From the Ashes

Chapter 15

My eyes open with a start. A dim light flickers across the cavern walls and I lift my head from the rolled up cloth I was using as a pillow. Crickets chirp outside, along with the rustling of the wind in the trees.

"Jaina," a voice whispers.

My eyes scan the room as agitation tingles at my fingertips.

"Jaina," he whispers again.

I contemplate asking who's there, but my voice catches in my throat. A horrible nausea settles in my stomach as I realize I'm alone. My team is gone, yet blood stains the floor.

"Dragon!" I clutch the hilt of my scimitar. "Dragon!"

A hand closes around my throat, and I reach up to push him away. Struggling to breathe, I look into Azad's eyes. I claw at his hand, attempting to tear it from my throat, yet he doesn't let go.

He pulls me to my feet and presses me into the wall. His eyes burn red with hatred, but his voice is calm and pleading as he whispers into my ear, "Do not fail me."

The sensation of dropping fills my body and I scream. I lash out at him, but my hands find nothing to hit or scratch.

My palms smash into the floor, and I open my eyes, tearing at my throat. The room is completely dark.

"Jaina." He touches my hand.

Gasping for air, I pull away from him, yank an MED from my holster belt, push him to the ground, and press it to his throat. He grabs my wrist sternly, but with a gentle force that makes me stop. My eyes meet his.

"What the shaav?" Dragon cries, holding the dagger away from him. "Are you okay?"

I don't move, continuing to resist his strength and pressing the dagger closer. He squeezes my wrist so the MED falls to the ground, and I let out a breath of relief.

What just happened?

Where's Azad? Was it all just a dream?

"Everything okay back there?" Liam calls.

My eyes shoot toward him, and my breath is choked from my lungs when I realize Dragon's holding me by the wrists while I'm awkwardly on top of him. If Liam saw me press the dagger to his throat, he might understand a little better, but it's clear this is all he's seen.

I pull back quickly and take a seat on the ground, trying not to sound embarrassed. "Everything's fine, Liam."

He nods, unconvinced, but he goes back to whatever he was doing.

I rub the graininess from my eyes. "What time is it?"

Dragon shoots me a glare, asking for an explanation. "What was all that about?"

The muscles in my throat contract. I can't tell him. I can't let him know. Azad said he'd kill him and I'm going to take his word for it.

"Nothing." Only after I say it do I realize how ridiculous it sounds.

Dragon raises an eyebrow. "So then it's just every day you'd hold a knife to my throat?"

"No, that's not it at all!" I retort. "I just..."

I let the silence take its hold and rake my fingers through my hair. How am I going to do this?

Dragon leans in a little closer to me and I resist the sudden urge to press myself into his arms.

"Was it a dream?" he asks softly.

He doesn't avert his gaze, confidently meeting my own. He'd know what it's like to be affected by dreams. He'd understand.