She only smirked, rain sliding over her lips, her neck. He barely had time to curse before she moved again, a dagger flashing now. Two steps. Four. Six.
And she was on him—
He pocketed the arrowhead, catching her wrists, stopping her blade one inch shy of his cheek. Her movements were fast, too fast for someone who should’ve been on the verge of collapse.
Canines grazed his forearm, close enough to have consequence. On instinct, he released her, his hand catching in her drenched hair before she could bite down. Water streamed from the strands as he yanked her head back, the motion sharp, tilting her face toward the ether.
She laughed. It was a wild, near-mad sound as her lips parted, drinking in the rain like sacrament.
Ronan’s brows furrowed, until a heartbeat later, he felt a piercing sting against his thigh. His eyes fell to the white-marbled hilt jutting from his leg, crimson already spreading through the black of his pants.
That sly, cursed little viper.
His glare snapped up as he shoved her away, the blade sliding free with her, another flash of pain biting deep. The dagger twirled through the air, rainpainting streaks of red as she brought it to her lips, her tongue catching the droplets until the steel shone clean again.
Lightning split the sky as her eyes lifted, illuminating her dilated pupils. Herferalpupils.
The dagger spun in her palm as she neared, taunting him, that fanged smile drawn from her mouth.
Fine. If she wanted to play dirty, he’d burn with her.
A twitch, the barest shift at her mouth, and she lunged, blade slicing for him recklessly. No precision, no aim. Just rage in motion.
Her darkness met his fire, and Ronan, he should have lit it all ablaze.
She struck again, desperate to draw blood until her voice finally came. “You killed something of mine. A limb for a limb, prince. Or maybe,” she hissed, “my snake for your head.”
Ah. There it was.
Effortless, he dodged her every time. Each miss dragged her deeper, darker, until rage was all she had left to wear.
Then he misread her. The blade skimmed his chest, slicing cloth and skin, and before he could recover, her head collided with his nose. Bone cracked, stars bursting behind his eyes as he stumbled back.
The camp fell to a hush in a ring around them as his nose wrinkled, bones snapping back into place. She was angry. And flames burn him, he knew that kind of anger. The kind that begged to be burned out.
“You’re savages,” she spat, circling. “Vicious.Soulless.”
Ronan shifted his weight, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “You sound like you’ve met one worth hating.”
She struck again, blade screaming as he hit her hand away. “Better yet,” she laughed, “a maddening one worth killing.”
His tongue clicked against his teeth, the sound almost affectionate in its annoyance. “I inspire that sort of devotion, don’t I?”
Her scowl deepened, rain streaking her face like false tears. “You feed on ruin, stand there pretending nobility. No wonder they call you the Harrowed Prince. But you can’t fool me, dragon heir—” the way her voice dropped to a whisper meant the next words were for him and him alone. “You’ll die a disgrace. As your blood tends to do.”
The world went still. Then his temper hit.
Rain hissed as heat rolled off him, turning every droplet to steam. He closed the distance before she could blink, hand fisting in her hair, dragging her close until her breath mingled with his. Smoke coiled from his palms, sliding around her wrists, her throat.
“What did I tell you about that mouth?” His voice was calm as he traced his thumb over her swollen lips. “One day, it’s going to ruin you.”
She bared her teeth and snapped at him, barely missing his cheek. He almost smiled. She swung again and he caught the blade at the last second, the edge biting into his palm. He didn’t even wince.
“Why,” she hissed, breath ragged, “are you so damnannoyingto kill?”
He looked up at her, voice low enough that only she heard it through the chaos burning in her chest. “Vows, love,” he murmured. “I’ve still got one left to keep.”
Before she could move, his hands caught her bare shoulders and slammed her down to the ground, hard enough for the realm itself to quake. A gasp split the crowd, a sob breaking somewhere behind them.
