Page 55 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
You think you can take me down, tiny woman?he asked, pawing the ground. She hated references to her diminutive size. Taunting her was too much fun.
Bailey’s expression hardened. “Oh, yeah.”
They’d find out soon enough.
She was unlike the others, and Aidan could not charge at her, relying on brute strength and speed as he had with the shifters. For her, he’d have to strategize and plan every move carefully. It would take cunning. Under no circumstances could he let her best him in front of his people—who’d all begun circling them. They were eager to watch this fight.
Aidan spoke through an open channel so all could hear.Show me what you have, little slayer. And don’t hold back for my sake.
Bailey gripped her sword—a sign she was readying herself to strike. Letting her make the first move would give him the advantage. She was used to dragons making the initial attack, and he wanted to put her off guard. The slayer narrowed her eyes, giving him a condescending look.
“Be careful what you wish for, big guy,” she said, slyness in her tone.
The next moment, she pulled a dagger with her free hand and tossed it with lightning speed toward his eye. Aidan dodged, but not fast enough. The blade sank into his snout. Pain soared through the tender flesh there, shocking him at her ruthless opening.
Bailey wouldn’t give him an inch in this battle, no matter what they’d done together last night. All their tenderness and feelings were shoved to the back of their minds. Through their mating bond, he sensed how she’d closed off her emotions the same as him. They would show his toriq how to fight mercilessly so they could prepare themselves for the worst to come.
He ripped out the dagger. Blood poured from his injury, and his eyes watered from the pain. She had learned a thing or two during their separation. That would serve her well and make him worry less when he couldn’t watch her back.
As Aidan’s vision cleared, she sprinted toward him with her sword raised high. She had every intention of slicing it into his neck. He knew she’d fight with everything she had just short of killing him. Bailey was a dragon slayer to her core, and when she let go of her restraint, she attacked viciously. Her instincts rode her far harder than even the fiercest dragon. He had to keep that in mind with every move he made.
A few paces before she reached him, Aidan spun around and let his tail fly like a whip. He held it at an angle that would prove difficult to dodge. His mate cried out as his spikes rammed into her chest, cracking her ribs and sending her flying.
Aidan finished his spin and found her thirty feet away, struggling to rise from the ground. She used one hand to clutch her side where he’d struck her. His tail was much larger nowandcould slam into a body with brutal force. He had to resist the urge to ask her if she was okay. She would hate himfor that, and it would weaken her in the eyes of others. Even between mates, dragons expected they could handle a certain pain level.
“Damn, that hurt,” she said, giving him an approving look as she eased to her feet. “Youarestronger.”
He charged her, wanting to finish the fight. Aidan had made his point.
Bailey dropped to her back at the last moment and sliced into his belly as he sailed over her. Agony seared into him as her sword cut through his soft scales and punctured his organs. His mate hadn’t shown it, but she wasn’t happy that he’d gotten the best of her. She’d let go of any mercy she might have had left.
Very well. If she gave no quarter, then neither would he. Soon, they’d fight enemies who would not hesitate to strike a killing blow, and they both knew it. He breathed through the pain and stomped on her arm as he finished passing over her.
Bone crunched, and she cried out.
Aidan spun around to check over her, oozing blood beneath him onto the already damp earth from all the other battles he’d fought. He’d hoped the injury he inflicted would keep her down, but no such luck. She scrambled to her feet, holding her blade in her good hand while her left arm hung uselessly. It seemed that his slayer could take quite a lot of pain.
For a moment, they paused to give each other looks of respect. Sheer determination lit in her brown gaze. They would fight until one was permanently down. It was the way of dragons, and Bailey had no problem following it.
They lunged toward each other. Their fight took them all over the field, with shifters dodging out of the way as theymoved. She cut him many times with her sword until he was covered in blood.
Aidan bit and clawed her, ruining her beautiful warrior garb and marring her skin in a dozen places. Neither of them cared. Their lust for battle was high, and both enjoyed a fight where a clear winner could not be predicted.
“Finally, a real challenge,” Bailey said, grinning at him even as she bled. “It had been getting boring lately with the Shadowan.”
He snorted a puff of fire that floated in the air between them.I am far superior to those weaklings.
“True, but you still haven’t defeated me yet, dragon. Give me all you got.”
A thrill ran through him at finally finding an opponent who could not be easily bested. One that would give him a true challenge. He didn’t know how much time had passed since their duel began, but it felt like hours rather than minutes.
They danced around each other. He snapped at her with his teeth and swiped with his claws. Bailey avoided most of his strikes, returning them with lunges of her sword, but neither managed to harm the other again seriously. They panted with exertion.
Then Aidan finally pinned her to the ground, claws curled over her wrists.
His blood fell to mingle with hers, and the combined rivulets slid to the ground. They smelled of battle, sweat, and death, and underneath it all—hot desire. Bailey jerked and pulled, but she could not dislodge him. The slayer was grossly injured, weakened from blood loss, and reduced to glaring athim. Aidan let his flames overtake him so he could shift to his human form. Even then, the heavy weight of his muscles kept her from throwing him off. He was also larger in this body, though the difference wasn’t as stark as with his dragon.
“Do you concede?” he asked, steam puffing from his nose as he continued to straddle and press her wrists to the ground.
