Page 44 of Wild Flame

My pulse pounding, I took in a harsh breath, and dashed over and knelt beside the pile. The babe was much younger than I had first thought, perhaps only a few weeks old. “Hush now,” I soothed, scooping up the babe in my arms along with a blanket, ignoring the pain in my injured hand as I did.

The warrior saw my wince, however, and extended his arms. “Give him to me.”

Now was no time for protesting, so I handed the child over and he tucked him firmly against his chest.

The building underneath us shook again as I got to my feet.Time to go.Screams rang out from the streets below. Asthe trembling subsided, I couldn’t help thinking of how not ten minutes before this street had been filled with laughing, celebrating revelers enjoying the holiday—and nowthis.

Once the floor was solid beneath us once more, the warrior led the way as we stepped back out onto the outer stairs. He had only taken a few steps downward when a large section of the steps shifted and crumbled. I hauled myself backward while the warrior leapt onto the lower stairs, just as the steps he had just been standing on crashed to the ground several stories below. I stared in horror as I realized the gap—nearly the entire section of stairs between the second and third floors—was too big for me to jump without almost certainly falling to my death.

The warrior realized it, too. Our eyes met.

Swallowing hard, I shouted, “Go! Go! I’ll find another way down.”

He stared at me for another moment, then down at the babe in his arms, before he reluctantly nodded and turned, heading back down.

I spun and took the stairs two at a time to the roof. A short, waist-high wall was all that surrounded the open space, and a line of clothing was strung across it.

Not far overhead, flames lit up the darkness, accompanied by the roar of a dragon. I caught sight of Azrun and Malik and Harun and his dragon as they tried to corral their brother in arms. I had no doubt that the only reason the pair hadn’t yet subdued him was because they didn’t want to hurt their friend. He, however, didn’t appear to have the same hesitation.

Sekar let loose a torrent of flames toward the other dragons and they separated to avoid the blast. I still couldn’t fathom what in the Nine Realms had possessed Ramin to attack the city. I didn’t know the rider well, but even I knew it was so out of character as to be absurd. Something else had to be going on.

Focusing back on my current predicament, I quickly realized jumping across to one of the neighboring buildings would have to be a last resort. I might have superior climbing skills, but I was still rather small and jumping that far wouldn’t end well.

Climbing down might also have been a possibility, except my hand was injured and climbing would take time. I likely only had minutes until the building came down. As if in confirmation, flames already licked up the latticework windows of the lower floors. I coughed and covered my mouth against the rising smoke. I had to do something now.

When no options readily came to me, I decided Iwouldjust have to risk it and jump across to the closest rooftop. At least if I jumped there was a possibility I would make it.

Bending down, I tore a piece of the underskirt of my dress away to allow more freedom of movement and then used the cloth to wrap my hand.

Praying to The Assassin, The Maiden, and all the other Nine gods, I climbed up onto the edge of the roof, ignoring the throbbing pain in my hand. I put my arms out for balance and wished I were wearing my leather climbing suit rather than this dress.

I closed my eyes and tried to center myself before jumping to my doom. Suddenly, there was a loud thudding noise above me, and a gust of wind buffeted me. My eyes snapped open as I struggled to maintain my balance. The building jolted beneath me, and my foot slipped.

I cried out and began to fall just as something hard wrapped around my entire midsection. It gripped me like a vise and halted my descent. I stared down in shock at the large claws encircling me as my feet dangled in the air. Nothing but red scales filled my vision when I glanced up, and it took my mind a second to comprehend what I was seeing.

Azrun.Azrun had just saved my life by catching me in his massive claws, and we were flying away from the now collapsing building. I watched in a sort of detached fascination as the roof I had just been standing on caved inward in a plume of dust and fiery smoke. I prayed everyone was able to get clear before it came down.

I barely had a moment to take in my impromptu flight before Azrun was flying low over another tall rooftop, this one thankfully not on fire or in danger of collapsing, and then he released me. I only dropped a few feet, and after a few stumbling steps, was able to right myself.

Azrun beat his wings and hovered in place just long enough for me to make out Malik on his back. “Stay there!” Malik yelled, and I nodded shakily before he gave me a furious nod and Azrun propelled them upward.

Something in the sky behind Malik and Azrun caught my eye.

“Malik!” I screamed.

I wasn’t sure if he heard me or just saw the danger himself, but Azrun was just able to swoop out of the way before Sekar and Harun’s dragon—along with their riders—came barreling through the sky towards the ground. Sekar had a hold of the other dragon’s neck and refused to let go.

Azrun wheeled around in an agile maneuver that was impressive for a dragon that size. In moments, he used all four sets of claws to latch onto Sekar. The black and yellow dragon roared in pain, releasing his opponent. Harun’s dragon was able to right himself and stop from crashing into the building below, but Sekar wasn’t so lucky. Even though Azrun’s attack had slowed his descent significantly, the dragon still crashed into a building a few down from the one I now stood on with a thundering boom, demolishing it completely.

The ground shook, and more cries could be heard from the street as chunks of stone tumbled to the ground.

I staggered over to the edge of the roof to get a closer look.

Sekar let out a whimpering roar, and though the dragon was obviously hurt, he still tried to rise from the rubble. But Azrun and Malik were there, dropping down and pinning Sekar to the ground. Sekar lashed out in fury and Azrun bit down on his neck. I could tell it was not a killing blow. He was simply holding the dragon down, waiting for him to submit. The red dragon’s powerful legs and jaws held him in place.

I doubted Sekar would submit. He seemed frantic, almost feral. I scanned the dragon’s back for his rider and saw Ramin was still there, but was slumped in his saddle. I prayed he was only unconscious.

Even though I knew that the damage Sekar and Ramin could have inflicted if they weren’t stopped would have been far worse. As I glanced around the mostly deserted streets below, I prayed no one had been inside the building that was just destroyed.

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