Page 44 of War Of Fire and Fortune
My head throbbed.
But my eyes locked on hers.
No. I wouldn’t fall. Not here. Not now.
Not with everything at stake.
Emeris roared from overhead, and I recognized the sound instantly—the slightly higher pitch.
A warning.
I didn’t look up. I didn’t dare break my gaze from Valla. But I knew my dragon was close, circling. Waiting. Watching.
With the distance she put between us, I took two more slow steps back—just enough to nudge Valla into the right position. Just enough to set the trap.
My jaw throbbed with each heartbeat, but I kept my smirk steady. “Come on,” I shouted, my voice rough. “Is that all you’ve got? You’re going to let a pregnant woman kick your ass?”
Valla’s eyes narrowed into slits. Her grip on her sword tightened, but she didn’t charge yet. No—she was calculating. Assessing me. Wondering what my next move would be.
I took another small step to the side, guiding her, lining her up.
“Twice,” I said, raising my blade again and pointing it at her. “I’ve hit you twice. To your one.”
Her expression twisted.
“Looks like you’ve gotten soft, Val.”
That did it.
With a snarl ripping from her chest, Valla lunged—fire flaring to life around her as she closed the distance between us in a blur of fury and smoke.
Got you.
I spun out of reach just as her sword came down, scorching the ground where I’d stood a heartbeat before. She chased after me, right where I wanted her—oblivious to the storm building above.
And then—
Emeris struck.
A thunderous roar cracked the sky as my dragon dove from above, wings slicing through smoke and chaos. Flames burst from her jaws—a torrent of golden fire that swallowed the battlefield in light and heat.
Valla barely had time to look up as the fire slammed into her back, hurling her forward and off her feet. She hit the ground hard, rolling through the dirt, her armor blackened, the flames licking across her shoulders as she screamed in agony. A Fire Fae could wield fire, but it didn’t stop it from hurting them if they were hit with it. It worked as a weapon both ways.
Smoke curled from Valla’s armor, and for a moment I let myself believe we had her.
That she wasdown.
That we had won.
But then she moved. Valla pushed to her feet with a growl, flames still clinging to her as she rose. Her armor cracked and burned and fell away in some places as she heaved breath into her lungs. She turned her head slowly, gaze locking with mine from where she was.
I knew she had to be in pain from the burns, but then she smiled.
“This time . . .” Her voice was low and deadly.
“. . . I won’t miss.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. In the same breath, lightning crackled in her palm, searing the very air between us. But it wasn’t aimed at me.
