Page 69 of The Searching Songbird

When Draven was a boy of six, he'd fallen from one of his family's apple trees and broken his forearm. At the time, he'd sworn there could be nothing more painful.

He'd been wrong.

Looking down at his leg, Draven bit back a string of curses. His leg was bent at an awkward angle, and he could see the bone sticking out from the skin. Lily lay beside him on the grass, motionless as she stared up at the crumbling balcony.

At least she was conscious.

“Lily... we've got... to get... away from here.” Draven took a gasping breath as he tried to get himself to move. Using his arms, he pulled himself across the ground, inch by inch. “Lily, come on. Get up!”

“She's up there, Draven. Burning alive.” She turned her head to the side, and her face sagged with exhaustion. “Do you think she's still alive? Or has the smoke already taken her?”

“I don't know, Lil, but we can't stay here discussing it. That balcony is about to collapse, and I'd prefer if we were both a safer distance away when it does. Now, come on.” Reaching over to grab her arm, he gave it a tug.

“I'm tired, Draven. Just leave me here and go.”

“Oh no. No, no, no. Not gonna happen. We're getting out of here now. Now move!”

“Why? So I can find some other unsuspecting people to get killed? Fia and Dawn weren't enough?”

Shit, he'd forgotten about the blonde. “You didn't kill them, he did. And giving up on your own life won't bring them back. All it'll do is hurt the people who love you.”

Rolling over onto his side, he hissed as his leg shifted beneath him. Through sheer will alone, he pushed past the pain and propped himself up on his elbow so that he was looking down at her, and he could have cried at the vulnerability that radiated from her tired eyes.

“Your father, your sisters, the queen... they need you, Lily.” He swallowed against the lump in his throat. “I need you,” he whispered.

A tiny light flared to life at the back of her eyes, almost indiscernible...but it was there, and he grasped onto that light with everything he had. “I can't carry you out of here, Lily, I can barely move myself. But you're strong. So much stronger than you think. You can do this, Lily. You need to do this.”

The light flickered, and he despaired that it might go out, but then it brightened and her eyes filled with determination. Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath in, and then she was rising, slow and shaky at first but then steadier, until she was towering over him for a change.

“That's my girl,” he crowed, pushing himself up onto his elbows. He started to pull himself along the ground, jaw clenched as he tried to block out the pain from his leg, but Lily stopped him as she squatted down beside his head.

“Roll over,” she demanded.

“What?”

“Roll. Over.” She gave him a look that said he'd best not argue with her, and he complied, rolling carefully over onto his back. She hooked her arms beneath his, cradling his head against her chest, and began walking backwards as she dragged him across the lawn. She moved quickly, maintaining a steady pace, but Draven could feel her arms shaking beneath his the farther they went. When they were finally a safe enough distance away from the burning building, she collapsed back onto the ground with a laugh.

“I did it.” She sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. “I did it...”

Draven pulled himself the last few inches so that they were lying side-by-side. He found her hand and laced his fingers through hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You're amazing.”

She made a soft humming noise in response, her breathing already beginning to deepen as she drifted off to sleep. He smiled, lifting her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss against the back. “I love you, Lily Delaney, now and forever.”

She sighed in her sleep, and her lips formed a soft smile as she murmured, “... you make my soul sing.”

He grinned. The world was literally falling apart around them, they were laying stranded in the middle of nowhere with no help in sight, and his leg was probably broken in several places. He may very well die there, but somehow he couldn't help but feel happy. He was side-by-side with the woman he loved, and that was enough for him.

He closed his eyes, relaxing into the ground as he felt the weight of exhaustion fall over him. Maybe he'd just rest for a little while...

Boom!

He sat up with a jerk, letting out a sharp cry as the movement shifted his leg. Debris flew through the air as the wall around the balcony blew open.

“She's alive.”

He turned in surprise to see Lily sitting up beside him, fully awake as her bright eyes focused on the gaping hole in the mansion's wall.

“She's alive,” she repeated, excitement infusing her voice with each syllable. “She found her dragon.” She touched a hand to her breast. “I can feel them. I can feel their strength pouring into me.”