Page 64 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

A strangled cry left him as the nightdrake’s fiery breath ate through cloth and flesh, crawling along the left side of his body before he had a chance to drop and roll. It was already tearing through muscle before Ronan managed to fully suppress it.

But that didn’t mean he was out of danger. Far from. For that was when he learned the agonizing truth regarding the monster’s ability. The acid he’d seen drip from the fang-filled maw was woven into the flame. And what the fire couldn’t burn, acid could.

Ronan had been able to nullify part of the threat, but not all of it. The Air magic he’d used to bank the flame was useless against its chemical counterpart.

Rolling to his back, it was all he could do to draw in a breath through the overwhelming pain exploding up the left side of his body. He knew better than to look over and assess the damage to his limbs mid-fight. It would only distract him, and he needed to focus. It was the only way to help the others survive long enough to slay this beast.

Only then would he worry about whether he’d ever walk again.

“Ronan!” Bast rushed to his side, looking like he was about to be sick.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t tell me what I’m allowed to feel,” the blond man snapped, performing a quick inspection before wrapping an arm around the uninjured side of his body and helping him to a seated position. “You nearly went up in flame saving my life. So you will excuse me while I do everything in my power to keep you from dying. If only to save myself the crippling guilt.”

It was such aBastthing to say that Ronan choked out a laugh despite the pain.

He’d lost track of the pirates while splitting his attention between what Shadow was doing and how he could assist from the ground. A quick glance showed them on the other side of the clearing, their gazes trained to the sky as the nightdrake flailed in earnest.

“Here it comes!” Jagger called at the same time Shadow’s shout rang out, “Watch out!”

She must have finished tearing through enough of the wings that the creature could no longer keep itself airborne. It was falling fast, and there was no way to control its descent as it careened straight for them.

This entire battle had been a series of half-cocked plans and dumb luck. It was time to stop reacting and make a real fucking move.

“Everyone get down!” he roared.

Eyeing the nearby trees, Ronan dove deep into the heart of his power, draining himself almost entirely as he sent all of it pulsing through the earth. Dirt and leaves flew into the air. The ground shook, as did everything else in contact with it.

He knew the combination of Earth and Air was the right play when the trees shuddered and split, their trunks severed by the blast of his power. Without the proper support, they began to fall, tipping to the side with the aid of a bit more Air and creating an entire row of spikes to act as the nightdrake’s landing strip. He still couldn’t be sure it would be enough, but with the speed of the drake’s fall, he was hoping the wood would pierce whatever part of the creature it came into contact with.

The gamble paid off spectacularly.

Three of the five spikes impaled the throat, middle of the belly, and what might have been an armpit were the creature human. The nightdrake was dead before it finished sliding down them.

But even more impressive was the way Shadow jumped from its back and expertly caught a nearby branch before swinging herself down into a crouch. She made the acrobatics look so easy, he almost believed the feat an easy one until his eyes tracked the distance she’d flown through the air and his vision went spotty.

“Bast—”

“Shut up, Ronan. You’ve done enough.”

“If I—”

“Donotgive me the ‘If I don’t make it’ speech. I’m supposed to be the one with the flair for the dramatic. Get yourself together.”

“Tell her—”

“Tell her yourself, dammit.”

Ronan didn’t get the opportunity to bicker further. The spots had turned to a full-blown fog, and it was impossible to keep himself upright. He tipped backward, caught by a strong pair of arms before he hit the ground, but there was no way to know who they belonged to. The pain he’d worked so hard to suppress would no longer be ignored, and the only way his brain could deal with it was to shut down.

He couldn’t be sure he wasn’t imagining it when a soft voice whispered in his ear, “Sleep, Ronan. You’ve earned it. But if you think you’re getting out of those promises you made by dying on me now, you have no idea who you’re dealing with. I will find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself.”

He would have laughed if he had any control of himself. But then the fierce whispers continued, and he had no desire to laugh at all. Weeping was a distinct possibility, though. For the words, while bittersweet, brought with them a tidal wave of relief.

“You do not get to make me fall in love with you only to leave me before we get to do anything about it. So rest, but then come back to me.” There was a beat when what could have been a kiss was pressed to the center of his forehead. “Please come back to me.”

When oblivion finally claimed him, there was a smile on his lips and a delirious refrain looping through his mind.

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