By all accounts, the golden dragonling had made the right choice. His charge was safe because of it. And he had been able to repel the attack just as he thought he'd be able to do. That was enough.
But what he hadn't accounted for was how unfair life generally was.
Two attackers.
Not one.
He'd focused entirely on the first, blocking, shielding, holding his ground like he was supposed to. So when the second one entered his range at the last possible moment, he hadn't thought much of it.
Or that was what he wanted to believe, as he realized there was no use thinking about it when he really wouldn't be able to react with his remaining strength.
He was a dragon, anyway. Surely that would count for something, right?
Even as a dragonling, his body wasn't that fragile. A normal strike shouldn't have done much.
His body should have held.
But it didn't.
The blade cut through him with unnatural ease, catching the golden dragonling completely off guard.
