Destroy them. Protect mate.
We fired headlong against the beastly horde.
Zoe
I stared at Lucas as he flapped his wings with furious determination, battering toward the danger. What a magnificent being he was. His orange and purple scales were stunningly beautiful. My hand fluttered to my mouth. He was so incredibly brave, more courageous than anyone I’d ever known.
And he’d just saved me from facing that mass by myself. What could I do to help him? Here I stood, useless on a patch of sand, while he fought them all.
One reached Lucas and clawed at him. He thwacked it and released a gust of flames. Incredible. How wrong I’d been to underestimate him or ever think he didn’t take things seriously. What he faced on his own was the gravest situation I could fathom.
I raised my weapon and aimed at one of the demons darting at Lucas. I aimed and fired. The blast of magical energy fizzed out before it even got a third of the way. I was too far away.
Frustration weighed each step as I paced through the sand. The sirens and demons in the water continued to welcome more hellish creatures from their portal. I had to dosomething. I had to stop any more from slipping through.
Screw it, enough pacing on the damn beach. I ran toward the shoreline, holding weapons in each hand, and hoping to hell they’d function in the water. Otherwise, I could be swimming right to my tomb.
I plodded in, biting my lip as I forced myself into the freezing ocean. When the chilly water snaked up to my waist, I dove beneath the surface. Swimming fully clothed and holding objects was a laborious, weighted crawl. I shoved my weapons back into their holsters and shed my coat. I needed to keep from sinking.
I glanced above. Lucas was almost directly overhead fighting the beings. I gauged the distance. Worth a shot. I pulled out my weapon and shook off the water. While treading water, I took aim at one of the little shit demons shrieking at Lucas. I fired.
Missed.
Damn. Trying to aim while keeping afloat was a challenge I’d never anticipated. At least, I was close enough at this point. I tried again with no luck. It took me another few attempts before I found a way. If I floated on my back, my body was steady enough for me to take aim. I hit one. The fried demon fell and plopped into the ocean with a splash.
I continued in this way, shooting at the demon horde while Lucas literally spewed fire at them. What a peculiar team.
A figure moved in the dark water ahead of me. My breath froze like the icy salt water snuck into my lungs.
It emerged from beneath the surface—dark hair on a woman’s face. Her eyes simmered with molten rage. “Hello, elf.”
Her foreboding tone ripped a vein of wariness through me. This was not a friendly welcome.
I turned my weapon on her. “Back off, siren.” My words held more steel than my backbone. We were on her turf. In the ocean, I was as vulnerable as a shell being trod on by a clueless human. This was an incredibly stupid idea.
She opened her mouth and lunged at me. Her teeth reshaped like long, sharp talons ready to strip me into ribbons. I pressed the trigger. It hit her just below the collarbone. Her squeal sounded like a dolphin in pain as she clutched her throat. The scent of burning flesh overpowered that of the sea. She turned and sank beneath the dark ocean’s surface.
I resumed my sluggish swim. Another siren approached, and her expression promised vengeance.
“This is too big for you, tiny pathetic elf. You and your dragon will die and change nothing.”
“Want to bet?”
The sound of a familiar woman’s voice from behind coaxed me to peek over my shoulder. How was she here?
“Gianna.” The siren sneered. “Finally wake up and decide to join us? Everything I told you is coming true, just as I’d promised.”
“Hell no,” Gianna spat. “I’m here to help my friend. And stop you.”
She came here as a friend to help me? It would warm me to my reserved core if the situation wasn’t so treacherous.
More seething sirens swam over. Wonderful.
I pulled out my weapon.
“Leave my mother to me,” Gianna said with a coldness I’d never heard in her voice.
I aimed at the approaching sirens and attempted to fire at them through the water. They were fast and slick, so I wasn’t sure I caught any of them.
