Ash Princess (The Deviant Future #6) - Eve Langlais Page 0,49
a great target.
Twang. The bolt shot out and missed the chest to punch through the wing.
Just a tiny sting probably but the dragon howled. Not good, especially since she could feel its pain—and its rage. So much rage.
She rearmed the crossbow by feel, keeping her eyes on the scene in front of her. Cam held his dagger in one hand, partially crouched, leaning side to side, intent on the beast. The dragon still trumpeted and humped its body, an aggressive motion meant to intimidate.
Cam looked bored. “Are you just gonna talk or fight? I ain’t got all day.”
Intentionally antagonizing, and it worked. She could feel the confusion and then irritation that this pesky creature didn’t quiver before its might.
She was definitely going crazy.
“Gngng.”
The moan drew her attention to the slumped body on the ground. It moved slightly. Not dead yet.
With a blaring noise, the dragon lunged at Cam, stretching its long neck and snapping those vicious teeth. Cam moved at the last moment, dancing out of reach and slashing at the same time, only making the slightest mark against the dragon’s neck.
Enough to have it bellow in pained surprise. The problem with being an apex predator was they didn’t expect anyone to actually hurt them.
“Come on, you bastard. Come and fight for real this time instead of sneaking up like you do.” Cam beckoned it, a feral grin lighting his expression.
The crossbow was loaded, and she aimed again. Swinging to follow the movement of the dragon, she fired. Strike! The bolt hit it in the neck.
While it raised its head and stretched its neck in shock, Cam dove. The dragon stumbled back defensively. It swiped randomly just as he swung. He didn’t hit flesh but did shorten some claw-like knuckles.
It only served to madden the beast further. Cam ducked under the lashing tail and somehow managed to come out of that dive with a chop of his dagger that bit into the tail. Cam held on and pulled the knife free, and the dragon screamed.
Cam wasn’t done. He’d outfitted himself before coming, meaning he had another blade ready to go as he ran for the dragon yelling, “I’ll keep it occupied. Shoot it in the eye.”
She fumbled with her crossbow, having gotten distracted. Armed it then raised it and eyed along the sight. The creature’s head kept bobbing, the horns on it not the crest of her precious Gellie but the shape of the head and snout… She flattened her lips. This dragon wasn’t a pet.
She caught sight of its eyes. Yellow iris with orange light in the midst. Her breathing slowed, her focus narrowed, and time seemed to slow down as she adjusted minutely.
Thwack. Her bolt fired true and sunk deep in the orb. The dragon screamed and stumbled back, retreating from a pain it couldn’t escape. Its foot slipped off the edge. It tried to recover just as Cam slashed through a wing and swung his foot around in a solid kick that unbalanced it.
The dragon fell, and for a moment, she felt its panic. She shut her mind to it. She couldn’t feel sorry when they were left alive, chests heaving.
“I can see why they’re worthy adversaries. But they can be taken down,” he said, turning to her with a smile.
“That was only a little one. The one that lives in the tower is many times that size.”
“You’ve seen it?”
She frowned. “No. We don’t go to the tower.”
He eyed her. “Please. You’re going to tell me a bunch of curious teens never dared each other for a peek.”
Her lips twisted into a wry smile. “Maybe once. Right after some hunters cleared out this ledge. We snuck out at night. Made it to the top and then thought we heard something.”
The scariest thing. She remembered being ultra-conscious of her own breath. Of every scuff they made. Father had said to not trust the night either, that other monsters did come out. But they were at the top of the mountain, there was nothing but the biggest dragon of all up here.
They stood on the plateau, giggling and strutting. As idiots are apt to do when young. A few them began walking toward the tower, which was oddly illuminated against the sky, the outline of it jagged. But when those lights shifted as if something moved around inside?
They went running back for the safety of the tunnels.
Did the big drake leave at night? If it didn’t, they were in serious trouble.