Isera rushes up next to me, throwing ice spears at the charging dragons. I slam my magic into them again and again, trying to stop their assault. But I don’t have enough left to make the emotions strong enough for them to flee.
Wings boom around us as the dragons surge towards us again.
“Down!” Isera screams.
I dive forward as claws slash through the air right above me.
Trevor screams.
Clutching my knife to my chest, I roll across the ground whilea massive draft whooshes past above me from the squad of dragons. My hair ripples in the wind that their huge wings create.
Ice shoots through the air as Isera tries to bombard them with spears and shards aimed at their wings, but she barely has any energy left either.
I snap my head up right as a heartbreaking scream rips from Fenriel’s throat.
Trevor hangs in the air, stabbed through by a dragon’s claws. Blood runs down from the holes in his body as the dragon shakes its leg. Trevor’s body slides off the sharp claws and lands with a thud on the ground.
“NO!” I scream.
But the dragons swerve around in the air again.
“Take them down!” Isera bellows. “We’re going to take at least one of them down!”
Talon screeches as he swoops through the air towards Fenriel. He, Isera, and I are the only ones still standing.
My voice is broken and everything inside me hurts. But I raise my knife and scream in defiance as the ten dragons surge forward again.
Fenriel and Isera join in, our voices echoing through the air like death itself as we throw everything we have into one final suicide charge.
Our feet pound against the ground as we race towards our death.
Ten silver dragons open their jaws. Ice flames shimmer at the back of their throats as they let out bellowing roars. Their wings boom through the air as they speed right for us.
I scream for revenge and freedom and a choice that is finally mine as the dragons smash right into us.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Aroar to shatter hell itself splits the air. And right before the first silver dragon can slam into me, Draven shoots past me from behind and crashes right into them. They screech as he rips through their wings and bodies with a fury that makes the mountains tremble.
I throw myself down on the ground as four more black dragons and a huge purple dragon plow into the other silver dragons. Our enemies scream, throwing their heads from side to side as if they suddenly can’t see, while torrents of fire roar towards them from above. Claws slash and teeth flash.
Leaping to my feet, I stare at the scene before me in shock.
Draven, Galen, Lyra, two other black dragons, and Diana tear through the ranks of enemies while a furious thunderstorm booms around them. Lightning crackles over Draven’s black scales, making him look like part of the storm itself. Atop Lyra’s back, Alistair is shooting fireballs at the silver dragon’s wings while Orion is blinding them with his nightmares from his place on Galen’s back.
A cry of pure relief tears from my throat.
Staggering sideways, I drag in a deep breath and try toconvince my screaming mind that I am not dead. Isera rolls to her feet a short distance from me and starts shooting spears of ice at the silver dragons from below.
They screech in fear and panic as they’re attacked from all sides. I would have latched on to those flames of fear and made them bigger, but I have nothing left now. My magic is utterly drained. And so is the rest of me. It feels as if a soft wind could knock me over right now, so I grip the dagger hard in my hand to brace myself. And it is only by sheer willpower that I remain upright.
Blood rains down from the sky as Draven and the others mercilessly slaughter the silver dragons. I’m forced to sprint to the side as a silver dragon body tumbles through the air straight towards me. Throwing myself the final distance, I barely manage to get out of the way before it slams down into the stones with enough force to make the ground shake.
“Trevor!” Fenriel screams.
Talon swoops over to his shoulder as Fenriel throws himself down on his knees next to Trevor’s broken body. Deep holes puncture his chest and abdomen, and his entire body shakes when he tries to draw in a breath. Blood pours out of his wounds and trickles down from the corners of his mouth.
“Fenriel,” he gasps out, his eyes sliding in and out of focus.
