I lean at an unnatural angle, half out of the wall, the world slowing for a second as I catch a glimpse of a massive, emerald tail swaying above us. A haze of green follows its movements, emitting a faint, cloying scent that’s wholly different from how the scourge on the breeze hit the back of my tongue earlier.
For a second, it’s not a dragon I’m staring up at, but full gallows. My stomach churns, and a scream catches in my lungs. But I blink and it’s gone. Green dragon haze causes hallucinations of the worst kind.
With a strength I could only imagine on my best day, Saipha throws her weight to yank me back inside. We land hard, but neither of us move. We don’t make a sound other than the fall of our bodies. Both of us hold our breath, waiting. Wondering if this is it. If collapsed wall under dragon ass is how we go.
I never would’ve thought it, but being killed by one of my countrymen because I’m dragon cursed might be preferred. Who would’ve thought I would find a worse way to go than that? But that’s life in Vinguard… Every day is learning a new way to survive. Hopefully.
“Fire!” a Mercy Knight shouts in the distance.
I wince as Etherlight flares across my senses as dozens of magically enhanced crossbows are fired at once.
The dragon roars, and there’s awhooshingsound right before the wall above and around us rumbles, groans, and threatens to crumble. A putrid gust of air billows down to us. Another roar, this time farther than before. It must’ve taken flight.
I lock eyes with Saipha, both of us realizing it at the same time.
“Let’s get out of here before we’re a part of the wall forever.” Saipha scrambles to her feet, passing me the lantern.
I quickly light it and hand it back. “Go.”
We race down the staircase at an impossible speed. It’s more like a controlled fall than running, and it’s amazing we make it to the bottom without breaking any bones or face-planting.
A light misting of rain hits my cheeks as we emerge into the small alcove between buildings and the wall.Of course it’s raining. No wonder the dragon attacked. The Earthtenders didn’t forecast it. They’re becoming more and more unreliable by the day as the world continues to rot.
No sooner have we stepped outside than the roar of the dragon echoes over Vinguard. The sharptwangof a massive ballista high on the wall is followed by azipof the projectile through the air.
Saipha and I both suck in a breath.
She does it in anticipation for what might happen next.
I do it because the Etherlight released from the ballista hits me like a shock wave. All at once, my skin is too hot. Too tight. I press a palm against the wall for support.
The dragon roars triumphantly. A miss.
“Damn it, kill the monster already,” Saipha snarls. It almost hides the slight quiver in her lip that betrays her fear.
As if in response, there’s a thick, wet splattering sound followed immediately by a chorus of screams that overtakes thebells. Green dragons don’t breathe fire. They spit an acid that can melt clay roof tiles like a salt cube in a rainstorm.
Poor souls didn’t stand a chance. I’m cold all over, and not just from the faint rain that’s finally beginning to soak through my clothes. So much death.
It’s your fault, you fraud, a nasty voice in me whispers.If you were truly Valor Reborn, you’d have killed the Elder Dragon and saved them by now.
“Let’s get a better look.” Saipha grabs my hand, tugging me to the passage between the two buildings.
“A better look at what?”
“The dragon, of course.” Ethershade is about the only thing Saipha fears. And I suspect even that won’t give her pause after she’s through the Tribunal and knows she’s not cursed.
“Saipha, we shouldn’t get in the way of the Mercy Knights.”
“We’re not going to get in the way. I want to see what they’re doing. Maybe it’ll help us in the Tribunal.”
“They’re not going to have us fighting dragons in the Tribunal,” I mumble. But she doesn’t hear me; she’s already side-stepping between the buildings.
I glance back at the alcove that leads into that forgotten tower lost within the stone and mortar of the wall. We should’ve waited out the attack in there. What was I thinking, coming out?
Yet, for as much as I want to retreat and wait, I follow Saipha. I wouldn’t have the words to explain it to her if I didn’t. Nor could I bear her disappointment if I tried.
We emerge into the alleyway as a rumble heralds the dragon landing again on a not-so-distant rooftop. Aboveground, Vinguard is a bit like a bowl—the center is its lowest point—so up by the wall, we can see most of the Upper City. My heart stops and falls into my stomach, where it’s promptly dissolved by acid.
