203

203
Valencia’s POV
Always, he responded.
I shifted. Red light blazed around my body. Within seconds, I stood as a dragon in the courtyard.
Logan looked up at me.
I'll see you soon, I sent through the mate bond.
Soon, he agreed.
I spread my wings. Crouched. Then launched myself into the night sky.
The wind rushed past me. Cold and sharp. Below, I saw Logan and his warriors beginning their march south.
I turned north. Beat my wings hard. Flying as fast as I could.
The landscape blurred beneath me. Dark forests. Moonlit rivers. Sleeping villages.
I flew higher. Above the clouds. Where the air was thin and cold but the stars were brilliant.
Hours passed. The moon crossed the sky. Dawn was approaching.
Finally, I saw it in the distance. Grey River. A wide, dark ribbon cutting through the landscape.
And on the river, lights. Dozens of them. Torches on boats and rafts.
Ashwood's army. Crossing.
I began my descent. Angling toward the northern bank where Captain Carson and the Ravencrest guards would be waiting.
As I got closer, I could see them. Small figures on the shore. Watching the river. Watching the enemy cross.
One of them looked up. Saw me. Pointed.
I heard shouting. Excitement.
I landed on the northern bank with a heavy thud. My claws dug into the muddy ground.
Captain Gentry ran forward. His face was a mixture of shock and joy. "Luna Valencia! You came!"
Captain Carson was there too. Along with fifteen Ravencrest guards. And maybe twenty border patrol warriors.
All of them stared at me with wide eyes.
I'm going to shift back, I sent through the pack bond. Someone bring a cloak.
One of the Ravencrest guards rushed forward with a blanket.
I shifted. Stood human. Naked. He averted his eyes and held out the blanket.
I wrapped it around myself quickly. "How many are on the river right now?"
"Maybe two hundred," Captain Carson said. "They started crossing an hour ago. They're using every boat and raft they could find. The rest are still on the southern bank waiting their turn."
"Good." I looked at Captain Gentry. "Your men. Are they ready?"
"We're ready for anything, Luna."
"Then here's the plan. I'm going to fly over the river. Burn every boat and raft I can see. Kill as many as possible while they're vulnerable in the water."
"What about the ones still on the southern bank?" Carson asked.
"I'll deal with them after. But first priority is the ones already crossing. They're trapped. Can't retreat to shore quickly. Can't defend themselves well."
I looked at all of them. Warriors from my pack. Guards from Ravencrest Island. All of them had chosen to stand here. To fight.
"When I start my attack, they'll panic. Some will try to swim back to the southern shore. Some will try to reach this shore. Kill anyone who makes it to this bank."
"Yes, Luna," they said in unison.
I dropped the blanket. Shifted back into dragon form.
Then I launched myself into the air. Climbing fast. Getting altitude.
Below, the river stretched out. Dark water reflecting torchlight. Boats and rafts scattered across its surface like leaves.
I could see them now. Ashwood's warriors. All of them focused on crossing.
None of them looking up.
I took a deep breath. Felt Alduin's power building in my chest. Felt the fire ready to burst free.
Then I dove.
Straight down toward the center of the river. Toward the largest cluster of boats.
I opened my jaws.
And I unleashed dragon fire.
The flames poured from my throat like liquid gold. They hit the first boat and consumed it instantly.
Wood. Cloth sails. Rope. Everything burned.
The warriors on board screamed. Some jumped into the water. Others were too slow. The fire caught them. Fur and flesh burning.
I banked left. Targeted another boat. More fire. More screaming.
The river started to light up. Orange and red flames spreading from boat to boat as the fire jumped.
Some warriors tried to shift mid-swim. But shifting in water was nearly impossible. They went under. Drowned in their own panic.
I circled once. Surveyed the chaos below.
Maybe fifty warriors dead already. Fifty more in the water. Burning or drowning or both.
The boats still on the southern shore were turning back. Warriors abandoning the crossing. Running back to their camp.
But there were still over a hundred warriors in the middle of the river. On boats that hadn't burned yet. Rowing frantically toward either shore.
I dove again. This time targeting the boats closest to the northern shore.
Can't let them reach our side. Can't let them establish a landing.
Fire poured from my jaws. Boat after boat exploded into flames.
The screams were constant now. A chorus of agony and terror.
Some warriors made it to the northern shore. Climbed out of the water. Shifted into wolf form.
But Captain Gentry's forces were ready. They charged forward. Met the survivors with swords and claws.
I stayed focused on the river. On burning everything that moved.
Alduin's rage poured through me. His joy at destruction. His satisfaction at seeing our enemies burn.
But underneath that, I felt something else.
Another boat. Another burst of fire. More warriors falling into the cold water.
Then I saw it. On the southern shore. Warriors setting up something large. Mechanical.
Siege equipment. Ballistas. Giant crossbows designed to take down flying targets.
My stomach dropped.
They'd prepared for this. Prepared for a dragon.
The first ballista fired. A massive bolt the size of a tree trunk. It whistled through the air toward me.
I banked hard right. The bolt missed by inches.
More ballistas. Five of them. All loading. All aiming at me.
I climbed higher. Trying to get out of range.
But these weren't normal crossbows. These were designed for siege warfare. For hitting targets at extreme distances.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
Three more bolts fired. I dodged two. But the third one clipped my left wing.
Pain exploded through me. Not severe. Just a graze. But it was enough to throw off my flight.
I spiraled slightly. Caught myself. Regained altitude.
Blood dripped from my wing. Red drops falling into the river below.
Alduin! I sent urgently. They have siege weapons. What do we do?
His response came immediately. Rage. Pure and burning.
WE DESTROY THEM.
Power surged through me. My eyes blazed brighter. Gold light so intense it hurt to look at.
Heat built in my chest. Not the controlled burn I'd been using. Something bigger.
Alduin, wait—
But he wasn't listening. He was beyond reason now. Someone had hurt us. Had damaged our wing. And he would make them pay.
The heat reached critical mass. I could feel it building. Growing. Expanding.
Then it exploded outward.
Not as a stream. Not as a controlled breath. As a shockwave of pure fire.
It burst from my body in all directions. A sphere of golden-red flames expanding outward.
The shockwave hit the southern shore. The ballistas. The warriors operating them.
Everything vaporized. Metal melted. Wood turned to ash. Bodies disappeared in the blast.
The heat was so intense that the river itself started boiling. Steam rose in thick columns.
And then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.
I hovered in the air. Breathing hard. Exhausted.
Alduin's rage had burned itself out. He was quiet now. Satisfied.
Below, the river was a scene of complete devastation. Not a single boat remained. The southern shore where the ballistas had been was a smoking crater.
Over three hundred warriors dead. Maybe more. Impossible to count in the burning wreckage.
The survivors on the southern shore were running. Fleeing back toward King's Fang. Abandoning the invasion entirely.
I'd won. Stopped the northern army. Saved Ironwatch Border.
We should go, Alduin said quietly. Logan might need us.
He was right. Through the mate bond, I felt something. Danger.
Logan was fighting. And something was wrong.
I turned south. Ignored the pain in my wing. Beat my wings hard.
Flew toward where Logan was facing Ashwood's southern army.
Hold on, I sent through the mate bond. I'm coming.