I lift my knife again, shoulder pressed to his, every nerve stretched to breaking.
“If we don’t kill it,” I whisper, more to myself than him, “we won’t survive to see tomorrow.”
The monster lowers its head, claws digging deep into the rock. Its tail lashes once, twice—the warning of a predator about to strike.
And we wait, side by side on the rim of the world, for the thing in the dark to come for us.
27
KARA
The monster crouches low, its massive chest expanding. It doesn’t rush. It’s testing us—waiting for the flinch, the stumble, the weakness.
I don’t move. He doesn’t either.
We stand, him a step in front of me, but our shoulders touching. His lochaber raised, my knife trembling in my grip. Our breaths fall into sync, shallow and sharp. The newly forming bond between us hums, unspoken but undeniable.
The beast lashes out.
A claw big enough to crush a man smashes into the ledge, stone exploding under the blow. We split without thinking—he rolls left, I dive right. The wind of the strike throws grit across my exposed skin, but my knife flashes, catching soft flesh under the beast’s plated belly.
My Zmaj slices across its forelimb, ichor spraying dark and foul.
The monster roars, head snapping back, tail lashing hard enough to shake the ground beneath us. My knees buckle, but Idon’t fall. He’s already back at my side, lochaber lifted again. No words. No signal. Only a certainty of moving together.
It comes again, jaws wide. I dart forward, feinting, flashing my knife near its eye. It jerks toward me, distracted. He uses the opening, his blade cleaving across its shoulder. Blood pours, thick and oily, onto the rock.
The fight falls into rhythm—terrible, perfect synchronicity.
I dart in, small and fast, striking and drawing its gaze. He follows with brutal and precise strikes, each swing of his weapon landing like a hammer. We don’t speak, but it feels like we’ve practiced this dance a thousand times. His size, my speed. His strength, my stubborn fire.
The beast’s tail whips, fast as lightning. It smashes down where I was, and the shockwave nearly knocks me off my feet. I hear my own scream, raw and sharp, but before I fall, his arm clamps around my waist and yanks me flush against his chest. His wings snap open, steadying us. For a heartbeat, I’m caged in him, breathless not from fear but from the wild thundering of my pulse.
Then he’s gone, moving forward again, lochaber singing through the air.
The monster’s other claw slams down and hits, knocking him to one knee. My heart lurches. He snarls, bracing, but the beast bears down, pressing. Without thinking, I leap, knife driving straight at its eye. My blade sinks deep into the slick orb, bursting foul ichor across my hand. The creature shrieks, staggering back, and in that moment, he’s on his feet again.
He rises like a storm. His lochaber arcs, cleaving through its throat. I tear my knife free and drive it into the exposed wound,pushing with every ounce of strength left in me. Together, we strike as one—steel and fury, man and woman, Zmaj and human.
The beast thrashes, tail smashing, body convulsing. Blood sprays wide, stinging my skin where drops land. I don’t let go. Neither does he.
At last, the monster collapses. Its massive body crashes onto the rim, shaking the ground beneath us, then goes still. The only sound left is our ragged breathing.
I stumble, chest heaving. He is beside me, looming close, scars carved stark in moonlight, lochaber dripping dark ichor. His chest rises and falls, steady but hard, the tremor of battle rolling through him.
Our eyes lock. No words. No room for them.
We fought together. We survived together. We are no longer alone.
The space between us hums, fragile and burning. I taste blood and grit and something hotter still, rising sharp in my chest. His gaze pins me, black and fathomless, and for the first time I let myself believe what it means.
Him. Me. Us.
Then he grabs my waist and sweeps me off my feet.
28
KARA
