He counted them as they landed in a line. Five, six, seven…. Eight.
Eight for dying.
“Andvari,” Sawyer said nervously.
But before he could finish his thought another rush of noise sounded behind them. A flock of black birds, no ravens, flew at them. Bigger than any he’d ever seen. Easily three times the size of the row of crows. They flew through the air, heading for them like dark missiles against the bright summer sky. Hundreds of them appearing from the depths of the trees.
“Draco!”
Draco circled as Andvari pulled Sawyer even tighter against him.
“Fly, Dragon. I’ve got him.”
Andvari’s arm became a vice around Sawyer’s chest. The muscles in his legs bunched as he held tightly onto Draco’s back. Sawyer heard the swish of Andvari’s sword being pulled from its scabbard.
The ravens were close now, too close. So many of them the sky grew dark. Draco jolted as one struck him in the side. Then another and another. Draco tried to steer them back toward the house and the safety of the wards, but the ravens were nipping his wings and knocking him off course.
The once smooth cadence of flying was now rocky and terrifying. His wings weren’t meant to fend off attacks. Draco sucked in a breath that filled his lungs and spread Sawyer’s thighs, then he blew out a huge column of fire that scorched several of the ravens in their path.
More came. Diving at them, hitting Andvari in the back. Draco breathed deep again, shooting a second wall of flame.
Andvari was limited with his swing since he had to hold Sawyer. He was able to knock a few away but he was taking as many hits as Draco was.
“Andi, I’m going to lean forward and hold on. You need to help Draco.”
“Dammit, Sawyer. Stay still.”
“There’s too many of them. He needs help or we’re never going to make it. I can do it. Protect his wings.”
Andvari gave him a quick squeeze then leaned forward with Sawyer until he was able to wrap his arms around Draco’s thick neck. His hide was scaled and gave Sawyer a handhold. Sawyer tucked his fingers in, praying he wasn’t going to hurt Draco, then held on.
“Steady for a minute, Draco!” Andvari waited for Draco to stop moving his wings, then spun around so he was sitting backward. It gave him a better angle and a broader swing. “Fly!”
Draco flapped his wings again and took another breath. The crows were pounding his wings, trying to stop him from making it to safety, but Draco was stubborn and Sawyer knew he wouldn’t let him down.
“You got this,” Sawyer whispered. “Cook ‘em.”
Draco took a breath, spewing fire in a huge arc, clearing a space in front of him for a moment. He dove through it as Andvari gave a battle cry. His sword whistled though the air, slicing through the ravens easily.
A swath of the ravens had gathered to the side and it looked like they were going to hit Draco’s left wing all at once. He wouldn’t be able to keep them in the air without one of his wings working. And they knew it.
“Drake,” Sawyer whispered. “Get ready to fire to the left okay. On my count.”
Draco sucked in a breath, his deepest yet, and Sawyer held on. The ravens formed a column, a solid mass of black shooting like a deadly arrow toward Draco’s vulnerable wing. Sawyer held waiting.
“Three…two… one. Now!”
Draco pulled his wings back, then spun, shooting a huge ball of flame left. He hit the ravens dead on, then spun in a circle, flipping Sawyer upside down for a quick second until he righted them and shot forward with a huge burst of his wings.
He could see the house now and the first ward. Henry and Eduard were outside, and Eduard shifted into his griffin form, bursting into the air with a giant flap of his wings. Henry knelt inside the first ward, his hands thrown wide as he pulled magic toward him.
Sawyer kept his eyes locked on them even as Draco pulled in another breath. He turned his head and a wall of flame shot by Sawyer’s head. Then Eduard joined in the fray. God, he was beautiful. His eagle head covered in golden feathers that matched the gold of his lion’s body. His wings looked like they were spun with actual gold and they glittered in the sunlight. His claws and beak were deadly sharp and he clamped a raven in each, snapping them in two with a sickening crunch.
The wind picked up, pulling at Sawyer’s hair. The ravens not right beside them began to have trouble, spinning as undercurrents pushed them up and away from Draco. Andvari kept his sword swinging to the right while Eduard flew up and to the left, breaking any raven who came close to Draco’s wings.
Sawyer’s panic eased. One second too soon. Andvari thumped back against Sawyer’s back, pushing into him painfully. A huge raven had slipped through and hit him right in the chest. Splatters of blood flew through the air behind them and Andvari wasn’t moving.
“Eduard!”
