Page 20 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

She wasn’t ready to die.

She had too much left to do.

Too many people to make up to.

Frelina.

Her mother.

Her father.

Amalise.

Kalia and the other children.

Ardow.

Merrick.

Loche.

She wasn’t ready.

A whisper of rage flushed her skin.

She wasn’t fucking ready.

More fury lapped her skin, heating the water around her and driving the panic from her mind.

Lessia tightened her grip on the daggers.

She was done not fighting back.

Look at what good it had done her the past months.

If she was to die… it wouldn’t be because she surrendered.

No, even if this creature swallowed her whole, she’d fight from inside it.

When her eyes flew open, a golden glow illuminated the water, and her features twisted into a snarl as she glared at the wyvern.

It slowed its speed until it finally stilled completely, its eyes tracking her slight movements.

You should be scared,she thought as her chest began caving in, pain shooting through her throat from the lack of air.I have nothing to lose.

The wyvern’s maw twitched as it tilted its glittering head, the creature’s violet eyes challenging hers.

It lurched forward, and while Lessia’s heart stopped for a second, she refused to take her eyes off the beast as she lifted her daggers.

When the wyvern was a few feet away, her magic roiled inside her, more strongly than it ever had before, and she didn’t care about what Merrick had said about magic not working on magical creatures.

Stop!she screamed in her mind.You will not hurt me!

The wyvern halted so fast that Lessia gulped down a few mouthfuls of water in surprise.

Coughing, trying to prevent more water from choking her, she stared at the wyvern with a hazy vision.

Its violet eyes still flashed, but a glassy hue tinted them.

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