Page 119 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
I’m certain you’ll make me regret this later.
A pained smile crossed her lips.If I don’t annoy you, who will?
Everyone else who crosses my path.He flew faster, noting her heartbeat was slowing. How did she stay awake and maintain her sarcasm? The woman would harass him from the grave if she could, no doubt.
Am I at least your favorite?
Her face was deathly pale, and he would have thought she slept if not for her faint voice in his head.You’re third in a long list, slayer.
Galadon should have spoken soothingly to her, but he wanted to spark her spirit more.
Asshole,she said, coughing up blood. He shifted her head higher so she wouldn’t choke.
It was the middle of the night, and only a sliver of moonlight blanketed the land, but he managed to make out the Faegud bunker ahead. He’d flown faster than was likely comfortable for her, but she needed help immediately. Galadon slowed his flight for the landing. The strong woman who normally appeared larger than life now felt like a fragile, broken doll.
As his feet touched the ground, he sensed the link between their minds fade away, and a peek under the blanket revealed her bleeding had slowed. The cloth wasn’t as soaked as it should have been after their journey. It wasn’t because the wound was healing, but rather, her body wasn’t making enough new blood anymore. She was fading even faster than he anticipated. Were there other injuries he’d missed?
He realized her breaths had grown shallower as well.
Galadon rushed for the bunker, calling for his mother with a growl since his dragon form wouldn’t fit through the doorway. She met him at the entrance. Her eyes rounded when she got a good look at Rayna.
“I’ve got her,” Ujala said, carefully taking the limp body into her arms and grasping the injured leg with extra care.
He watched her walk away while he lit into flames, shifting as fast as possible. It took several long minutes before the fire died, and he could hurry inside. There were only a few wounded shifters within the room. It was easy to find his mother hovering over Rayna on a cot in the back, her healing light working on the partially severed leg with one hand and another hovering over the slayer’s torso.
“Can you save her?” he asked.
Her lips thinned. “It’s too early to tell. She’s lost a lot of blood from the severed artery in her leg, one of her kidneys was nearly destroyed, and the other damaged. Her left lung is punctured. Part of her intestines are missing, which I suspect is from the dragon she fought eating them. Those are just the issues I’ve found so far. If she were anything other than a slayer…I mean, even a shifter likely would have died before now.”
It reminded Galadon of when they found Bailey’s father in a similar condition. He’d lived with his injuries for a day or two before succumbing to them, though his didn’t quite match hers. He’d once heard Rayna say it was the curse of her kind. They were incredibly difficult to kill, which meant when they did die, it was often drawn out and painful.
If he didn’t hate her kind so much, he’d almost feel sorry for her. Her cavalier attitude was likely because she knew eachday could be her last, but if not, she would continue to suffer through death and pain until her end came. Still, they were only allies for now. He could not allow himself to keep seeing her as the fierce, independent woman who eagerly fought at his side whenever the opportunity presented itself. After the war, she’d no doubt attack and kill him with no remorse.
He ran a hand through his short hair, as conflicted as ever. “Do the best you can.”
“Why didn’t you leave her to die?” his mother asked, not looking up from where she continued to mend the slayer.
He sighed. “She’s a lethal fighter, worth ten human soldiers and likely two average shifters. We need her to win this war.”
“Is that all?” Ujala’s lips twitched, though she still didn’t look up. “Or is there something more to it?”
Galadon glared at her. “Why else would I save a slayer?”
“There was a frantic look in your eyes when you arrived that I doubt is usual for you.”
“She was dying,” he said with a growl. He refused to examine or name his feelings any further and wouldn’t allow anyone else to try. It was pointless.
His mother finished with the leg, and it was nearly closed. “Wrap that with a bandage, will you? I must conserve the rest of my strength for her other injuries.”
Of course. He went to the back room on the right and got a gauze roll and some tape. Returning, he knelt and gently wrapped it around the slayer’s leg. He tried not to notice the perfect shape of her uninjured leg or how close he was to the juncture of her thighs. She was a slayer—a rude, obnoxious,mouthy one—and would happily kill him after their alliance was finished. He could resist her beauty no matter how badly he wanted to run his fingers through her hair every time he caught it glistening in the sun.
“Done,” he said, backing away like she was a venomous snake.
His mother glanced at him. “What happened to Rayna’s partner? She has one, doesn’t she?”
“He was there,” Galadon said, moving to lean against the wall where it was safer. “The man was also injured, though not as badly. I finished killing the Kandoran surrounding them and had Rayna’s horse take him for help.”
“What was her horse doing there?” she asked, frowning.
