Dark Refuge by Angelina J. Steffort
Nehelon no longer had words for how it felt to be bathed in blood. Only that the sweat of battle might be just enough to wash him clean. Bracing himself on the pommel of his sword, he panted the ashen air, finding it hard to take a deep enough breath as he weighed the options for his next step. Beside him, Valyn didn’t look any better, armor half ripped to shreds by the dragon they’d defeated in the field with the help of the human Fae alliance, resulting in thousands over thousands of burning corpses. They’d lost too many on both sides. Humans more than Fae, their bodies not made for immortal battles. But they’d held their word, had endured the wrath of the Dragon King and the horror of the dread of the skies. “I’m spent.” Valyn knelt in the silence after the storm—or before it. There was always a before with Raynar Leyon; they’d learned that the hard way.