Weak bowels aside, I needed to suck it up and focus on that?—
Wait. Was that blood on the dragon’s fangs?
I froze, my feet staggering to a stop.
Then I snapped a glance to the spot right in front of the dragon’s feet where a body lay crumpled in a heap. At the sightof the familiar figure, I stumbled a step closer. Then another. My heart pounded so loud, I couldn’t hear anything else.
Oh god, no.
No, no, no.
“Sable?” Her name fell from my lips in a guttural whisper.
The world narrowed down to her. My breath quickened, and my chest heaved.
Sable lay in front of the dragon, her belly split from tail to throat.
For a single moment, I just stared at her.
And then…anger surged, and Ierupted.
Fire exploded out of me, flames coalescing my entire body. I broke into a dead sprint, my power tearing through me like an inferno, fed by rage and grief. With a furious scream, I raised one hand and unleashed every ounce of magic I possessed at the fucking dragon. The flames burned so hot, the air shimmered, and the world turned white. The second they hit the dragon, it unleashed a roar and this time whirled its whole body toward me.
“Come and get me, you bastard!” I screamed, tears streaking my cheeks.
Sable.
She was dead—I knew it. Blood soaked the ground surrounding her, and her unseeing eyes were fixed on the hellish sky above. Her massive maw was slack, her tail and chest far too still. No one survived evisceration. Not even down here. And since she wasn’t a hellspawn, I couldn’t resurrect her. But Iwouldmake the dragon suffer for what it’d done. I would rip the scales from its fucking back. Cleave its skull from its shoulders. Anything to cause it pain.
A shadow whisked overhead, and with a pained scream, Mephisar unleashed a jet of fire into the air. He snapped hisjaws shut, changed his angle to aim himself at the dragon, then unleashed another stream of pure heat.
I gave myself a moment to revel in the relief of seeing him alive and well, then turned my rage and sadness back to the dragon. I unleashed myself on it. Flames poured out of me in a sizzling wall that struck the beast with enough force to send it stumbling backward, its wings flaring in surprise.
But I’d barely hurt it.
Fine. Time to recalibrate. If fire didn’t hurt its armoured exterior, then maybe I could find somewhere more vulnerable.
My eyes raked the creature, studying every inch of it, until I caught sight of its belly—sans plated armour.
Perfect.
This thing had killed Sable.MySable. It seemed only fair I returned the favour.
I launched myself forward again, targeting the dragon. I didn’t care that the creature was at the very least ten times my size. Nor did I care that I didn’t have my swords, or that Rathiel and the others weren’t fighting at my side yet. None of that mattered right now. I wouldbecomethe weapon if that was what it took to bring this monster down. I would make it regret ever drawing breath.
The dragon stood tall on all fours and flared its wings. It lashed its spiked tail toward me, the barbs slicing through the air. I dove low, dodging them, then ducked under the dragon’s limbs and flung a spear-shaped flame right at its belly.
This time, it screamed in pain, and the sound was like music to my ears. I rolled to my feet with a murderous, albeit triumphant, grin. Soft underbelly it was then.
Teeth snapped at the air next to my head. I barely dodged in time. When I came up, power stirred within me. It felt different than normal. Stronger. More concentrated. I let the magic rush through me, expecting the usual flames to ignite in my palms.Instead, shadows gathered. But this time, they poured out of my palms in two long, slick, barbed tendrils.
I stared at my hands, awestruck. Usually when I summoned my shadows, they came as a fog. This was new. But now wasn’t the time to question this new ability of mine—not when I still had a dragon to kill.
The tendrils coiled through the flames untouched and snaked toward the dragon until finally, they wrapped around both of its front legs. Without a thought from me, they tightened around the limbs, and with a crack of bones, pulled its legs out from beneath it, yanking the beast to the ground.
Before it could struggle back to its feet,moretendrils poured out of my palms. One by one, they wound over the dragon—its tail, back, shoulders, neck, head—and held it prisoner.
It couldn’t stand, but the dragon snarled and lifted its head, its chartreuse eyes locking with mine. It cracked open its jaw—wide enough to swallow three of me whole. A sickly orange glow gathered deep in its throat. Fire sparked in the depths, the flickering flames illuminating its whetted fangs. The gathering heat was so intense, it warmed my skin even from where I stood.
