He lunged.
Hook swords in hand, Kai closed the distance in a heartbeat, striking again and again, but she was faster. Each swing was met with graceful evasion or a blast of magic that sent him sprawling. One moment he was airborne, the next skidding across the dust. She was toying with him, and that realisation stoked his irritation into something near volcanic.
And then, in a rare misstep, she faltered. Just long enough.
His blade caught her leg. Not deep, not fatal, but enough to spill blood. A thin crimson line bloomed across her skin. Her gasp, sharp and startled, was followed by a tremble in her frame. Kai’s swords dropped instantly, horror dawning on his face.
‘I didn’t mean to—’
But it was too late.
She looked up, and he knew.He knew. He had been fooled.
She spranglike a wildcat, tackling him in a blur. They tumbled, and Kai hit the ground with a dull thud, instinctively wrapping his arms around her to cushion her fall.
For a breathless moment, neither moved.
The sky above them was painted in hues of blue and burnt orange, glowing with the last light of day. Kai lay still, his heart thundering in his chest, arms still cradling the witch he’d sworn to loathe.
And then he looked up.
Her purple eyes met his, no longer blazing with fury, but something quieter, something unreadable. And in that fleeting silence, he realised, rather inconveniently, how dangerously pleasant it was to hold her this close.
‘Do you enjoy having me on top of you, commander?’ Dawn purred, her breath brushing his cheek, mischief gleaming in her purple eyes.
Kai hissed, pushing her off with a grunt, ready to spit back a retort, until a vast shadow swept across the earth, silencing him in an instant. He instinctively pulled her down beside him, pinning her low against the ground, his gaze scanning the skies.
‘What the—’ Dawn shoved at him, shrieking in protest.
‘Quiet!’ he snapped.
‘Don’t you dare tell me what to do, you stupid bastard!’
‘Hush,’ he murmured, palm pressing over her mouth, which only widened her eyes in livid outrage. He stifled a laugh at the sight. ‘Look at you, all quiet and obedient.’
She sank her teeth into his hand without hesitation.
Kai howled, jerking back just in time for her to kick him, hard. He wheezed, winded.
‘I am not obedient!’
Kai couldn’t help it. He laughed, truly laughed. No, shecertainly wasn’t.
‘Don’t you ever tell me what to—’ Her words were cut short as she followed the line of his sight and froze. Her mouth snapped shut, the fury draining from her expression. In its place bloomed a quiet, reverent wonder.
Kai moved swiftly, gathering what few supplies they had. He leaned in close, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
‘Never obey anyone, Dawn,’ he whispered. ‘Not even me. Especially not me.’
He didn’t wait for a reply. With silent urgency, he turned towards the distant outline of Kairus, his eyes tracking the slow glide of a colossal shadow overhead.
The unmistakable silhouette of a dragon.
The Black Lotus are feared across the northern kingdoms. I remember hearing my mother once whisper that the Council had petitioned the Fae king to unleash the Black Lotus on their behalf. I never learnt why, but I didn’t need to. The dread that rippled through our town at the mere mention of them crossing into witch lands was enough.
We may have magic.
But they…
