Page 242 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
She had stood there in silence, watching as the phoenixian princess carefully mixed her blood into the medicine.
Even now, Dawn did not know whether Alina was aware of it. And she knew, with quiet certainty that it would not be her who told her.
Alina did not so much as glance at the group.
She walked straight past them, her steps steady as she made her way towards the waiting dragons.
Dawn found herself staring.
It was difficult not to.
Alina wore her phoenixian fighting garments, though the once-pristine white had been stained and dulled by blood and battle. One sleeve—where her arm had once been—hung loose and empty, stirring faintly in the desert wind. Dawn tried, and failed, not to look at it.
Alina had covered her head and most of her face, veiling the worst of the damage. But her eyes…
Her remaining eye still burnt bright.
The bandages concealed the other, mercifully hiding what had been taken from her.
Alina must have felt Dawn’s stare, because she turned sharply.
‘Is there something you wish to say?’
Dawn opened her mouth, but no words came. She shook her head instead, retreating into silence.
‘I do not want your pity,’ Alina said, stepping closer. ‘Though I imagine you are rather pleased this has happenedto me.’
Dawn’s eyes widened. ‘Of course not.’
Alina let out a dry, humourless snort. ‘Do not lie.’
Dawn drew breath to argue but the moment slipped away. Alina had already turned her back, dismissing her entirely, and continued on to stand beside Mareena.
Dawn watched in silence as the small group made their final preparations.
No one came from the city to see them off. Not even to say farewell to their prince.
Kai moved to her side and helped her onto one of the dragons, guiding her into place with practiced ease. As always, he climbed up behind her, his arms settling securely around her waist.
By now, Dawn had grown somewhat accustomed to the sensation of flight.
‘Don’t look at Alina like that,’ Kai said. Dawn was unable to read his expression, and she wanted to twist around, to understand what he meant.
‘Like what?’
‘Like she’s broken.’
The dragons lifted their great heads and roared, the sound echoing across the mountains. And then, with a powerful beat of their wings, they took to the sky.
Dawn found herself turning Alina’s words over and over in her mind as the dragons carried them across the sky. As well as Kai’s.
And, deep down, she knew Alina was not entirely wrong.
She did not want Alina to die. A part of her still longed for what they had once been. For that fragile thread of friendship that had existed before everything had shattered.
But there was another part of her. A darker, more twistedpart that had not yet healed from what Alina and Ash had done.
That part whispered that this was justice.
