Page 3 of Galadon
It took all my control not to look back as I flew away.
Chapter 2
Rayna
She rose from her cot and rubbed her face, squinting through the dim light. Rayna had cleaned the place up as best she could when she moved in a week ago, but it still needed some work with the constant dust it collected. The old fire watchtower had been closed for decades until recently. After dragons arrived, someone must have busted through the sealed metal door and made it their home for a while.
They’d left the cot, a cook stove, blankets, and a few other belongings, including a journal that detailed their life after the apocalypse. Mostly, it was about avoiding dragons and hunting for food, but the entries had stopped about three years ago. Rayna could only guess they went out one day and never returned, which happened all too often in pure dragon territory.
It wasn’t a bad place for a temporary stay. The room was square like the tower exterior, and the cement winding stairs leading to the top appeared dubious, but she liked that the space had narrow high windows to let in some natural light during the day. It was cozy despite being old and in need of repair.
She stood and stretched, ignoring the ache of loneliness that always came with being far from civilization. It had beenespecially difficult during the harsh winter when she hadn’t seen another human for weeks at a time. What choice did she have? Putting one’s own needs and comforts aside in favor of killing dragons that could hurt innocent people was her job. There was no point in dwelling on it since it wouldn’t change anything.
Rayna washed with the pail of water she’d gathered the evening before and put on fresh clothes. There was something to be said about living next to a small lake. Life became more complicated when she camped away from water sources, so she tried to avoid that.
She brushed her coppery-brown hair, leaving it loose to hang a few inches past her shoulders. Rayna regularly trimmed it to keep it manageable and easy to braid for when she went dragon hunting. Today, she didn’t plan to get into a fight. With luck, she’d achieve her objective without needing her blades or magical powers.
Stepping outside, she checked the sun's position and estimated it to be a little before noon. Normally, she tried to be up a little earlier, but last night she’d tossed and turned until a few hours before dawn.
Galadon had consumed her thoughts. He’d been standing a short distance from her door yesterday, and the sight of him still felt surreal. After nearly four months of solitary life, he’d been the first person—or dragon—she’d spoken to since the new year.
Had it really been that long? God, her life was pathetic.
Rayna had visited the Taugud fortress during the holidays back in December. She hadn’t planned on it, but Bailey sent Titan to hunt her down and bring her back. The poor shifter who’d become her friend last fall had spent a week tracking herdown. The only information he’d had when he started was the location a passing slayer gave him, which was a couple of weeks old.
It had been nice hanging out with everyone in Norman again, but she didn’t feel like she belonged, even with their warm welcome. It was like spying through a window at a family one could never have, and best to avoid the temptation altogether. Bailey made that kind of life work, but most slayers lived lonely lives until dying in battle.
Yesterday had come as a shock. Rayna was going through her usual post-battle ritual, washing the grime away, when Onyx alerted her to Galadon’s approach. The fact the shifter had moved to hide in dragon form behind some trees to watch her was amusing. It proved he still wanted her at some level. He never would have tracked her down and showed concern for her safety otherwise. Still, it hurt he hadn’t stayed, and it had taken all her willpower not to plead harder.
Rayna told herself she needed to forget about him because that’s what he wanted, but she knew he was in denial about their attraction to each other. The day they’d been together had been the most powerful experience in her life. Galadon had worshiped her body like she was an altar. Never before had she felt more alive or wanted, and he hadn’t stopped at only one time. The sparks had flown between them for hours until he’d wrung so many orgasms out of her that she lost count. There was no way he hadn’t felt anything after that.
But then, hours later, when they’d woken in each other’s arms, he’d turned cold and distant. Galadon wasn’t outright rude like he’d often been in the past, but he’d been aloof from that point forward. He wouldn’t even insult her anymore, whichat least gave her fuel to tease him. She needed to stop thinking about him and focus on more important matters.
Rayna set to work to get her chores done. First and foremost, she checked her snares set in various locations near the lake, excited when she found one had caught a rabbit. She set to work starting a fire and preparing it. Like it or not, that was her first meal of the day and probably her dinner later. While the meat roasted, she hand-washed her dirty laundry so everything could dry in the sun while she was away. Even living a minimalistic life required a lot of work.
After eating, Rayna was anxious to head out. She needed to get moving while the Kandoran still rested and wouldn’t notice her getting close to them.
Onyx lifted his head as she came around the tower to where he fed on a patch of grass. “Ready to go?”
His reply was clear in her head.Yes…bored here.
Of course, he was getting restless. Rayna didn’t let him go out with her yesterday because he’d been favoring one of his legs after a previous run-in with a handful of Kandoran humans. He’d stomped on one rather hard and came down at a bad angle. Thankfully, his injury was already improving when she checked on him before bed last night.
That was one more oddity to add to her horse. She’d been giving him a potion for several years that rendered him fireproof since flames were a natural hazard for any animal who stayed around a slayer for long. Rayna didn’t know all the ingredients except she’d had to provide some blood from her prey to produce it. The first six months went fine, but strange things happened as he’d taken more doses. He started licking dead dragons, especially where they bled. Over time, she’d caught him nibblingat their flesh, and more recently, he’d begun fully snacking on them.
He’d developed higher intelligence, become more adaptable, and gained greater stamina. To top it off, he was healthier than ever and recovered from his injuries quicker than should have been possible. There were definitely advantages she hadn’t anticipated. Rayna could only hope she hadn’t done anything that might cause her horse irreparable harm.
Onyx followed her as she went to get his halter. He even lowered his head so she could put it on him. The horse didn’t need a bit, and she didn’t bother with a saddle except for longer trips, but she still preferred reins to guide him more easily. Also, they were useful to tie him to something if she didn’t want him going anywhere.
Rayna leaped onto his back, and a moment later, they set off in a westerly direction through the low-lying Wichita Mountains. She would let Onyx get her as close as possible to the Kandoran camp before finishing the rest of the journey on foot. They’d be asleep at the moment since they abhorred the bright daylight hours and didn’t rise until late afternoon or early evening. It was only two o’clock now, so she had some time.
The terrain was rolling and rocky, with a lot of scrub brush and scraggly trees. Onyx chose his steps carefully, as they also had to watch out for any leftover cluster bombs from the war. Shortly after it ended, they’d done a sweep to get most of them, but Rayna occasionally spotted one they’d missed.
If she thought it was safe, she’d chuck rocks at the small bomblets to set them off while standing a healthy distance away. They were loud, though, so she didn’t do that often and simply marked their location instead. Once, she heard one go off, and when she went to investigate, she found that a couple ofKandoran humans had run into the bomblet. One had died from the blast, and the other was severely injured. She’d put that guy out of his misery.
After traveling for over an hour, Rayna stopped Onyx at the side of a hill where there was plenty of tree cover and vegetation for him to eat. His breed wasn’t known for endurance, but it had increased through their travels, and he’d grown much stronger since consuming dragon flesh. He could now walk and run for longer than normal horses, but he still needed breaks.
Rayna rubbed his forehead and gave him a kiss. “Stay here and rest. I need you fresh when I return.”
