Serena.
Alive and whole. Sitting atop her giant dragon like the queen that she is—face set in fierce determination, a sparkle in those lilac eyes visible even from here.
She lives for this. It’s what she was made for. She was a warrior long before I taught her how to fight. A warrior by blood.
The lines of soldiers split as a round of blue fire erupts, scorching the ground along with some of the gold-armored guards. Screams of agony rip through the mob.
This is our shot at escape.
“Go!” I shout, racing toward Dover. He’s on the ground, leaning over a frighteningly pale Kai.
“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Dover says, bracing the deep gash in his best friend’s thigh. Blood pulses out around his fingers.
“Fuck. Grab him, and let’s go. Now!”
Staggering from his own exhaustion, Dover hoists Kai over his shoulder and we bolt toward the trees.
But Zadyn is not giving up.
He’s on a rampage, refusing to slow even as the next round of dragon fire erupts in a mesmerizing and gruesome display that leaves men scorched of armor and skin. The smell is foul.
Zadyn, now!I shout into his mind.
It’s futile. He’s so far gone, he can’t hear me.
Serena swoops through the sky again, sending more soldiers skittering back. She gives Furi another second to play with her food, then steers her toward the nearest line of trees. Clawed talons sink into the ground in a concise, graceful landing.
“Get on!” Serena yells.
I sheathe my sword and help Dover load Kai onto Furi’s wing. Then I climb the chain until I can use her spikes to hoist myself up behind Serena.
“Call him before he loses himself completely,” I pant, sliding my arms around her waist and settling into the saddle. I don’t even have time to enjoy the flood of heat that bursts through me from being this close to her—from touching her again.
“Zadyn, come. Now.”
The pure command that laces her voice is both shocking and seductive. And even among a crowd of burning soldiers, I find myself strangely turned on.
Until I see the massive ruby on her finger.
My desire is quickly replaced by white-hot rage.
Zadyn’s lupine form freezes as if hearing her voice over the roar of the crowds. He snaps into a sprint, shifting between strides and swinging himself onto the rusted chain as Furi begins flapping her wings.
We’re twenty feet up when the first round of arrows is launched.
They rain down like a dark meteor shower, whizzing past us from the direction of the palace. When I look back, golden guards line the entire upper perimeter of the castle, bows and arrows in hand. They stand along the highest walls of the keep, on every turret and bridge.
“Stay low!”
Before my words are even out, another round spears toward us. This time Furi’s wing takes a beating as a cluster of arrows lodge inside her dark, leathery flesh. Some even sail clean through it. Her gut-wrenching roar rips through the air. Serena screams as if she’d been hit.
“Are you shot?” I grip her tighter from behind.
She turns back to me, horror sprawled across her face as we plummet a few feet.
“She’s hurt.”
“Blood ore arrows,” Zadyn calls up to us. “We need to land!”
