Page 46 of Dragon Valley
“Is there anything going on with the two of you?” Myra asked. “You seem close. A rebel soldier and a dragon woman? Doesn’t seem like a fitting match.”
“Also not important,” I snapped, more defensively than I should have.
I didn’t like her asking so many questions and definitely didn’t trust her enough to tell her about our alliance with the dragon clans. But if I had to be honest with myself, I wondered the same thing.
What was going on between Nadi and me, if anything? More than likely she would marry Azel when we returned to Dragon Valley, so where did that leave me?
The obvious answer was I was just a plaything. Nothing more than a toy to keep her amused while she was away from home. That was the most likely answer but a part of me still hoped for more because damn it, I was falling hard for her.
I loved her strength, her tenacity, her complete disregard for the rules when something else made more sense. I loved the way she melted against me when we rode Dusa and the lovely sighs she made when I kissed her. I loved the sweet whimpers she made in bed and how her pussy closed around me when buried deep inside her.
Fuck, I’d even be willing to share her with Azel if it meant I could keep seeing her smile or feeling her head on my chest after making love, but deep in my heart I knew what we had was short lived. Just the fact that she didn’t want to talk about it before our first time together was enough proof.
Despite knowing this on a deep, intrinsic level, I still felt the need to hear it from her. Maybe it was a bit masochistic of me but I needed the clarity, the confirmation. Why? I didn’t know. Maybe if I knew our affair had an expiration date, I could really cherish the rest of our time together before she returned to her life and I returned to mine.
Naturally, a part of me never wanted this to end. I stubbornly clung onto a false hope that she would choose me after all this was over. I wanted to wake up wrapped around her every morning and spend our days soaring through the sky together. But the only way we could prolong this was if the war kept going on. For her, it almost felt worth it. I already lost everything else.
Myra brushed up against me, closer than she had before.
“I meant to tell you how brave you are, Lieutenant,” she said, making her voice low and breathy. “After you secure the village, I would be happy to comfort you.”
Her hands reached for my waist and I promptly smacked them away. She made a wounded sound but thankfully kept her distance and didn’t try anything again as we continued our walk.
“There it is.”
Her breath hitched as her hands flew to her chest. Another wracking sob escaped her. Sure enough a charred, smoking ruin laid out before us. My heart sank. It looked just like the first village Nadi and I visited. No sign of life or movement except for the embers that still smoldered and the smoke being carried off by the wind.
I pictured Nadi poking through the wreckage, finding personal items to bury and saying words of prayer for the dead. Fuck, where was she? Except for clouds and smoke, the sky remained empty.
“You should stay back here,” I told Myra, drawing my sword. “It’ll be safer. I’ll come get you when I determine it’s safe.”
Her chin wobbled as she nodded, gathering her skirt and sitting behind a cluster of boulders. “This was where I first hid before I ran,” she muttered.
“I’ll come right back,” I said, flexing my wrists and taking my first steps into a potential battle.
I swung into a defensive posture and my blade sang as it sliced through the air. I could never explain it but I always felt transformed in the moments before a battle. Something about a sword in my hand turned me into something cold and sharp. My sight and hearing intensified, my movements became quick and precise. I was just as much a part of the weapon as it was a part of me.
My light, silent footsteps carried me into what was once the town square. This had been an incredibly small village, not much more than an outpost. Everything was eerily quiet except for the light crackle of flames dying out.
I stepped over burned logs and collapsed walls, my boots already grey from the ash. My eyes never stopped moving, my contact with the sword never relaxed. But I sensed no movement. With a sharp inhale I drew in the scent of burnt wood and… nothing else.
I froze. This wasn’t right.
If this raid was as fresh as it looked, I should also smell burning bodies. Burnt hair, fabric, and food. I’d been in this war long enough to become intimately acquainted with all of those smells. But even in my heightened state of awareness, I picked up none of those.
A flash of movement behind me had spinning. I threw my sword up just in time to block the blow that came down. The man’s face flashed across my vision for a second— rotting teeth, a patchy beard, and pockmarked skin— before I raised my boot to his chest and kicked hard enough to crack a few ribs. My foot connected with something solid but not his body. Armor?
The man stumbled back but then came at me again with surprising speed. Right then I picked up the sound of more swords being drawn all around me. I whipped around, dodging, blocking and parrying everything that came at me. I moved on pure instinct, my strength and reflexes never failing me. I met every blow but quickly realized I was outnumbered. Not only that, these men had far greater skill than I anticipated.
They were dressed in the typical mismatched shirts and trousers that bandits wore, from the details I picked up as we traded lightning fast blows, but every kick, punch, and elbow I threw seemed to hurt me more than them.
I was certain my fingers were broken but I bore down and held onto my sword anyway. My left foot didn’t seem to be moving where I wanted it to. I could taste blood in my mouth and felt like I was swinging through mud. Dark spots began dotting the edges of my vision and my foes began smiling and laughing.
Fuck. I was losing! Fuck, Nadi…
I must have fallen to my knees because the ground suddenly seemed a lot closer. My ears felt stuffed with cloth. I wanted to lie down and sleep.
Ow, fuck that hurt!My shoulders screamed in pain and I couldn’t move my hands. They were behind my back and I couldn’t bring them forward.
