Page 78 of The Last Slayer
My hands grew clammy, and the wound on my rib burned. As the new formation drew close, their deep green scales reflected the sun, gleaming like emerald steel. Silver crests adorned their armor.
The lead wyvern hailed us as they fell in around our amphiteres. “My lord.”
Opening his eyes, Ramiel nodded. “Captain. You understand the situation?”
“Of course. It is my honor to serve you, my lord,” the wyvern said. “They shall perish this morning for what they’ve done.”
“This is not an open war. We want to keep it quiet.”
“I understand.” The captain bowed, a sinuous curve rippling down his neck like water down one of Lunar Garden’s terraced pools. He turned to his units and gave orders in one of the old dragon dialects. The wyverns roared, the sound deafening.
The wyverns wheeled in sequence, their underwings catching the sunlight in a viridescent display of military precision. They fell off to our rear as we continued on to Besade.
I glanced back. “Aren’t you going to lead them?”
“The captain is more than able to handle the matter. And it behooves me not to stay here longer than necessary.” I must have looked puzzled, because he added, “If I’m present during a battle, there will be questions. If I’m not, I can say it was a misunderstanding between two groups of wyverns.” He gave me a wry smile. “It’s the way of dragonlord politics. Inconvenient but necessary. And given what pacifists some dragonladies are, I don’t want them to hear about how I didn’t try to stop a skirmish.”
I nodded and looked back. The battle had been joined. Even at this distance, ferocious cries rent the air. Teeth and talons ripped into flesh, and blood sprayed the dawn sky. I shuddered at the scale of the carnage.
Up ahead, the sun was rising behind Besade. Its silhouette looked so welcoming, so safe after all that I’d gone through, I wanted to fall to my knees and savor the moment. We were alive. I had the heartstone. Soon I could get the antidote for Valerie.
When Ramiel hopped onto my amphitere and wrapped his arms around me, I sagged into him.
For once, it was nice to work with someone.
***
“Milady! Are you hurt?”
Toshi’s high-pitched shout brought my head up from Ramiel’s chest. I looked at the fairy dragon in surprise—we were still a ways out from Besade, but he didn’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up with the amphiteres—and he gawked at me in return.
“Lady…Ashera?” he said, his voice uncertain.
Ah. I forgot. “Yes, it’s me. It’s a new look.” I didn’t have the energy to tell him the entire story. Maybe later after I’d showered and gotten my wounds taken care of. And had a goblet of melon wine in my hand.
Toshi gave me a skeptical look and turned to Ramiel. “My lord?”
Ramiel nodded gravely. “It is indeed Lady Ashera.”
The spines running down Toshi’s back stood on end. “You—you look so…different.”
“Thank you,” I said wryly. “I suppose that’s a compliment?”
“Well…yes. Of course. You’re more beautiful than before.” He stopped, then cleared his throat. “Not, ah, that you weren’t beautiful before.” Suddenly he shut his mouth and laid a foreclaw gently against my cheek. “You have blood here.” His body trembled. “Didn’t you meet the guards I sent? The other ones…did they hurt you?”
“It’s not my blood,” I said quickly. I didn’t want to cause him any undue worry. “Besides, I think Ramiel has more on him than me.”
“I, however, am not wounded. You are.” Ramiel looked at my rib and leg meaningfully.
No kidding. Now that the excitement had worn off and the adrenaline was gone, they throbbed like hell.
Toshi flew alongside, examining my injuries, his tongue darting out and back. The one on my torso wasn’t too deep, but it continued to ooze blue-black blood. “This is from Lady Nahemah’s blade.” He hissed. “She is no longer welcome in Besade. At least not by me.”
Ramiel landed our amphitere and stepped off. “The sentiment is most definitely shared.”
I pondered the irony of having a couple of supernaturals getting indignant on my behalf as he helped me off the dragon.
“I’ll have baths drawn immediately.” Toshi disappeared.
