Now, here we were. And it lookedhungry.
The dragon surged upward. Its massive jaws opened, exposing the gaping maw where fire pooled at the back of its throat, then snapped shut inches from Lily’s boots, and only because she’d pulled herself out of range just in time. She twisted mid-air, wings flaring wide, Dragonbane’s edge gleaming with unmistakable power.
Stone cracked as the beast gathered its forelimbs beneath itself and hauled its massive body upright. Dust plumed into the air, mixing with the sour tang that never faded from this cursed basin.
“Down!” I shouted at Lily.
The last thing we needed was an aerial battle against adragon. The air was its domain. We needed to fight this thing on the ground, where we could take it apart, limb by limb.
With a harrowing roar, the dragon wound its neck until it turned and focused on Mephisar. The wyrm roared in response, then slithered across the ground and collided with the dragon’s flank.
Lily dove a second before I did, her blade catching against the monster’s shoulder. It cut clean through the dragon’s scales, and a spray of dark blood splashed the rocks. Seemed her dragon-blade came with the added benefit of being able to cut through the beast’s armour.
She ripped her sword free and banked hard when the dragon snapped open its wings in a furious attempt to swat her out of the sky. The gust blasted her higher, and she scrambled to find her balance.
I dropped to the ground and settled in with my sword drawn and aimed at the creature’s throat. It coiled its head toward me and lashed out, its fangs snapping too close to my face for comfort. I drove the hilt into its snout, then dropped low under its neck, before turning my blade on its forelimbs.
Next to me, Gorr lunged low, his jaws clamping around one hind leg. Calder and Varz struck in unison, their weapons hammering at its haunch. The beast twisted, tail slamming across the stone with bone-splintering force. Calder barely rolled aside. Varz wasn’t as lucky and took the blow across his ribs. He went tumbling, the terrain scuffing his armour as he rolled.
The air itself shuddered as the dragon drew in a long breath. Smoke gushed from its nostrils, heat thickening the already foul haze. A blast was coming. I cut sideways in a dive, shouting, “Scatter!” even as the fire built in its gut.
The torrent came an instant later, fire blasting the ridge in a wave that scorched the already blackened stone. I tucked behind a jut of rock, my own wings folded tight against my back.
But while the rest of us hid, Eliza used the distraction to her advantage. With the dragon’s attention on those of us in frontof it, she snuck in from behind and positioned herself beneath the belly, her daggers flashing in a rhythm almost too quick to follow. The second her blades sliced between the thinner scales, the dragon threw its head back, its flames piercing the sky. It lifted a back leg and struck out, aiming directly at the siren.
“Eliza!” I shouted, but she couldn’t hear me over the dragon’s roar.
Its foot took her in the side and sent her sprawling into the open, her daggers clattering to the ground as they tumbled from her fingers.
The dragon whirled around and stared down at her. Then it opened its maw, light building in its chest. Eliza scrambled backward, but Levi was faster. He hurled himself between them, sword drawn, and carved along the beast’s jawline. The scales were thicker there, and the blade didn’t do much damage, but at least it distracted the dragon enough for Eliza to regain her footing.
The reprieve didn’t last long though. The dragon snapped its head sideways and struck Levi like a battering ram. The hit flung Levi across the ridge, his sword skittering from his grip. He hit hard, bounced once, twice, then came to a stop in a tangle of limbs and mussed blonde hair.
The dragon didn’t hesitate. It launched straight for Levi, head down and maw yawning wide enough to devour him whole.
Already moving, I sprinted after it, boots skidding over glassy rock. Gorr powered in beside me with a snarling burst of speed. Calder and Varz pounded after, weapons up, while Mephisar shot like a missile through the sky.
Except, Lily hit the ground first. She dropped out of the air like a literal guardian angel and landed between Levi and the dragon, dust pluming around her boots. Levi, still trying to unscramble his thoughts after a hit like that, pushed to hisknees, one hand braced on the ground, the other searching blindly for his sword.
Shit—she wasrightbetween them, and the dragon wouldn’t care who it ate first. I pushed harder, lungs burning, trying to close the gap.
But Lily didn’t so much as blink as the dragon bore down on her.
Then the darkness exploded out of her in a wave of power stronger than anything I’d seen so far. It spilled outward, not as wisps but as ropes, thick and coiled. The tendrils lashed out at the dragon without so much as a gesture from Lily. They wound around all four of its limbs, then jerked tight and yanked the beast down. Its roar shook the ridge as stones rattled across the terrain.
More shadows surged free of Lily and slammed into the dragon’s chest. The beast gave a weaker cry, then lowered its head to the ground, that quickly capitulating to the Princess of Hell.
“Be still,” Lily rasped.
The voice was hers, but not hers at the same time. It was deeper, darker, and dripping with power.
I stared at Lily. She stood safely ensconced within a writhing cocoon of darkness, but through the gaps, I caught sight of the dark veins spreading beneath her pale skin and her solid black eyes.
This was how she’d looked yesterday when facing off against Miriel’s bomb, when the darkness took control. It hadn’t happened this morning when she’d raised the hellspawn, but maybe that task had tired her out, giving the darkness the upper hand? She certainly looked out of control right now, with the blackness visibly crawling beneath her flesh. It hadn’t donethatyesterday.
“My god,” Eliza whispered as she came to stand next to me.
Cold fear chilled my blood. I slowly turned to find her staring at Lily, eyes wide and mouth parted.Shit. Eliza hadn’t been there when Lily destroyed the bomb. And this morning, when she’d raised the hellspawn, her eyes and skin hadn’t turned. But now? Like this? Lily looked less like the princess Eliza knew her as and more like her father’s daughter. A monster.
