His white-hot flames passed under me, harmless. I certainly felt the heat, and knew that had they struck me full on, I’d be dead right now.
Climbing for the stars, I glanced under my wing, peering behind me. Sure enough, Carter followed me, cursing, calling me filthy names, his wings straining to catch up.
I laughed. “Is that the best you can do?”
“Bitch! I’ll tear you apart.”
In a move Avery taught me, I ducked low, as though chasing my own tail, twisted, and flew hard into Carter’s face, flaming. Caught by surprise, Carter quickly banked right and down. But not quite fast enough.
My fire caught his left flank.
He roared in agony.
Dancing across the sky, I folded my wings and dove. Carter, still bellowing, kicked out with his left hind leg as though that would ease the terrible pain I’d inflicted. He appeared to not pay much attention to where I was, above him, until I struck his back and shoulders. Raking deep furrows into his hide, I sought to claw my way to his innards.
Screaming, Carter shook me off, his tail whipping around to slam into my belly. The blow took my breath, but I beat my way upward, flying away from his larger and stronger dragon. Below me, he dripped garnet drops that fell far away to the ground.
“Bitch,” he roared, his flames lighting the night. “You’re so dead. I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Good luck with that.”
His fire reaching for me, he climbed fast, his tremendous wingspan beating the cold air into submission. His eyes glowed with rage and pain, his deadly talons that could gut me as easily as a hunter guts a deer extended. If those razor-sharp claws sank into my hide, I’d never escape the death he planned for me.
Lighter, faster, I banked left and down, forcing him to chase me. Carter did, his wings folded, my death glowing in his eyes.
Just as his talons scratched my hide, I folded my wings. In a tight barrel roll, I ducked out and away from him, unharmed.
Bellowing his rage, Carter fell nearly a thousand feet before his wings slowed his descent and he soared upward again. He bared his long teeth in a grim smile.
“Nice flying, sis.”
“Thanks.”
“You know,” he went on, still grinning, “once I kill you, I’ll killhim. And the kid. Just because you pissed me off. I didn’t plan to harm them. I will now, though. You shouldn’t have told the cops anything. You shouldn’t have challenged me, girl.”
His threat to Avery and Declan sent such a fiery wave of rage sweeping through me I couldn’t breathe. “Die, asshole,” I snarled, flaming.
Folding my wings, I dropped fast. Carter, flying upward, saw me coming. His grin didn’t waver. His talons arched outward to grab my throat, his jaws agape and spewing fire, I knew that this was it.
We’d kill each other.
A dragon slammed into Carter’s right flank.
Carter, thrown into a wild tangle of wings and limbs, fell toward the very rocky earth below.
In my drop, I sped past them both in shock.
I spread my wings to slow my rapid descent, astounded, looking up at the third dragon.“Avery?”
He ignored me. His sandy-gold hide gleaming under the stars, his jaws wide, Avery dove in Carter’s wake.
Far below, Carter untangled himself before he hit the ground, and beat his wings. Both flew low over the stony terrain, ducking around trees and boulders, up a hill before diving downthe other side. I, too, chased after them, determined to kill my brother before Avery did.
Carter’s knowledge that death pursued him may be what kept him alive.
On what I guessed was pure adrenaline, he outpaced Avery and me both, and he soon vanished into the dark mountains.
Breathing hard, I slowed my pace as Avery swung toward me.
