Desperation cuts through me. There has to besomethingI can do.
I think back to my outburst back at the village, how my anger somehow ignited the first step of a greater transformation. I remember my red eyes and sharp teeth and unspeakable surge ofstrength. If the red dragon’s magic flows through my veins, surely I can harness its power.
What a shame I have no idea how to control it. How am I to save my Fated One?
“Jyn!” I cry as I prepare to meet my demise for the second time this day. “Jyn,please, you have to—”
There isn’t enough time to pull up, so she takes the brunt of the fall. The harsh thud as we slam into the cold, hard ground is enough to rattle my bones. I’m in excruciating pain and shock, but at least I’malive.
Dust billows out from under us, coating my skin and stinging my eyes. Wherever we are, it’s freezing and dark. There’s barely any light down here at the bottom of what I can only assume is an empty ravine, long since dried up and abandoned by the living. Even the weeds, normally stalwart and steadfast against the harshest elements, have shriveled up and died here.
I clamber to my feet, ignoring the sharp twist of what feels like a broken ankle. By all accounts, I’m lucky.
My dragon, on the other hand, is alarmingly still.
A shaky breath escapes me as I reach out to her, gingerly pressing the tips of my fingers against her cold scales. “Jyn?” I call out weakly, my throat uncomfortably tight.“Jyn.”
I glance down at our thread for reassurance—still there, but for how much longer?
With a pathetic limp, I hobble over to her head, stroking the debris from her eyes. Jyn stirs with a whimper and a groan, struggling to right herself. The shaft of the arrow juts out, a painful splinter, the tip lodged deep within her chest.
“Don’t move, my lady. I will get…” My words die on my tongue as I look around. There’s no help to be found. Swallowing hard, I cradle her head beneath her chin and tap my forehead to her snout. “Please, hang on just a while longer. I’ll get us out of this.”
A low, ominous growl reaches my ear.
I turn slowly, goose bumps sliding over my aching flesh. Now that the dust has settled, I finally realize that this ravine is far from abandoned. Peeking out at me from the inky dark is a pair of glowing red eyes and the glint of sharp fangs. One pair grows into two, two into four, four into eight. Before I know it, Jyn and I are staring down an entire horde of bloodthirsty beasts.
An entire family of yayu. It seems we’ve had the misfortune of plummeting directly into their lair. They bare their teeth, and thick strands of saliva drip from their yellowed fangs. Their nostrils flare as they crouch, ready to pounce. Jyn and I are outnumbered twenty to one. There is no escape. We either fight, or we die.
As they circle not just me but Jyn, I envision them tearing us limb from limb, feasting on our remnants. The thought of my Fated One perishing awakens something within me. So long as I draw breath, I will fight so that nothing can touch her. If these damned beasts want a taste of dragon’s blood, they’ll first have to go through me.
I take a deep breath.
And then I let it all out.
Every ounce of frustration, of rage, of madness within me is unleashed, drawing power from a deep, untapped well. My skin ignites with the heat of a thousand suns, my teeth grow sharp so suddenly that they cut into my own tongue, my nails become long and as sharp as ten savage blades. The roar that escapes me is not quite that of a dragon, but it can’t be described as human, either. It’s not a full transformation—I don’t know if I’m even capable of that—but it’s enough to unleash my wrath.
The yayu pounce with vicious snarls, but I’m ready. I know no fear, only unbridled hatred. Nobody will hurt my Fated One.Nobody.
It’s a bloody affair.
They bite, they claw, and I do the same. I’m no longer myself, so moved by my anger that I’m blind to the rest of the world. I can’t differentiate one foe from the next. They blur together, one massive threat that I alone must eliminate. I tear the beasts apart with my bare hands, gnashing my teeth, casting dirt into their eyes. One kill, ten kills—it makes no difference. The power I wield is dark and dangerous.
“Sai!” Jyn sobs my name. “Sai,enough!”
But I can’t stop. My sanity slowly slips away. These movements, this heartbeat, this all-consuming craving for blood are not my own. I won’t hold back. I refuse. I will destroy every last creature in my way if it means that I can keep my Fated One safe. Even if that means I must destroy myself.
Jyn shifts back into her human form and throws her arms around my neck. “They’re dead,” she rasps. “I’m safe. We’refine.”
I throw Jyn off me without thinking, sending her crashing to the ground. It’s only when I hear her cry out, my hand coming away red from her chest, that I manage to grasp hold of my senses. Clarity finally washes over me, followed by a gut-wrenching horror.
What have I done?
“I’m sorry,” I say shakily, hurrying over to pick her up and cradle her in my arms. How did I lay a hand on her, when I was only here to protect her? “I’m so sorry, my heart. I didn’t mean to—”
She grits her teeth as she inhales, clearly in agony. As lightly as I can manage, I move the top of her robes to inspect her injury. The huntress’s arrow is embedded just below Jyn’s collarbone. Red stains her skin, flowing freely.
“I have to pull it out,” I tell her regretfully.
