Page 46 of January Bell

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

ZAN

Lily is shaking. My little female shivers in my arms, and whether it’s with rage at my injury or rage at Ken’s cruelty or fear for herself, I’m not sure.

It is clear that she is quite a spitfire, and that I may have continued to underestimate her warrior side.

I’m not sure if she was this fierce on her own planet or if this is something that this strange competition has brought out in her, but I treasure it all the same.

Never have I had anyone look at an injury on my body—even ones that took years to regrow, like the time I lost my hand on the front line—with anything other than casual dismissal, even from the healers assigned to me.

But Lily… Lily is ready to go to war on behalf of the wound in my wing, on my behalf.

And now that little warrior goddess is holding on to me so tight that I can feel the dull bite of her nails in between my neck scales as she clings to me.

Thrust into darkness, falling down into whatever crevasse Ken has opened beneath our feet, reflex has me spreading my wings, trying to catch an updraft and slow our descent.

A mistake.

My injured wing immediately collapses under the force of the wind buffeting them, and I tuck it into my side to protect the injury from further damage.

If I push too hard it will tear the membrane further, up to the bone.

But with one wing snapped out and one wing tucked in, we begin to spiral off-kilter.

“I’m doing everything I can,” I say through clenched teeth.

Lily is whimpering, a noise I haven’t heard from her before, and it absolutely breaks my heart. For my mate to be in my arms and panicked at the same time is a torture unlike any I’ve ever faced.

I will protect you, Lily,” I murmur in her ear, hoisting her up close so that I can breathe in her scent.

And yet, I’m not sure if it’s the truth.

This wound is a bad one, the ache setting in from the worm’s saliva deep within my wing joint spreads into my shoulder. Like fiery daggers? It is not ideal.

But I will not let my Lily know how bad it is, she’s already terrified, and I promised I would protect her with my life, and I meant it. She is the one for me. I can tell it in the way that she’s protective of me too, that she feels the same, even if she is too stubborn to admit it to herself.

As much as her stubbornness annoys me, I can also appreciate it. It is her chosen armor, and since she does not have the skills of the Draegon or wings or talons, I will allow her her emotional armor until she is ready to admit how she feels.

I can sense the change in her too, and as I breathe in her delicious scent, noting the delicate flavor of the slight submissive quality she has gained, indicating that she is ready for our mating, I am filled with hope and regret. We are falling faster by the second, and I cannot guarantee that we will have time to complete it.

I am unsure of what Ken has in store for us, but I refuse to let this fall be our end.

I grit my teeth, and hold on to Lily tight, making my body understand what’s at stake. Her. Then I force my wings out fully, using all of my hard-won control over my injured wing.

The outer bone does not hold, and the pain searing through me as the membrane on the outer segment of my wing begins to rip with the force of the wind pushing up against us as I try to slow our fall is nothing compared to the anguish I would feel if I lost my delicate human.

My teeth clench together until my fangs pierce through my lower lip, and I do everything in my power to make sure that my wings don’t give out.

Lily’s legs scrabble as she tries to rearrange herself on my body, wrapping them around my waist as best she can, which is smart.

“Clever,” I tell her, but the words are probably lost to the force of the gale.

It feels like it’s been forever, but I know it’s probably been less than a minute.

I blink as a sudden light brightens the world around us, and Lily gasps in surprise as light and heat blast against us.