Page 42 of Galadon
If he reached for the blade, she’d lose her last shred of control and kill him.
God, how Rayna wished there was another way because this was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d sworn to see the Kandoran finished for good. Then there was Onyx, and who would look after him once she was gone? Still, no other options presented themselves that wouldn’t end even worse.
“I have to do this, so just take care of my horse for me, okay?” She lifted the blade above her as tears streamed down her face. “I love you, Galadon.”
“Noooo!” Galadon screamed.
In that brief second, as he reached for her, she felt her half of the mating bond click into place. Then she brought the knife down toward her chest, where her heart was located. If not for a flash of light to the east, she would have aimed true, but as it sank through her skin, she tilted it enough so it only nicked the organ before entering her left lung. She choked as new agony spasmed through her body.
Chapter 19
Galadon
Terror, unlike anything I’d ever felt before, ran through me as Rayna’s hand fell away from the dagger embedded in her chest to lie limply on the ground. This proud, brave woman who’d never stopped fighting couldn’t throw her life away to save me. That’s not how this was supposed to end. How dare she say those words and then stab herself in the heart?
I came to saveher.
I flung myself toward her, barely making it a foot, then crawled on my stomach the rest of the way as I ignored the agonizing pain in my useless legs. She was gasping for breath. Each one could be her last, and I had to reach her. At that moment, I realized what I’d thrown away by rejecting her time and again. She’d said she’d never hurt me, but I’d never believed her. My past wouldn’t let me. Had I driven her to this because she saw no way forward for us?
I started to take the dagger out, but I remembered at the last moment that it could make things worse. Already, Astaroth and his followers were heading our way. They’d been waiting for one of us to die before coming closer.
“Why?” I growled at her. “You didn’t have to do this.”
She sucked in a breath. “Only way…you could…ever trust me.”
“Youfushka.” Fool. “I am not worth this.”
Her fingers twitched where I lay next to her as if she sought my touch. I took her hand. It was a little thing, but with our palms clasped, I felt the tiny thread of the bond she’d extended by declaring her love for me. That spark connected us on a primal level and would only happen if she’d meant it. I wished I could say the words back, so we’d fully connect, but I had no idea what I felt except fear for her. She couldn’t leave me like this.
“You’re worth…” She coughed and winced in pain. “…more than you realize.”
How could she say these things while I was losing her? All my life, I’d thought of myself as an abandoned and unwanted dragon who held little value, knowing that if something happened to me, no one would feel my loss. The only thing that drove me to stay alive was to annoy my enemies and take down as many as possible before I left this world. Not once did it occur to me that a female—especially a slayer—would fall in love with me and even sacrifice her life for mine. The thought of it shook me to the core.
“Ah, what a touching moment,” Astaroth said, coming to stand a few feet away with a pleased expression. “The pain you two are suffering will feed me for a long time to come, and her death will satiate me even more.”
I tried to lunge for him, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. Rayna wouldn’t let go of my hand, either. There was a look in her eyes as if she was trying to tell me something, but she couldn’tspeak the words. Her breath continued to grow more choked and shallower.
I glared at the Kandoran, wishing the remaining shackles on my ankles didn’t continue to bind my dragon and sorcerer magic. He’d be dead in a second otherwise.
“The others will come for you,” I said, fury in my voice.
He laughed. “They may have outsmarted my predecessors, but they can’t outsmart me. I can anticipate their every move now that they aren’t blocking me anymore. Though, admittedly, I didn’t foresee the slayer doing this. I thought for sure she’d kill you, but she is a contrary one.”
Rayna squeezed my hand and grunted. When she turned her head, I followed her gaze and found a large group of red dragons flying our way. Lorcan led them. They must have circled around because they were coming from the west behind the Kandoran, so they couldn’t see their approach. That was what the slayer had been trying to tell me with her urgent expression.
I kept my expression blank throughout this realization, wanting to give the shifters time to arrive before the sorcerer could mount a defense or escape. Rayna’s gaze met mine, and understanding passed between us despite the light fading in her hazel eyes. Even so close to death, she continued to look out for me. My najeema was more precious than I ever realized.
Astaroth started to turn his head, so I growled to distract him. “You’re not as smart as you think. Your overconfidence will be your downfall.”
“What? As if you could do anything,” he said with a malicious grin. “So broken now you can’t even hope to fight me.”
I pushed down my rage at his words. The red dragons—perhaps two dozen of them—were getting closer. Now, they were less than a mile away. I had to keep the Kandoran talking for only a minute or two.
“It’s ironic you should mention that, considering you wouldn’t survive half of what you’ve inflicted upon us without crying like a child,” I said with a feral grin. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you whine if you even stub your toe. Those who inflict pain on others are often the ones who can’t handle it themselves.”
Astaroth’s expression turned furious. “I would never be so stupid as to get captured and tortured, unlike you.”
“That’s because you don’t care about anyone except yourself—not even those minions you keep close all the time because you’re too much of a coward to face two people with broken legs and mutilated bodies alone,” I replied, and then I forced myself to sit up. It hurt and took longer than I liked, considering I had broken ribs on top of broken legs, but I still managed.
