Page 71 of Dragon Valley
“NO!”
I jumped from Dusa’s back without thinking, my arms stretched out in front of me and my vision turning red. I missed the saddle but my forearm caught just underneath the royal soldier’s chin. We seemed to fall together in slow motion as I squeezed against his neck with all my strength, then twisted.
The next thing I knew, I was lying in the mud with a man’s limp, lifeless body in my arms.
“Nadi, get out of here!”
His face streaked with a mixture of blood and dirt, Caden pulled me up and looked at me with an expression I never thought I’d see on my sweet, caring lover. The face of a killer.
“Get back on Dusa, it’s not safe!”
He slashed, blocked, and parried faster than my eyes could follow. Saying nothing, I grabbed the dead man’s sword in one hand and the horn of his horse’s saddle in the other, swinging myself up to the now riderless beast.
“What are you doing?!” Caden demanded.
“Not letting you die!” I yelled back.
The sword was awkward and heavy, but my position on the horse’s back gave me an advantage. Royal soldiers didn’t see me coming until I galloped up and slashed them, thinking I was on their side. The rebels figured it out soon enough but so did the royals on horseback.
“Kill the girl!” someone yelled.
Galloping hoofbeats matched my racing heartbeat as I whirled the animal around, and found myself with a dozen swords coming at me in all directions.
“NADIYAH!” Caden yelled from somewhere.
I love you.
I closed my eyes and sent my deepest, strongest feelings to both him and Azel, certain my love for them would be the last thing I ever felt.
The blow came to my back first, knocking the wind from my lungs. But instead of the cold bite of steel, it felt like a tree trunk against my back.
I opened my eyes to see the ground rushing beneath me, and claws covered in golden scales wrapped around my waist.
“Dus,” I gasped, looking back.
The poor animal I was just riding screamed in pain at being impaled on a dozen swords. A blast of flames put it out of its misery, and took my attackers out with it.
That was when the tide seemed to turn. One by one, the shiny blue and gold uniforms fell to the ground, taken out by skilled swordsmen and strategic fireballs. Surviving horses ran off without riders. Cries and screams died down to silence.
It wasn’t until Dusa landed that it began to sink in.
Some rebels had fallen, but most of them stood. They looked around at each other like they couldn’t believe it.
“It’s over,” one man voiced softly. Then louder, “It’s really over!”
Rebel soldiers hugged as they cried with joy and celebration. Some fell to their knees and wept. Others looked out across the landscape as if expecting more of the enemy to come. But they weren’t rebels anymore. They took their country back.
My eyes met Caden’s across the bloody field, and we immediately started toward each other. We stepped over shields, weapons, and bodies— some whole, some in parts, but our eyes never left each other’s faces. Covered in blood, sweat, and mud, we were exhausted and filthy, but nothing in the world tasted sweeter than his lips crashing over mine.
And the best part? Knowing that kiss wasn’t our last.
Epilogue
NADIYAH
TWO WEEKS LATER
Azel dropped a kiss to one of my shoulders while he squeezed the other.
