The red dragon turned its big horned head toward her. His gaze narrowed in what appeared disapproval.
One of the three black dragons snarled, struggled to push past the other two.
“Shift,” Manu snapped.
The black dragon in the center shimmered before it transformed to a naked Samuel.
Cassie lifted her gaze to his face and fixed it there. Fury rode his features.
“You killed your mother because of a mere human,” he boomed. “You choseherover your own blood?”
Cassie backed up and tripped.Holy heck! Only she could trip over a dragon’s tail. The red dragon shifted its stance, putting himself between her and Samuel’s wrath. His red nostrils flared and wisps of smoke spiraled free.
“I had no choice,” Manu said in a flat voice.
“You had a choice. That human or your mother,” Samuel roared, his face turning mottled scarlet.
“It would have been murder,” Manu said. “Cassie didn’t do anything wrong. We’re friends. That’s all. Ma’s insistence on grandchildren and furthering the family line has caused this. Ma’s mind snapped. She would’ve killed an innocent.”
“You murdered your mother.”
Manu straightened his shoulders, lifted his chin. “She gave me no choice.”
The two black dragons shifted. Manu’s two brothers each grasped their father’s arms.
“You agree with your brother?” Samuel demanded.
Cassie didn’t hear the reply since Jack exited the house. “Is Emma all right?”
“She has burns on her right arm and leg, but they’re not as bad as I feared. She’s in a bath of cold water. She’s going to be okay. The baby too.”
“B-baby?”
“Yes,” Jack said curtly.
Hone sighed with relief as Cassie ducked into the house.
“Vehicle coming,” Jack snapped.
Manu snapped to attention. He strode to his mother’s body and stabbed her with the tribe sword. His low murmur rippled with power and his mother’s body faded to dust. He repeated the action with her severed head.
Hone willed his dragon to shift and prayed like hell Samuel could hold his shit together because the motor roared in the same manner as the one belonging to the local policeman. Yep, the cop who had a crush on Cassie.
His dragon stood to attention, pushing a rippling growl through Hone’s mind.Quiet.
“Clothes,” Jack snapping, thrusting clothes at him and another set at Manu. Enough to cover the worst of the blood on their bodies. “Put away the sword.”
Manu seemed to snap from the dark place in his mind and the sword melted into his human body. He yanked on the pair of track pants Jack gave him, and when he presented his back, Hone saw the sword resting in the hand of Manu’s dragon tattoo.
The cop car pulled to a stop. The door slammed as the driver climbed out.
“Is anything wrong, officer?” Jack asked, taking the lead.
“We’ve had reports of gunfire and strange flames in the sky,” the cop said.
“We did light our bonfire,” Jack said and gestured at the pile of tree clippings that had caught fire during June’s rampage. “I’m afraid it smoked a lot. Some idiot chucked a paint spray can in there because it scared the crap out of us when it exploded.”
The policeman scrutinized their faces, studied the fire. Tension radiated from his rigid frame. He didn’t believe Jack’s story.
