Page 90 of Wild Flame

I surveyed our camp and realized we had won. Azrun had just crisped the last of the black scorpions, the manticore pack was dead, and Taj and Malik were wiping gore from their weapons, while Bhorag sniffed at the cave mouth.

I dropped my sword in relief. Thank the Nine we—

Azrun’s head suddenly jerked towards his rider, and he released a cry. At the same time, I heard Taj scream Malik’s name.

I looked over and saw to my horror that Malik had crumpled to the ground.

“Malik!” I yelled, my exhaustion from the fight forgotten as I ran over to him and dropped to the sand next to him.

Taj was already kneeling by his side and Azrun and Bhorag’s heads floated above us. Malik’s eyes were open, but they were glazed and unseeing.

“What happened?”

Taj shook his head. “He seemed fine and then . . .” he trailed off.

“I feel . . . numb,” Malik mumbled, staring up at the night. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he went limp.

Azrun let out a blistering roar as fear sliced through me.What was the matter with him?

Before Taj or I could even react, Bhorag leaned forward, and his snout sniffed at Malik’s side.

Then I remembered and turned to Taj. “He was scratched by a manticore earlier.”

He met my stare. “They have venom in their claws.”

“But he’s a rider. Shouldn’t he be healing? Why is it affecting him so strongly?”

“No doubt his body is trying to heal itself, but manticore venom is powerful and lethal.”

Taj rose to his feet. “Let’s go. There’s a nobleman who lives nearby. His wife is a gifted healer. She might be able to help.”

We wasted no time as Bhorag bent down and we hoisted Malik into the saddle, Taj settling behind him. I climbed onto Azrun’s back and strapped myself in. The dragon was tense, and I could sense his anxiety over his injured rider. I placed a comforting hand on his massive neck.

“He’ll be fine,” I murmured, reassuring myself as much as him.

Azrun rumbled in response as both dragons took to the sky.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Siren?” a voice murmured. “Leida? Leida wake up.”

My eyes opened, and I blinked several times at the light pouring in from an open window. For a moment, I forgot where I was as I glanced around the finely appointed room. A basin of water and cloths sat nearby, as did a small table filled with an apothecary’s worth of potions and vials. My head throbbed and there was a kink in my neck that ached. I blinked again and turned my head.

Malik was sitting up in the bed, staring back at me with a smile.

“You’re awake,” I cried. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a dragon sat on me,” he tried to joke, but it was ruined by his voice coming out all raspy. For the first time since I’d known him, he looked unkempt. There were bags under his eyes, and his normally closely cropped beard was a little longer than usual. He was shirtless, and the covers had fallen enough that I could see the clean white bandage wrapped around his chest and side.

I stood and quickly filled a glass with water from a pitcher beside the bed. He drank it gratefully. When he was finished, Itook the glass from him. The bed moved then, and I glanced over as Azrun moved to Malik’s side, lay down, and placed his head in his lap.

“He was worried about you,” I said. Then I thought of how he had looked lying there all night, nearly lifeless, with his skin burning up and how my heart had clenched with fear when he had first fallen to the ground. “We both were,” I admitted.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You don’t remember?” I retook my seat, and he grasped my hand in his.

He shook his head and rubbed a hand down his face. “Everything is foggy. I remember fighting and then—nothing.”

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