Cursing, Rylana loosed her arrow at the woman an instant before she threw herself to the side, rolling through the grass as the fire streaked through the space where she’d stood. A furious cry came from her foe, but Rylana couldn’t tell if there was any pain in it, if her arrow had struck.
She leaped to her feet and ran for cover in the trees, glancing back to spot Loxvonla with her fists clenched, her eyes glowing, and a slight gash dripping blood on the side of her neck. Had she been a normal human, the arrow would have carved a much deeper wound, maybe cutting an artery, but on a dragon… Rylana was lucky her simple weapon had even drawn blood.
Or maybe, judging by the furious gaze that lanced in her direction, shewasn’tlucky to have hurt her foe. Magic rippled in the air around Loxvonla, and she shifted into a black dragon, the same as her sister.
Rylana drew another arrow as she leaped between two trees.
Roars and screeches came from above the rock pillar as Jildarin, slightly larger than the black-scaled female, bit and tore into his foe. Wings battered the air as the dragons gyrated and flapped about, somehow staying aloft as they struck for each other’s throats. Jildarin knocked his foe into the rock pillar hard enough to make it tremble, pebbles falling into the meadow below. But before the female struck the ground, she roared and got her feet under her. She landed and sprang into the air again, arrowing toward him.
Meanwhile, Loxvonla finished changing forms. Now toweringabove the meadow, she roared, the thunderous noise drowning out the battle above. Rylana spotted the bags of spices where they’d fallen to the grass at the dragon’s feet, but she dared not run close to snatch them. Loxvonla opened her maw, showing great sword-like fangs, and roared again. Flames roiled in the back of her throat, the only warning Rylana had that more fire was on its way. She sprang backward and ran deeper into the forest.
Yellow light flared behind her, and flames blasted into the trees, engulfing the two she’d first taken cover behind. Heat rolled into the forest, and Rylana leaped over ferns and ducked behind a thick pine as it intensified. Behind her, entire trees burst into flames.
“Why did I volunteer to come out here?” she demanded.
A screech of pain came from the sky above the meadow. Had that been Jildarin? Or his opponent? Rylana couldn’t tell the cries of one dragon from another.
As Loxvonla breathed more flames into the forest, new trees catching fire and wood snapping as the others burned, Rylana wanted to run farther away. But she thought of the spices and why they’d come. Ducking low and hoping to stay out of sight, she picked a path parallel to the meadow.
Loxvonla roared and stomped about in irritation, the trees growing too densely for her to follow Rylana into the forest. But, as Rylana tried to circle back toward the meadow without being seen, the black dragon turned her head, wrapped her maw around one of the burning trees, and pulled it up by its roots.
“Two hells,” Rylana breathed.
Even though she’d seen plenty of dragons during the war, their sheer power and magic never failed to impress and terrify her.
Again, her instincts urged her to flee, but she mulishly sneaked closer. When Loxvonla was busy hurling the uprooted tree across the meadow, Rylana darted closer again. She spotted the bags of spices near the taloned feet of the dragon and winced. How couldshe get Loxvonla to move away so that she could slip in and grab them?
A fresh ear-piercing screech came from the night sky. Through the tree canopy, Rylana couldn’t see Jildarin battling the other dragon, but she could hear the flaps of wings, the thuds of great bodies coming together, and the roars and screeches of fury and pain. Whatever happened caused Loxvonla to look up.
Bow in hand, Rylana dared run forward, thinking she might snatch up the bags, then sprint away before the dragon could attack again. But Loxvonla’s head whipped back down, and those cold eyes locked onto her. Rylana halted at the edge of the meadow, her bow drawn. The dragon opened her maw, flames again roiling in the back of her throat. But her target wasn’t Rylana. Her fanged maw aimed at the ground—at the bags of spices.
Even as the first flames rolled out, Rylana fired her arrow. It flew between the dragon’s fangs and disappeared into the back of her throat. Loxvonla screeched in pain, but her gout of fire didn’t halt. For several seconds more, it blasted into the ground, charring earth and incinerating grass.
A thud came from the other side of the meadow, but Rylana dared not turn to look. Loxvonla’s maw lifted and, flames still pouring forth, she stomped in her direction.
Rylana lifted her bow and fired her next arrow at her adversary’s eye. Just before it would have struck, a great silver dragon slammed into Loxvonla from the side. Jildarin.
His momentum carried the black dragon to the ground, and they rolled like cats in an alley.Giantcats. Slashing and biting, they thrashed about. A tail slammed into a young tree and snapped its trunk in half.
Rylana backed away from the fight but also angled to look for the other sister. She lay crumpled on her side in the grass on the far side of Toadstool Rock.
That must have been the thud that Rylana had heard. The dragon’s tail twitched, and she tried weakly to rise, her limbs struggling to support her. Great gashes had been torn in her side, blood leaking from gaps in her scales. A huge chunk of flesh had been torn—bitten—out of her long neck.
Bow still in hand, Rylana turned back toward Jildarin and Loxvonla, debating if she could or should help. He had the size advantage and appeared to have more strength, as well. Just as he’d done with the other sister, he hurled Loxvonla into the rock pillar. She struck it, bounced off, and landed hard on her side. Though she immediately started to roll to her feet, Jildarin was too fast. He sprang like a panther and landed on her, pinning her with his weight. His taloned feet curled around her limbs to flatten her to the charred earth.
Rylana risked creeping closer and climbed onto a log for a better view. Jildarin, his foe helpless beneath him, looked at her.
For a moment, fear froze Rylana. What if he’d been overcome by battle fury and didn’t recognize her as an ally? Or what if he thought, because she gripped her bow in her hand, she meant to fire at him?
Rylana spread her arms, holding the weapon out at her side. Loxvonla squirmed underneath Jildarin, trying to find a way to free herself. He looked down at her and growled.
You will return to the homeland, and you will not disturb me again,his telepathic voice boomed.
At the far end of the meadow, the other sister had managed to rise. She found the strength to take off, though her flight was lopsided, a hitch to her wingbeats. Jildarin stepped off Loxvonla, watching her warily but without fear. He’d bested both of the sisters, and they would be foolish to try to attack him again.
Perhaps coming to the same conclusion, Loxvonla shifted to face him, lowering her head in defeat.You have not lost your poweror prowess in battle. You remain a desirable sire. When the urge to mate comes upon you, I will be waiting.
Rylana blinked. Loxvonla stillwantedJildarin? After he’d kicked her ass?
