“Do not address me so informally,” she said, lifting her chin as she cast Rhaedra a dismissive look, then shifting her flat gaze back to Ash.
Ah, there you are.Ash held back a snort.
Rhaedra rolled her eyes, got up, and strolled around the kitchen, flipping her dagger before checking the passageway.
Unable to stay indoors under Vaesarra’s stare—and with her anxiety over Race mounting—Ash stalked past her, opened the terrace door, and stepped outside into the dull morning. She gripped the cold stone balustrade, dragging in lungfuls of tangy sea air.
The clouds roiled above the palace, but in the distance, dawn bled over the horizon like purplish-red bruises?—
“Worried, are you?” Vaesarra asked softly, yet it sent slivers of ice down Ash’s spine.
“We all are,” Ash said as the she-dragon glided closer. “Shouldn’t you be resting after your…ordeal?”
A faint smile curved Vaesarra’s mouth. “I’ve had centuries to practice breathing through pain. You, however, look frayed.” Her cool, measuring gaze swept Ash from head to toe. “I can see why he’s with you currently. Mortals are…entertaining. Until they break.”
Finally, the asp shows itself. Awful woman.
The males might not see the snake in the grass, but Ash definitely did.
Lightning prickled sharper in her hands. She folded her arms, masking the glow, and abandoned any pretense of friendliness. “Try again, V. You’re just another spoiled brat with scales?—”
“How dare you address me so?” Vaesarra snapped, her eyes blazing. “This is not your world. Go back to Earth, human. You don’t belong here. He loved me once, and he will again. You are nothing but a distraction.”
Ash barked a laugh. “Funny. He told me he broke up with you because he didn’t love you. Harsh, right?”
The she-dragon’s lips peeled back, red scales rippling along her neck and jaw, her pupils slitting. “He’s mine! I endured that tyrant’s bed, sold my soul to Malcarion’s hunger, and suffered eons—because I knew Eracier would come for me!”
“Enough,” Rhaedra barked, stepping outside, blade in hand.
Ash lifted a hand and stopped her, her icy stare locked on Vaesarra. “If that’s your idea of devotion, you really did waste millennia then, considering he’s already mated to me.”
Vaesarra’s face paled, and her scream split the air. “Lies!”
She lunged. Talons burst from her fingers, ripping Ash’s jumper at the collar. Her face blanched at the sight of the mate mark, then fury twisted her features into something monstrous.
“No!” Her screech morphed into a dragon’s roar, her body contorting violently. Bones cracked and reformed, her spine arching as crimson scales erupted across her flesh.
Bloody hell. Ash stumbled back.
Vaesarra’s jaw elongated, her fangs gleaming as she shifted into her true form—enormous, terrible, rage burning in her molten eyes. She hissed, fire rimming the pale underside of her elongated throat.
Oh no, you fucking don’t.
Lightning burst to life in Ash’s palms, echoing the storm churning above Caelvyrn.
“Duck!” Rhaedra yelled, shoving Ash aside as flames spewed across the terrace. She tripped, hit the stone, and rolled. Potted shrubs collapsed into smoking ruin, and stone blackened.
Rhaedra shifted, an explosion of jade scales and wings. The dragons collided, claws raking, tails lashing, the terrace quaking under their fury.
Vaesarra’s red barbed tail swiped over the floor?—
Damn it! Ash rolled clear of the fight and leaped to her feet. Teeth clenched, she unleashed her power—lightning arcing from her palms, wrapping Vaesarra’s throat in a sizzling garrote. The red dragon snarled, staggering a few steps?—
With a shriek, Vaesarra thundered for Ash and lunged, her talons outstretched?—
Rhaedra roared, her enormous body knocking into her side. But the red dragon twisted like a serpent, tail whipping around, catching Rhaedra and flinging her hard. She smashed into the granite wall. Stone exploded, rubble raining down as her limp form crumpled among the debris.
“Shit!” Ash scrambled backward, blood roaring in her head, her boots slipping on the debris.
