Kian coasted the dragon lower, angling the beast toward the harbor. “I wish I could help.” The pain in her voice wrenchedthrough me. “I should’ve made someone teach me how to use a blade. How to command power.”
“It hurts to see our city this way.”
Buildings that once showed off their bright paints were now smudged with soot from fires that blazed unchecked. Some of the buildings had crumbled entirely, their wooden beams splintered, their walls collapsed into rubble. Crimson streaked the cobblestones. Whether it was blood from my people or the borgons, I didn’t know.
A woman dashed out of a shop clutching a child, her eyes wide with terror. She barely had time to scream before a borgon lunged, swiping its tail out to knock her sideways. She hit a wall and crumpled to her knees, shielding the child with her own body. I clenched my legs against the dragon's shoulders, my heart kicking hard against my ribs.
“Drop me here,” I shouted over the roar of the wind and the steady beat of the dragon’s wings.
Kian stilled behind me. “Are you insane? That thing will rip you to shreds before you can draw a blade.”
What did she think I’d planned to do here, shop at the market?
“They’re tearing my people apart.” I twisted in the saddle, meeting her gaze with a glare hard enough to rival the stone beneath us. “Get lower, or I’ll jump from here.”
She cursed but urged the dragon into a swift descent. He spiraled once before he tipped his chest up, his talons scraping across cobblestones, his flapping wings stirring plumes of dirt and smoke into the air.
I swung my leg over and leaped off his side, my boots striking the ground hard. I glanced back to see Kian urging the dragon to take flight again.
“Don’t…” She shook her head. “The fates protect you!”
The dragon let out a low growl, a rumbling warning thatcarried in the heavy, acrid air, and blasted flames at a borgon stretching its claws toward the dragon’s belly.
Kian didn’t fly far, hovering the dragon above me like she might swoop back to rescue me if I somehow survived.
The woman screamed, clutching the child to her chest, while the borgon let out a guttural snarl, a sound that crawled under my skin and twisted. Its body, hunched and covered in scales that gleamed like oiled obsidian, shifted closer to the woman. Each step sent cracks through the cobblestones beneath its clawed feet. Muscles rippled under its hide, its veins bulging like cords stretched too tightly. Its jaw, elongated and filled with jagged teeth, dripped with thick saliva. Its slit-pupil eyes locked onto the woman. It paused, looming over her, and cocked its head, a predator savoring the final moment before the kill.
The woman pressed herself back, her arms spread as far as they could go, shielding the trembling child huddled behind her against the scorched wall. The woman wasn't screaming. Her mouth was set in grim determination, though I could see the panic cutting lines into her face. Her eyes darted to mine for half a breath, a silent plea buried beneath layers of resignation. She thought she was going to die, but she wouldn’t go down without doing all she could to protect the child.
The borgon reared, its claws scraping the side of a building, and let loose a shriek that set my teeth on edge. My sword in hand, I surged forward, my boots pounding on the blood-speckled stone.
“Move,” I yelled as I launched myself between the woman and the beast, slashing out at the creature’s belly with my blade.
Its low growl vibrating through the air, and its stench hit me like a blow, clogged with scorched flesh and decay.
“Run. Hide.” My voice cut through the crackling of fires nearby and distant screams.
The woman slid out from behind me and clutching the child's arm, bolted, disappearing into a narrow alley.
The borgon lunged at me, its claws slashing downward. I twisted, my sword slamming into the hooked talons with a clang that reverberated up my arm. Sparks flew on impact. It struck again, forcing me to dance back a pace before it shoved its massive head toward me. One jagged claw snapped out, tearing a chunk from the building beside me as I darted to the side.
Its movements were brutish but fast, faster than it should’ve been for such a hulking thing. It lunged again, swiping wide, and I ducked low, slicing out at what passed for a foreleg. The blade bit into the tough flesh, but not deeply enough for my liking. Without giving it a chance to recover, I adjusted my grip and gouged toward its chest.
A roar burst from its throat, and it sprayed saliva across the front of my tunic. I jerked to my left to avoid the rest of the splatter. My heel slipped on blood-slick cobblestones, and I started to fall. The borgon lashed out, impacting my side hard enough to knock the wind from my lungs and fling me onto the street. My shoulder screamed as I tucked, rolling into a crouch and scrambling upright before it could finish its charge.
I arced my sword in a wide swing, catching it under its exposed jaw. It howled, a sound guttural enough to rattle my skull, but it dropped onto its front limbs, distracted by the pain. I surged forward before it could rise, switching my grip and slamming the blade downward with all the strength I had, aiming for the soft patch at the base of its skull.
The blade sank in with a sickening crunch, the vibration jarring up my arms. The borgon raked its hind legs, trying to twist itself away, but the weight of its head and the location of my strike worked against it.
One flail, two heavy gurgles, and it stilled on the cobblestones with a shudder.
I pulled the blade free, staggering a step back as blood pooled thick around the carcass. My breathing came hard and fast, but the sound of metal striking scales echoed from deeper within the city, catching my attention.
Turning in that direction, I ran.
I knew where I’d find Merrick—the place where the heat of battle burned hottest.
I would find him.
