The men marched out into the dark as they had the night of their first attack. For Mason, saying goodbye to Ilona was only slightly easier than last time. Although he did have more confidence in his men and his own abilities to fight the dragon, there was still no way to know if this fight would be more challenging than the first battle or not.
Ilona had seemed less afraid when she had kissed him goodbye. He'd given a little speech to the men and then turned to her. She had smiled her beautiful smile, which filled his heart with love for her even before she kissed him and whispered encouraging words into his ear. He held her as long as he could before letting her go and leaving to lead the men into battle.
