Chapter 22 Selene
TWENTY-TWO
SELENE
Three days of flying.
I’ve gotten better at riding Drayke’s dragon form—learned to anticipate his movements, to lean into turns and brace for dives. But three days is a long time to spend clinging to bronze scales while wind tears at your hair and cold seeps into your bones.
We stop twice to rest, landing in isolated clearings where the dragons can hunt and the five of us can plan. Twelve of our younger dragons fly with us—not the whole Brotherhood, but enough. Trained fighters who’ve proven themselves in smaller skirmishes, eager to face a real battle.
On the second night, Drayke finds me sitting apart from the others, staring at the fire I’ve conjured to keep warm.
“You’re worried?”
I quietly nod.
His arm wraps around me, pulling me against his side. “You’re not the woman who set my training field on fire because she couldn’t control her emotions. You’ve learned. Grown. Become something extraordinary.”
“Flattery.” But I lean into him, letting his warmth chase away the cold that has nothing to do with the mountain air. “Will it be enough? Tomorrow, when we face him for real?”
“You burned a Relic into dormancy while bleeding out on a stone floor.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Veylor doesn’t stand a chance.”
“I love you.”
“I know.” His mouth curves against my skin. “I love you too. Even when you scare the hell out of me.”
“Especially when I scare the hell out of you.”
“That too.”
By the third night, the abandoned fortress rises from the mountains—a black scar against the moonlit peaks.
“He’s inside.” Zyphon’s shadows stretch toward the structure, tasting the darkness within. “Along with his rogues. They know we’re coming.”
“Let them.” Drayke’s voice is gravel and fire. His dragon prowls just beneath the surface, eager for blood. “Formation alpha. Rurik takes the east wall with six. Auren takes west with six. Zyphon, you’re with me and Selene. We go through the front.”
“Subtle,” Rurik drawls.
“Veylor knows we’re here. Subtlety is pointless.” Drayke’s gaze finds mine, burning with protective fury and reluctant pride. “Stay close. Channel your fire. And if anything goes wrong—”
“Burn my way out. I remember.” I kiss him hard and fast. “Let’s end this.”
The attack begins.