38. Chapter Forty-Three

Seeing Evian up close forced my hair to stand on end. The ease of his demeanor. The way his gaze moved smoothly over the crowd with not one ounce of fear. There was a fresh slash on his face from Dorran tossing my knife at him.

I didn't miss the way he glanced at Dorran and the disdain he tried to hide.

"Love the face, Amara. It adds character," he said. "We all know you could use some."

"You should leave now," I said. "We're prepared to fight to the death."

Evian rolled his eyes dramatically. "Let's be real, Amara. We all know that this is going to end in a dead wolf pack and a dragonless kingdom. Do you want them to die for you when you could just surrender and end this madness?"

I knew he'd attempt to make me feel guilty, which wasn't something I needed help with. My heart was heavy with regret already.

"I care that people are going to die today because of me, but I'm not going down without a fight."

Evian blinked lazily, and his gaze moved slowly over the army behind me. "If they decide to fight, their blood is on them. We will wipe this kingdom out in minutes. This is your last chance to surrender the girl and save your people."

Dorran palmed my shoulder and pushed me to the side. He took my spot in front of Evian. Evian stiffened, but his smile never faltered. Inclining his head, he looked Dorran up and down. "Well, isn't it the knifeman himself?" Evian pointed toward his face. "Looks like you snagged me. I can't say I'm not impressed because I am. I'm also impressed that you've been able to keep her happy with that lame sex life I witnessed—,

I reached forward and gripped Dorran's forearm.

I sensed his dragon growing irritated.

Dorran swallowed. "Well, it's too damn bad that you won't be able to one-up me since you"ll be dead soon."

He chuckled. "Ah, your wishful thinking is charming. At least one of you is."

A chilly wind settled against my skin, raising goosebumps over my body and forcing me to attention. Evian took a few steps backward, while his army stood to attention. It felt unreal to look at a group of people resembling me who wanted me dead so badly. What was so wrong with my mother loving a human? I wasn't the one on a war path.

Dorran grabbed my elbow and whispered, "Stay with me, Little Mouse."

Evian smiled that infamous notorious smile and vanished.

Fear climbed my vertebra, and rested on my shoulder like a devil whispering in my ear. I turned back to our army. "Be strong and quick. Don't stay still for long."

Dorran lifted my chin and stared into my eyes. "His weakness is his confidence. Just like the coward he is, when you're down, he will try to end you. Always be ready."

A loud war cry broke out around us.

The sirens rushed our army in a whirl of wind and chaos.

The shock of it made my heart still, and the noise around us deafened. Having never been in a fight in my life, I braced myself for impact, turning to face two sirens lunging for me.

A blast of fire shot from behind me, burning the sirens to ash at my feet. Toby stopped and looked down at me. "I forgive you for tripping me. Watch your back."

I knew his being here was against the King's demand. All of them fighting for me was against their ruler's wishes. It made me fight harder. It made me want to win so much more.

I turned and noticed a dragon shifter that had shifted in the field, spraying fire all over the sirens.

Closing my eyes, I reached out and searched for Dorran.

I knew he could see in the rain better than I could, but I wasn't sure if it would affect his fire. I covered the space between us attempting to give him coverage from the rain.

Dorran ventured farther away from me, pulling the restraint I had around him.

Holding on tight, I bent my knees and jumped into the air, seeing the fight from a bird's eye view. Panic surged through me at the number of sirens flooding the place like rabid zombies. I tried to stretch myself further, blocking the rain from the other warriors fighting. To give them a chance to use their fire.

Gideon surged into the sky amid the field and shifted into his dragon form, coming down on several sirens with fire blazing over the field.

A tickle of panic touched the back of my neck. I turned in the air and looked over at the trees several yards away. Someone watched me.

Dorran's heart racing tapped my skin, and I found him searching the skies for me. I tried to extend any peace I could toward him, but someone grabbed me from behind.

The hold I had on the rain vanished and it pelted the field.

Evian's laugh was light in my ear, his hands rough against my arm and mouth as he dragged me toward the forest. I elbowed his rib and tossed him over my shoulder.

He landed by the cabins, stood up, brushed the dirt from his clothes, and maniacally fixed his hair.

"This is unnecessary," he said sadly. "I hate that so many of your friends will have to die for you, Love."

Frankly, I was sick of hearing that.

Evian cracked his neck back and forth, but before he could get himself together, I hit him in the chest with what magic I had. He slammed against the cabins and laughed under his breath. "Amara. If that's all you know—,"

Reaching forward, I used everything I had to grab his ankle and slam him against the field. Evian turned toward me, his eyes glowing red, jolted his palms outward, and pushed me against the nearest tree. It knocked the breath from my lungs.

Evian walked over and stopped in front of me, watching me try to stand up to no avail while attempting to catch my breath. "You're weak and unpolished," he said, looking down at me. "You have more powers but you're not more powerful than me." He squatted down in front of me. "For a brief moment, I thought about keeping you for myself, but now I know you're not worth it."

Evian rubbed my hair between his fingers. "Your mother would have loved you. It's such a shame they killed her."

Vomit and anger climbed my throat. Through the tears in my eyes, I felt Dorran trying to get to me.

Grinding my teeth, I kicked my leg up between his legs and made him fall over to all fours.

Climbing to my feet, I kicked him in the back, knowing it wouldn't keep him down long. Evian chuckled loudly, leaped to his feet, and turned toward me.

He grabbed my neck so quickly that I didn't see it coming.

Lifting me from the ground, my feet began to swing in the air as I tried to fight him to no avail.

I couldn't breathe.

My vision began to blur, and my hearing deafened.

I opened my mouth to scream but Evian seemed to suck it from me. The excitement on his face churned my stomach. Tears built in my eyes when I didn't hear Dorran's footsteps or his wings.

My feet swung wilder, my eyes rolled back in my head, and I clawed at Evian's arm, feeling the blood run down his skin.

Please Dorran ...

Light brightened around me like a burst of electricity. For a split second, I thought it was the light calling my name. Luring me into Heaven, because I felt I'd done enough to get there in life.

But the light grew and Evian screamed.

He dropped me, and I clung to the field, coughing up blood while struggling to see.

Evian continued to scream.

I blinked away the hurt in my eyes and turned over onto my back. The stars were bright, and the sound of battle was loud behind me.

Leaning onto my knees, I saw Dorran holding Evian by the neck, in the same manner he'd held me. Evian kicked Dorran in the stomach, and I watched as he didn't flinch. He seemed far away. His gaze looked straight through Evian.

Someone else had taken over.

His dragon.

Two figures emerged from the woods, flinging hail and boulders at him until he finally flew back against several trees. It'd taken what seemed like ten minutes to break his dragon's trance. Evian landed, and his gaze shifted toward mine. "You thought your dragon prince would save you, Princess?"

I stood up fighting the weakness in my legs. Evian pursued toward me with determination on his face as the sirens fought Dorran.

Tingles of adrenaline shot down to my feet.

My fingers curled and I used every bit of me to send what I could at him. Evian dodged every attempt with ease. The urge to run from him surfaced, but I refused. My pride was too big to run from this bastard.

Evian flung me backward and into someone.

Arms wrapped around me.

I began to panic.

Flinging my arms and legs. I could not die like this.

"Stop it," Toby said, shoving me against another set of arms.

Chandler caught me. He looked rough, with blood running down his face, and a fresh new scar through his eyebrow. "Are you all right, Love?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Good," he groaned as he shoved me behind him. "Stand behind us."

Chandler took his spot next to Toby as they faced off against Evian.

Screams rang behind me but I couldn't muster the courage to look.

I felt Dorran gaining strength and getting closer. His strong hands grabbed my hips from behind and he turned me to face him. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," I whispered, gaining the courage to look out over the field. "We have to end this soon. Our warriors are growing tired."

Dorran nodded. "We have to kill Evian. Stay here—,"

"No. You need my help," I said.

Dorran's dirty face was even more handsome than before. All the shadows from the moonlight made him look mean and rough.

Reaching forward, he swiped something from my forehead and kissed me there. "Then let's kill him."