its red eyes were open yet vacant. The sorcerer must have ceded control once it was clear the beast was lost. Galadon didn’t waste time ripping out his enemy’s throat, finishing the job.
He took a moment to spit the tainted blood from his mouth and used his magic to force out the traces that had entered his body. They leaked from his pores to fall to the ground, rendered inert. Only a powerful sorcerer such as him could do such a thing, and it took practice.
A moment later, he rose into the air again, searching for more enemies to kill. His gaze caught on a man on the ground, facing off against two green dragons and half a dozen Kandoranhumans. Nearby, a large, black horse reared into the air and crashed its hooves against one of the red-eyed men. The stallion knocked him to the ground and stomped on his skull until it was flattened. Then he swished his tail as if to say “good riddance.”
Galadon knew that horseand the owner would never have allowed it onto the battlefield. He frantically searched the area. His blood ran cold as he spotted a female form lying still behind Onyx. Galadon recognized the coppery-brown hair framing a heart-shaped face.
