She groaned and dragged a hand down her face. “We could simply ignore it and hope it doesn’t join the fight.”
“We could,” I agreed. “The call is yours.”
“It’s in the opposite direction of where we need to go,” she continued. “We’d lose two days—one to get there, one to get back—if I marched the entire army in search of it. Not to mention, who knows the numbers we’d lose.” She combed her fingers through her hair. “But going after the dragon ensures no surprise attacks during the final battle. And seeing as how the first dragon ripped Sable to shreds, we know it can cause a lot of damage.”
I nodded, knowing she was talking more to herself than me.
“Unless we don’t use the army,” she said. She turned and stared at her soldiers, once again training. “We could cut that day’s march in half if we keep the party small and limit it only to those who can fly. Sulphur’s Grasp is, what, a few hours away as the crow flies?”
A speculative light twinkled in her eyes. She didn’t say another word before pivoting on her heel and marching back to her army. “Calyx, Levi, Eliza.”
The three peeled away from their respective spots and jogged over.
Lily lifted her hand to her mouth, placed two fingers inside, then released a piercing whistle, one that echoed through the outpost. Barely a minute passed before the sound of thick, heavy wings rose to our ears. Mephisar’s massive body briefly blocked the hellish light before he swooped down and landed in front of us, his tail snaking around me and Lily.
She quickly brought our small group up to speed and announced thatwewould be going after the dragon. Now. Before the army began marching. Because she didn’t want any surprises along the way.
“Eliza, are you okay riding Mephisar, or?—”
“She can fly with me,” Levi announced.
No one questioned the choice.
Lily nodded. “Very well.”
“I’m staying here,” Calyx said, his tone a bit petulant. “I’m more useful here, supervising and training. The army needssomeoneto stay behind. And if you’re playing dragon-hunter, then I assume Rath?—”
“I’m going with,” I bit out. No question.
Calyx tipped his head toward Rathiel. “See? And if you’re also dragging along Wonder-Boy?—”
Levi barked a laugh at his new nickname.
“—then I’m staying,” Calyx finished.
Lily considered his request for a moment. But after her gaze strayed to Levi and Eliza, she nodded. “So be it. Alright, everyone gear up. I’m going to speak to Korrak and issue my orders, then I’ll do the same.”
The others broke off from our small pack and headed toward their rooms. I remained behind, waiting for Lily. It didn’t take long for her to inform Korrak that Calyx was in charge—with a couple caveats. She gave explicit instructions for the army to rip the fallen limb from limb if he so much as breathed a traitorous word. Calyx’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. Poor guy was having a rough couple of days.
Once she was done, she and I returned to our barracks, where we both armed ourselves to the teeth. The day would come when this was no longer our life, but in the meantime, we had to make the best of what we had.
After I finished arming myself, I took Lily’s hand and drew her close, wrapping my arms around her. There was nothing I loved more than the feel of her body pressed against mine.
“You ready for this?”
She blew out a heavy breath. “When I raised the hellspawn, I nearly lost control. And I can still feel my power churning inside. It isn’t weakening, it’s growing stronger.”
Oh, I didn’t love the sound of that.
“We take out the dragon, and we come back,” she said. “It’s as simple as that.”
I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you, you know that. Even if that means protecting you from yourself. This darkness will not win.”
Lily’s arms loosened as she tipped her head back. I didn’t need any further encouragement to kiss her. It wasn’t a quick kiss, but it wasn’t heated or hungry either. It was slow and passionate. I took the time to show her what she meant to me and how much I loved her before finally pulling away and reaching for the door.
“You’ve got this,” I assured her.
She nodded, but I had to admit, she didn’t look overly optimistic.
