Ash Princess (The Deviant Future #6) - Eve Langlais Page 0,55

or the others. She was tired of losing people.

She should have been eaten. The dragon certainly had a maw large enough, and yet it paused.

The drake lowered its head and lasered her with a dull gaze, its eyes lacking the vibrant glow she’d seen in the ones she’d killed over the years. How long had it been kept prisoner? She’d never seen or imagined one so big. Or how much it would remind her of the ones she grew up with.

Pikka and Annsu. A mated pair. Silver and blue. Majestic creatures that mostly kept to themselves. They had a tower roost in the main castle at Cloudring, and because of her dad and his bond with them, she’d gotten to see them on so many occasions. As old as they were, they didn’t come close to matching the size of this beast.

The hot huff of breath from the drake proved rancid, and her stomach rebelled, but she managed to keep her lips pressed tight. What was it doing? It eyed her and dipped its head to take a sniff, rattling the chain at its neck.

It surprised her to note she felt sorry for it. She knew how it felt. Trapped, unable to escape a prison.

“Don’t move,” Cam murmured. “I’m coming.”

To do what?

She stared at the dragon and, for a moment, thought she could see through its eyes. See the puny human with the hatchling at its side. A human protecting it.

The concept so foreign. Humans were bad things. Always hurting. Keeping it—

The dragon swung its head and hissed, having noticed Cam sneaking up. It lunged, and he dove out of the way, rolling hard until he could regain his feet.

Before he could dash back in, she held up a hand. “Stay where you are.”

The dragon once more swung its gaze on her, and she felt its contempt. Its hatred. Its confusion as it encountered her pity.

“Chaining you is wrong,” she whispered. Dragons were meant to be free.

She took a step back. Then another.

The drake did nothing but watch. It let her retreat until she was by Cam’s side. He hugged her with one arm, the other dangling by his side with the gun.

Gellie waddled more slowly and kept glancing back at the big dragon. She had to wonder how he’d gotten into the tower. With his stunted wings, he couldn’t fly.

“Where did you come from?” she murmured aloud, never once removing her gaze from the drake.

Trill. Gellie waddled the length of the wall until it hit a spot where two pieces leaning formed a triangular opening. He hopped up and down.

Cam glanced at the exit and then the stairs on the opposite side, within reach of the dragon. “We need to find a way down.”

“I doubt the dragon will allow it.”

“It let those Ruby soldiers pass.”

“We’re not Ruby soldiers. I think it’s been trained. Tortured, actually, to recognize them.”

Cam’s lips flattened. “That’s wrong.”

She agreed. “Perhaps there’s another entrance.”

Squawk. Gellie suddenly bolted. Running straight for the dragon.

“Gellie, no!” She went to run after him, only the drake stood and roared, stopping her dead in her tracks.

The little dragon ducked behind the bulk of the beast as if it sought shelter.

A moment later she understood why as someone yelled, “Drop your weapons!”

“Like fuck,” she heard Cam mutter and then the bang as he fired his weapon and his cursing as they fired back.

Out in the open, she had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

The drake roared again, and the soldiers yelled, “Are you sure its chain is locked?” Indicating they controlled the length of the leash.

It gave her an idea. Actually, Gellie had. She ran for the dragon.

Get eaten or shot. Not really much of a choice.

There was more shouting, and a different kind of bellow, that of a man going to battle. Whirling, she almost stumbled, but she wanted to see what happened.

Cam, bleeding in two spots, the red blossoming from his shoulder and his leg, grappled with someone in red. Another soldier took aim at his vulnerable back.

“Cam! Behind you.” She sprinted away from the drake and pulled her crossbow, the jostle of her run making it hard to aim. Not to mention, she’d never used it against another person before.

The shot didn’t kill, but the bolt did hit, and the person bellowed as he forgot about shooting to clutch the shaft jutting from his body.

Cam handled the first soldier and whirled on the second one. She had one more bolt in the quiver, and she pulled free to notch