Rescued by Ryland

by Lisa Daniels

  Bree looked shocked. “That’s it? Are you sure? No! It has to have been longer! Your hair is almost twice as long now.”

  Annora shook her head, the braid swaying back and forth. “Just a couple of inches. It was just after the war ended. That was about two years ago.” Bree’s eyebrows were furrowed. “Remember? We were in Illyrian when the army came through and you-”

  Bree began laughing. “Oh yeah! That was amazingly fun. You should have joined me.”

  Annora just shook her head.

  Bree looked her friend in the eyes. “So, where are you staying and for how long?”

  Annora looked out over the water. “Just staying for the night, but I don’t have a where yet. The Boar’s Snout Inn burned down and I really don’t know anywhere else.”

  Bree threaded her arm through Annora’s. “Now that’s what I want to hear. You’re coming with me.” Annora knew better than to try to fight at this point – Bree had never been one to listen once she heard what she wanted to hear. A rare smile spread across the dragon hunter’s face as her friend gently steered them toward one of the more luxurious inns in Defiance.

  Annora stepped out of The Palace Paradise and shook her head. Bree had finagled a room for her, despite how packed the place was, and had managed to get it for free. Laughingly, Bree had told her that the room wasn’t free, it just wasn’t a bill that either of them would be paying. The woman was a couple of years younger than Annora with a personality that was the complete antithesis of Annora’s, despite the pair having grown up on the streets together in the modest city of Achaean. Bree’s given name had been Brianna, but she had always said it was too formal. Where Annora was cold and serious to a fault, Bree was charismatic and gregarious almost to the point of obnoxiousness.

  Still, Annora loved her like a sister and was sad when Bree had taken her to a small but nicely-furnished room, then announced that she had to tend to a few things that night. Annora thought she knew what Bree was up to, so it was best not to ask, just as Bree never asked her about dragon hunting. Their outlooks on life were very different, and both felt the other had taken on a job that was too dangerous. The best way to avoid arguments was to simply avoid talking about work.

  Bree had given her a big hug and headed toward the door. The young woman placed a hand on the door frame and paused. With an uncharacteristically serious look, she turned to face Annora. The dragon hunter felt a sense of dread. Bree was almost never serious unless it was bad news.

  Bree bit her lower lip, looked to the window, then up at the ceiling, before fixing her sparkling green eyes on Annora, “Naya says she forgives you.”

  Annora felt her stomach lurch. Whatever she had expected, that was not it. She looked toward the window.

  Bree gave a humorless smile. “I know you aren’t ready to forgive yourself yet, but I think you owe it to her to at least pay a visit and talk. She’s not a child anymore.”

  Annora heard Bree’s footsteps as the woman moved down the hall. Annora closed her eyes and for a few moments she felt lost. With a quick shake of her head, the dragon slayer decided she needed to head outside before her thoughts went where she wasn’t ready to go.

  And that was how she found herself in an unfamiliar part of a growing town, unsure which way to go. Cursing herself, Annora wished she had at least asked where she could get a decent meal. The cost of the room was covered, but nothing else, and the dragon slayer was starving. Her head swiveled left and right. Deciding that direction didn’t matter, Annora stepped out into the night.

  Her mind managed to keep track of all of the twists and turns she took while she looked for somewhere that would have decent food at a reasonable price. Usually following the smell was the easiest way to find a place where the food tasted like it was fresh. Annora may not have been particularly picky about the type of food she ate most of the time (after all, she really didn’t have that luxury when on the hunt), but it was one of the few benefits of being in a town. The dragon slayer greatly preferred the freedom and mobility of the wild, and detested being stuck in a place full of people. However, well-cooked meals were one of the few comforts Annora enjoyed when she was forced to remain in a populated place. Beds were the other benefit that she found great comfort in as the number of dangers were significantly reduced. The feel of a bed was also nice, although she felt more bothered about who may have slept in the bed before her than she felt about the animals who last slept in wherever she decided to sleep when she was in the wild.

  Annora grimaced as her stomach growled. It had been a very long day, and she now regretted her earlier decision to skip food in favor of making progress.

  She was distracted enough as she turned down a darker street that she did not notice the two figures that stepped out of the shadow. Annora didn’t walk very far before she realized the folly of allowing herself to be distracted. Cursing herself again, this time under her breath, Annora decided to make quick work of it.

  In the dim light, it looked like she placed her hands on her hips as she stopped walking. The woman’s voice sounded annoyed as she spoke. “Sorry, but if you are looking for easy prey, you haven’t found it yet. I won’t even turn around so you can slink away and pretend this never happened.”

  There was a derisive laugh behind her, then a higher-pitched male voice said, “Oh, I think we have found the perfect person for our little adventure. There’s nothing like a woman who knows how to act tough. They are the sweetest to take down.” His laugh echoed through the alley.

  Slowly, she turned around and looked at the two thugs, men who clearly had enough money, so they didn’t need to prey on tourists who roamed into the wrong part of town. That meant the guys had been following her for a while, and there was only one way to take that –they were part of the criminal underground. The dragon slayer rolled her eyes as she tapped her sword and dirk. The first person she had talked to and this was the result. She made sure the metal gleamed as she partially drew them out. “These aren’t just for show.”

  The sound of the man’s voice grated on her ears as he gave a cold, humorless laugh. “If you were a real fighter, you would know that the sword goes on the left side. Only a fool or a woman would wear it in the wrong place.” His smile was a sneer.

  Annora simply blinked at him.

  The man stepped forward and continued, “The boss didn’t like the way you turned him-”

  The man’s voice wavered as the sound of metal hissed in the evening and the two weapons appeared leveled at his throat and stomach. A cold smile spread across her face. To make the point that she wasn’t incompetent, she quickly drew them back and twirled the sword and dirk, returning them to the same spot when she was done. It was obvious from looking at them that the sword pointed at his throat and the dirk at his stomach were well used and the edges really sharp.

  The man’s eyes went wide and he swallowed hard before leering at her. “Sorry, sweetheart, but flashy tricks don’t mean anything.”

  Annora realized too late that she had given the man in front too much attention. The second man threw a small dagger. Unable to dodge it, she changed its direction with her dirk. She felt the edge gash her right bicep. The street was dark enough that it was nearly impossible to see that wound, and she was not one to make a sound when wounded. Annora immediately moved forward, her weapons moving in unison. The man in front tried desperately to fend them off with his own sword only to find that the woman’s skill far outmatched his own.

  The fight lasted only a few seconds. Annora’s sword plunged into his chest as her dirk slashed across his throat. It was certainly more than was necessary, but she was in a really bad mood. She used her foot to push the dying man away and immediately turned to fight the second. To her annoyance, he had already turned to run and was several hundred feet ahead of her. She dashed off after him, cursing as he reached the corner of a building and disappeared from sight.

  Her weapons still out, she reached the corner and almost immediately froze. Her weapons were up and r
eady to fight the shadow lurking in the alley. Without a word, she dashed forward, her weapons looking for a second kill.

  The sound of metal rang out in the night. Then a male voice spoke in the darkness. “You’ve missed him.”

  Annora had been pushed back. Narrowing her eyes, she watched as a different figure emerged from the shadows. She had not seen much of the second man, but she knew he was not as tall as the figure before her, nor had he been as muscular.

  “Why didn’t you stop him?” Her voice was cold and accusing.

  The clouds that had covered the moon passed for a brief moment, and she was able to get a better look at the man’s face. His eyes were deep and dark, and in the moonlight they almost looked red. Not as if they were bloodshot, but because the whites of his eyes were a very bright white. His jaw line was very sharp, and his nose a little large, although it fit his very rugged features. Stubble lined his jaw and encircled his mouth, drawing her eyes to rosy red lips, the kind of lips she thought only belonged to men of leisure. His hair was almost as dark as the night. A gleam of metal also caught her eye, and Annora could tell from the location that the man carried a broadsword.

  Shit, she thought, immediately recognizing him as the figure on the beach. It looked like her competition had also made it this far, too. Regretting that she had not pushed further that night, Annora tried to find an excuse to keep from talking to him. The less they talked, the better. She knew it was only a matter of time until he would inquire about her clothing, and there were too few reasons to give for it.

  The man’s expression was one of surprise as he looked at her. It was not a look that she liked as it was one that Annora had come to associate with having to kill. Fully expecting the encounter to go wrong, the dragon slayer relaxed her stance. Though she looked at ease, her weapons were ready for what she felt was inevitable in the current situation.

  The man smiled, and her brain told her that it was a pleasant sight. Her eyes narrowed in disapproval of such a girlish thought.

  The man raised an eyebrow at her reaction to his smile. “I didn’t stop him because I had no business with him myself.”

  Annora’s expression did not change. “Oh, how gallant of you to feel it is none of your business when two men attempt to assault a woman in a dark street.”

  The man grinned, his teeth shining as the moon passed behind another cloud. For a moment, Annora thought his teeth looked a little too pointed. Had she not seen him about during the day, she would have suspected him of being one of the undead. There was clearly something off about him, though.

  The man seemed relaxed as he looked up at the sky. “Oh, most nights I probably would have stepped in. It’s not like I enjoy lurking in alleys, but it didn’t appear my intervention was necessary this time. I hate to get in the way.” There was sincerity in his voice, but it still sounded more like an excuse to her.

  “You let a criminal escape.”

  “You could probably still catch him.” His expression was calm as he spoke, his voice low and gentle.

  Annora shook her head, then she turned. As she returned to the corpse of the first attacker, she said, “And do what? By now he’s in a high traffic area or made his way into a building, which increases his advantages. I’ve no desire to-” Pain shot through her as she began to wipe her dirk on the corpse. She had forgotten about her injury. Refusing to let the man see that she was already injured, Annora continued to talk, although her voice was more aggressive as she kept it steady through the pain, “-to go hunting in a town that is nearly a city. He will likely meet his end some other night playing the thug for that merchant.” She tried to make it clear that she did not want to continue talking to him.

  There was silence behind her, and the young fighter hoped that meant he had left. Annora turned, thinking that she may be talking to herself, hoping that was the case. Her disappointment was palpable as she realized he had followed her a ways and watched as she checked to make sure the man was dead, saying nothing as she cleaned her weapons and stood to face him. Once she was looking at him, the man reached out a hand. “I’m Elian.”

  Annora’s stomach growled in response. As the man laughed, she glared at him. She did not offer her hand in return, but her eyes took in his features as the clouds moved on. The moon shone brightly on his face and his laughing, reddish eyes.

  Elian did not seem offended as he smiled at her. “I dare say you are hungry. Would you mind if I accompanied-”

  Suddenly a shadow passed over the moon, a shadow that was certainly not a cloud. Both the man and the woman immediately looked up and saw the outline of a dragon passing overhead.

  Elian watched for a moment, his eyes following the trajectory that the dragon must have taken. He turned to look at the woman to make an excuse to leave, but found that she was already gone. Blinking and looking around him, Elian had no idea which way she had gone. Then his eyes went to the ground and a barely perceptible trail of blood.

  “And just what is your interest in a dragon?” His words were spoken into the night, a sign that the woman had captured his attention and curiosity. The man took a few steps in the same direction that the woman had gone before he recovered himself. “Now’s not the time for distractions.” He cocked his head to the side and wondered for another brief moment, clearly ignoring his own advice.

  With a faint smile, he turned and moved down a different alley.

  Chapter 2

  A Hasty Departure and the Consequences

  Annora quickly made her way from the alley, hoping that Elian would think she was merely trying to escape him instead of realizing her real interest. A gut feeling said that it was not likely. Her stomach growled as she hurried back to The Palace Paradise. Knowing that she could not properly track without getting something to eat, she regretfully made a quick stop at a side stall that sold items that could only marginally be called food. The dragon slayer gagged as she hurried, and wondered if it was actually better to not eat when the food sat like a cannon ball in her stomach.

  As soon as she reached her room, the young woman quickly wiped the blood from her arm, collected all of her things, and turned to leave. She had reached the door when she realized that she could not simply leave that way. Pulling a piece of parchment from her bag, Annora did something she hadn’t done in years – she jotted a couple of sentences of thanks and apologies to Bree. Her handwriting was pretty atrocious because she had never had much interest in scholarly work, but Bree had always insisted that it was the best way to set an example for Naya and Saskia. Bree taught all three of them to write, but Annora learned separately so that the two young girls did not know that she had learned much later. It had never seemed like a useful skill for a dragon hunter, but Annora had learned to be grateful for it during times like these. She felt a little better leaving something for her friend because the dragon slayer knew that Bree would be very upset with not getting to say goodbye. A note would be taken as a sincere sign that Annora was sorry to leave without a proper parting – Bree would know that. As she placed the note on the bed, the image of Bree reading it and shaking it with a slight smile ran through the dragon slayer’s mind.

  Sorry, Bree, but the dragon is nearby and I cannot sit and watch it burn another place to the ground. Thank you for helping and take care of yourself.

  That pretty much covered everything she felt was necessary. There was no need to mention the other hunter or bring up the fact that she hadn’t even gotten any rest. Those were things she could discuss when next they met. Even knowing that Bree would reprimand her, Annora always seemed to tell the younger woman everything.

  With a clear conscience, she left The Palace Paradise and headed for the closest gate.

  The dragon had appeared high in the sky, which was usually a sign that it was not going to attack. However, it was best not to leave these things up to chance. Not with Bree somewhere in that overcrowded town.

  Annora’s thoughts were entirely focused on the dragon as she quickly made her way out o
f the town. As she looked up to see if there was any sign of the dragon, the young woman failed to see a couple walking toward the town, their heads bowed close together. It was only the sound of a girlish giggle that caught her attention just before she bumped into the man. Her mind quickly began to process the situation and the people.

  She grabbed her injured shoulder, feeling the blood begin to seep out of the fresh would. Regretting that she had not bound it, Annora began to apologize.

  “I am so sorry.” Her eyes continued to look up as she tried to be wary in case the dragon had a change of heart and decided to attack the town.

  Though her apology seemed rushed, the couple did not seem to mind. “Not at all,” the man said. “It was my fault as well, I didn’t…” his voice trailed off as he looked at her.

  She should have expected it. People automatically saw the swords and clothes and assumed she was a man, until they looked closer. Annora prepared to move on before they could start asking the usual questions, but the question the man had was not what she expected.

  “Would you allow me to dress that for you?”

  Annora turned to look at him, her face only barely reflecting her surprise. She looked at the couple a little closer. The woman was cute, probably about the same age as Naya and Saskia, just barely in her 20s. Her hair was a shocking blond color that Annora had associated with nymphs and pixies, but it was obvious the woman was neither. Perhaps a mixture, several generations down the line? Her mind could not help but trace humanoid features and characteristics. The woman’s eyes were like a fawn’s, large and brown. Her other features were dainty, making her look more like a doll than a woman.

  The man was roughly the same height as Annora, which was still several inches taller than the petite woman. His physique was very slim, but having bumped into him, Annora knew that his muscles were solid. Her eyes quickly took in his sinewy form, and she noticed that he did not carry any weapons, although his build and outfit suggested that combat was not unfamiliar to him. Who would be foolish enough to travel the roads this late without weapons? Annora thought, but she said nothing as it was none of her business. His hair was an unimpressive brown color, but the way it shone and moved with the breeze made her want to touch it. Quickly shaking off that thought, Annora brought her mind back to what was important.