18
From her position on the ridge overlooking the flaming wreckage of the mining camp, Malea shielded her eyes against the sudden glare of dragon fire.
One after another, massive ice dragons strafed the compound with precision, flame searing through tents and buildings, turning everything to ruin.
The fire lit the sky with ghostly blue flickers that danced across the snowy peaks like an aurora gone mad.
She prayed for Kurt’s safety, unsure if he was caught in the maelstrom, when a flicker of movement caught her eye.
High above the chaos, a single dragon dove—not in a wide arc like the others, but in a controlled, vertical plummet.
Salveer. His silver scales caught the moonlight, gleaming like liquid ice as he tucked his wings and dropped like a spear toward the center of the camp.
Malea held her breath, her heart hammering against her ribs. Two figures appeared in the clearing below. One was already seated between the dragon’s ridges—General Brighton—and the other was running toward the dragon. It was Kurt! He was alive!
Kurt sprinted into view just as Salveer landed, his wings flaring wide to brake his descent.
She watched as Kurt vaulted up and was pulled onto the dragon’s back by the General.
Then, a column of fire erupted from the dragon’s toothy jaw, engulfing someone cowering in the dirt.
She recognized those filthy robes, even if she couldn’t see faces clearly at this distance.
When the flames cleared, there was nothing left but scorched ground. The mage, Malea realized with a jolt, was gone.
Then, the dragon leapt into the air with powerful grace, wings lifting them skyward in a sweeping arc that glimmered against the smoke-streaked stars. One beat, then another, and they were rising into the darkness. Then, they were gone.
A shaky breath escaped her lips. Kurt was alive. The General and Salveer had saved him. Thanks be to the Mother of All.
Warmth flooded her chest. It was a relief so intense, it buckled her knees.
She sank back onto the ground and gripped her own arms tightly as the adrenaline ebbed from her system.
Around her, the squad murmured quietly, some staring at the dragons above, others beginning to move.
Their mission had been accomplished, and it was time for them to return to their brethren, who were just over the ridge, waiting to catch any possible stragglers who might have somehow escaped the dragons’ wrath.
Keera and Arch had gone silent in her mind, their focus surely still with Kurt for the moment. Malea scrubbed a hand over her face and looked again at the sky. Salveer had vanished, but she knew Kurt was with him. Kurt was safe. That thought kept running through her mind in a happy refrain.
“He made it,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
She sat a moment longer, letting the cold bite her cheeks as she stared out at the destruction below.
The mine entrance had been flamed thoroughly, the dragons aiming fire within.
She didn’t think anyone who had tried to escape into the mine could have survived that barrage.
The small forge was crushed, and the giant crossbows had been melted into puddles of metal, their wood components still smoldering.
But most of all, she thought of the man who had stayed behind to make certain the dragons wouldn’t have to face even one of those giant crossbows and their deadly ammunition.
Kurt. When he came back to her—and she knew now with certainty that he would—she’d find the words to tell him what she hadn’t dared say aloud before.
Tonight, the tide had turned. Not just for the dragons, not just for the kingdom, but for them as a couple. At least, she thought it had. She knew what she was feeling, but it remained to be seen what Kurt would say. She couldn’t wait to see him again and find out.
*
The scent of ash still lingered on the wind as Kurt rounded the rocky bend leading to the cave where he had camped with Malea.
Snow crunched beneath his boots, muffled by the distant beat of retreating dragon wings.
Salveer had dropped him at the top of the ridge, and the General had given him a few words of instruction before Salveer leapt aloft again, vanishing into the stars.
Now, the only light came from the small fire Malea had rekindled inside the cave. She was there—kneeling beside their gear, checking the packs, her brow furrowed in concentration. But as soon as she looked up and saw him, she froze.
“Kurt.” His name escaped her on a whisper, a single syllable laced with a thousand emotions. She was on her feet in a heartbeat and running into his arms.
He caught her with wide open arms, lifting her as she threw herself at him, burying her face against his neck. He held her close, grounding himself in her scent, her warmth, the tremble in her limbs that matched his own.
“I saw you,” she murmured. “I saw Salveer dive in to land between you and the mage. I was so scared until I saw him, and I’m so glad you’re all right. You weren’t hurt, were you?”
“I’m fine,” he said into her hair. “I made it through without a scratch.”
She pulled back just far enough to look at him, cupping his face in both hands. “You stayed behind. I tried to run back when I realized, but the Captain stopped me.”
“I had to. There were two last crossbows set up in a tent and primed to fire. I couldn’t leave them. Dragons could have died.”
“ You could’ve died,” she countered.
His expression sobered. “So could you. But we didn’t. We made it.”
Their eyes held. Then Malea surged up and kissed him. Kurt responded instantly, his arms tightening as he kissed her back with the fierce relief of survival. When they finally broke apart, she leaned her forehead against his.
“I love you,” she said quietly.
His breath hitched. “Malea…”
“I know it’s fast. I don’t care. We’ve faced death together. We’ve slept in each other’s arms and fought side by side. If that’s not enough to know how I feel, I don’t know what is.”
He smiled, the warmth of it pushing the cold out of his chest. “I was just trying to figure out how to say the same thing.”
She laughed softly, still breathless. “You really mean it? You love me too?”
“I do, my Malea.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing just beneath her eye. “I love you. Truly and deeply.”
Her smile turned radiant. “That’s good, because I don’t think I’m going to ever let you go now that I have you in my life.”
“That can be arranged,” he murmured, and kissed her again. This time, the kiss was slower and gentler, but no less passionate.
They stood like that for a while, wrapped in each other, the cave a cocoon against the chaos outside. At last, she pulled back with a contented sigh.
“So, what do we do now? Should we pack up and travel with the army, if they’re going back southward? Did the General give you any orders?” she asked.
“Indeed, he did,” Kurt replied with a grin, letting her go.
“The Captain and the strike team are waiting for us to join them just over the ridge. They’ll accompany us back to the ice caves where we are to meet with the ice dragons again before we rejoin the Jinn caravan.
He wants us to travel back the way we came—as craftsmen on trading missions for ourselves, our guilds and our Masters.
That way, we preserve our identities and will be available for future missions with our backgrounds intact. ”
“That’s smart. Only the Captain and her small group saw us, so they’re the only members of the army who know who we are,” Malea realized.
“And they are all spies, like us,” Kurt told her. “Well, maybe not exactly like us, but they are a military intelligence unit, and they deal in secrets, just like we do. They know not to talk about who we are and what we do, just like we won’t reveal what we know about them.”
“I like that. And this way, we have new points of contact within the military, if we ever need them,” Malea theorized.
“Exactly. Now that we’ve proven ourselves useful, I suspect there will be other tasks the crown will ask us to take on,” Kurt agreed.
“Together?” she asked hopefully.
Kurt stopped and reached out to touch her face with a gentle hand. “I would very much enjoy working with you exclusively from now on.” He moved closer as she sucked in a breath.
He kissed her again, and both of them lost track of time. It was only when the virkin flew tiredly into the cave and made their presence known that they finally broke apart. Malea immediately went to Keera and Arch, her joy overflowing even as she checked on their condition.
“Are you two all right?” she asked, concern in her tone as she stroked both of the virkin’s heads with affection.
“Tired,” Keera answered.
“Very tired,” Arch agreed.
“You both did such amazing things tonight,” Malea praised them.
“So did you,” Keera replied sleepily.
“We all played our parts, and now, the dragons are safe again. At least for now,” Arch added.
“But we need to rest. Will you give us a ride back to the ice caves?” Keera asked.
“Of course,” Malea replied at once.
“I’ll make a little nest for you in the empty saddlebags, if that will help,” Kurt volunteered.
“That would be perfect,” Keera said.
“One nest will do for both of us,” Arch added, making the humans wonder if they weren’t the only pair to find joy together on this journey.
Malea went right to the saddlebags and found the one that had held a good portion of their food, which was now empty. It was large enough for both virkin, and she set about adding some of her spare clothing to make a soft, comfy nest for the little creatures.
“We should pack. The others will be waiting,” she reminded Kurt as he watched her work for a moment.
He shook his head, then nodded. “Right. Our mission isn’t over yet.”
Malea looked up at him. “The hardest part is, thank the Goddess. Now we just have to finish things off in style and not slip up and reveal anything on the way home.”
Kurt nodded. “Right. And we’d better find some of those precious stones we supposedly came up here to get or we’ll look very suspicious.”