Blade and Rook caught wind of an insurrection, Onyx’s voice reverberated inside my head, but I kept my eyes trained to the males in front of us, listening carefully as the soothing timbre stroked all my senses.Void and Vektor have betrayed the Sky Demons so they can return our faction to the old ways. They orchestrated this ambush and planned to reign in the wake of my death. Shameless, but likely the only way they could manage it without blood on their hands.
Artemis raged in silence but didn’t rebuke Onyx’s allegation. Because he’d brought all the proof my dragon needed, and Onyx had named the sector specifically.
It was their intention to lay blame on the Stormriders thanks to a defector. It was Void’s hope to start a war and strengthen our “alliance” with Artemis and his faction, the Water Serpents,Onyx went on, his words calm and measured as if he’d said them many times over the years.They will be dealt with.
He'd delivered his speech with the authority of a leader who’d seen the many faces of betrayal. Even his own brother’s treachery couldn’t shake him.
I wanted to wrap my arms around him, if only to shoulder a little of the hurt he must be feeling. Because while he might’vebeen in the presence of traitors wearing a friend’s face more times than he could count, family was another matter.
Not even Onyx could escape the pain that sort of betrayal inspired. It was a blade that struck so deep it’d shake anyone’s resolve—like it had when I suspected Jona and the other leaders. Like it still did when I thought about the years I spent trusting them.
Artemis would need to be outright stupid not to already draw the conclusion that the jig was up. He’d been found out. I sensed him constructing a number of lies to manipulate the narrative and buy time to attack, but it wouldn’t work. Onyx came here ready to fight and wouldn’t be caught by surprise like they’d hoped.
Onyx stared at the other dragon leader, daring him to make his excuses or try to climb out of the grave he’d dug. My eyes skated across the group of Water Serpents. Several had hands on their weapons. The only one who didn’t look ready for bloodshed was the dragon next to my sister.
His hand ghosted across the space to touch her. Their eyes met, and then her haunting stare was back. I sensed his loyalty was with her and not his king. Leave it to Luna to make allies with dragons. I guess we had that in common. How strange.
We’ll deal with these enemies first. Are you ready, little Moon Beast? You’ll need to work fast to disable them.
Catching his gaze, I nodded.
Onyx smiled at me, causing the other dragons to falter and forget their objective for a beat. “Keep Luna safe, Pyro,” he ordered to the confusion of the group, but the one beside Luna grabbed her and took several retreating steps back before anyone could respond.
Artemis’s face twisted in on itself. “Onyx, what—”
But Onyx was already slamming into him, countering several Water Serpents in the wake of his attack. In a series of swift movements, he disabled them the way he’d taught me.
I didn’t hesitate another second. I moved quickly to do the same to the rest. But I was caught by surprise when one was taken down by the dragon protecting my sister. He nodded before we both worked in tandem to overcome the rest.
Like Onyx said, none of the dragons considered me a threat. It was easy to catch them off guard with my new speed and strength.
I disabled every dragon with careful evasions and counter-attacks, but it was Pyro who went around and killed the ground-bound Water Serpents. He didn’t leave a single one alive. His blade stabbed through armor and human flesh to cut out their hearts as if they were no friend of his. As if they weren’t brethren.
They might be demons, but today they bled and died the same way we humans did. Despite the myths, even dragons couldn’t escape death.
After I was confident we’d gotten them all, I rushed over to Luna. She threw her arms around my shoulders and held me close, crying into my neck. “I never thought—look how much you’ve grown. Look how strong you’ve become. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of you, Mazikeen.”
Hugging her close, I nodded. “I’ve missed you too, Luna.”
Pyro checked the dragons scattered across the ground, ensuring each one was slain. These were his fallen brothers, yet he didn’t appear upset to see them dead. If anything, his expression was calm and resolute. Had he known all along what would transpire today? Had he been in on it from the start? Was he a traitor to his people the way Void was to his brother?
Dark hair blew across Pyro’s amber eyes as he lifted them to the sky. Two giants clashed, a violent sound exploding fromthe collision. Sparks and fire scattered dangerously across the darkening expanse above us. The very world seemed to shudder with their battle.
Artemis’s dragon was thinner and longer, its neck, body, and tail twice as long as Onyx’s, though not nearly as large as his. It was still large enough to strike fear into human hearts.
The light blue beast stretched its narrow wings, but they weren’t as large or as far-reaching as Onyx’s. Mere decorations by comparison. If anything, his beast moved through the sky more like a serpent than a winged thing. Which was likely what inspired the faction name.
Nowhere in our texts or drawings had I seen anything like it. It would seem that each dragon was distinctly different, and all the Rebels in Desert Roseland had been taught were how to recognize Sky Demons.
Onyx had summoned his storms and the other dragon his angry ocean. The air ignited with the feeling of mythical titans at war. The tides of change. History written in violence.
Today, a dragon king would breathe his last.
A water tornado lifted and swayed from the surface of an angry sea, reaching for Onyx, but my dragon evaded the wall of water and slammed into the blue dragon navigating bolts of lightning raining down from the sky. The assault of water wobbled and collapsed into the sea.
Moments later, tiny spindles sprang out and soared into the sky, intercepting several electric bolts. The large beasts collided again in an explosion of fire. A fierce rush of wind hurtled across the top of the mountain, nearly taking the three of us off our feet.
Pyro took my sister into his arms, shielding her body with his from the explosive wind. “He’ll kill you both if Artemis wins,” the dragon growled, eyes swinging from Luna to me. “We need to leave now if we want to find somewhere safe.”
