Free A Realm of Shadows by Morgan Rice Page B

from now on is on your head.”
    Aidan shook his
head sadly.
    “I will come
back for you,” he said solemnly. “I promise.”
    He reached out a
hand, and as she slowly placed hers in his, he felt a thrill at the warmth of
her touch. It made him feel alive, alive in a way he never had before.
    She began to
pull her hand away, and as she did, Aidan found himself leaning in. His heart
pounded and, not even fully aware of what he was doing, he placed his lips, so
gently, on hers.
    He kissed her,
and as he did, he felt more terrified than he had of any foe, of any battle.
What if she rejected him?
    Slowly,
Cassandra leaned back and stared at him, wide-eyed, seeming stunned.
    She frowned.
    “Why did you do
that?” she demanded, sounding upset.
    Aidan gulped, worried
that he had offended her, that he had misread the situation, that she did not
care for him that way after all.
    “I’m sorry…” he
mumbled. “I…didn’t mean…to offend you.”
    He stood there,
feeling a cold sweat rise up, when suddenly she surprised him by smiling wide.
    “Whatever it
was,” she replied, “come back soon. And do it again.”
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
     
    The Supreme and
Holy Ra fell from his balcony, tumbling through the air after the dragon had sliced
the stone, flailing down toward the stone courtyard far below. He felt his life
flashing before his eyes, saw all his conquests, his triumphs, his victories—and
realized that he was not yet ready to die. He was, he knew, greater than death.
He was The One Who Could Not Die, and as he fell, he became enraged with Death,
determined to vanquish him, determined, at all costs, not to die.
    Ra looked down
as he fell and saw his soldiers, many on fire, shrieking, running in a panic
through the streets as they tried to get away from the dragons’ flame. It was a
scene of devastation. But even in the devastation, Ra knew, there was hope.
There was always, he knew, a way out.
    Ra set his
sights on a group of his men, directly below him, and he twisted and contorted
his body in the air, aiming to fall right for them. It was a good fall, thirty
feet through the air, and he aimed for the top of their heads. He knew that
landing on them would crush their skulls, would drive them into the ground. But
it would also, he knew, mean a cushion for a soft landing for him. It would be
an honor for them, he decided, to die in his service.
    As Ra neared the
ground, he suddenly felt his feet impacting their heads, felt his entire body
landing atop them, crushing them. He could hear their bones break beneath him
as they cushioned his fall.
    Ra landed,
tumbling to the ground, winded. Yet as he rolled to his feet, he knew, with
great relief, that he was alive, and that nothing was broken. He looked over to
see his men beside him, with broken necks, not so lucky.
    Ra grinned. He
felt victorious. He had cheated death.
    Filled with fury
at the dragons, which Ra considered a mere nuisance, he strutted through the
streets, bent on vengeance. What bothered him most was not the dragons, but
that Duncan, his great prize, had escaped. Whatever the cost, he had to get him
back.
    A great dragon roared,
and Ra looked up to see him diving down straight for him, opening his mouth and
breathing fire. Ra, fearless, quickly grabbed several of his men and threw them
across the courtyard, distracting the dragon. The dragon turned to them, and Ra
used the opportunity to duck behind a stone wall. As the dragon breathed down,
its flames incinerated his men but licked past Ra, protected by the stone.
    Ra stood there,
his back up against the wall, and as he saw more and more dragons diving down, he
knew he had to do something quickly. All around him scores of his men, aflame,
shrieked and fell, collapsing to their deaths. He was fast losing his army.
    A group of generals
spotted him and ran to his side, cowering around him, taking shelter behind the
stone and awaiting his command. All eyes on him, Ra scanned the courtyard,
momentarily