Ash manifests her true form in an explosion of flame that sets curtains ablaze. Wings of pure fire spread wide as she descends like divine retribution.
A fae knight raises a shield of living frostfire that meets her flames head-on, the collision detonating into a storm of sparks that blinds half the room. Ash wheels upward, wings blazing brighter before diving again.
She lands beside Roxy, wings forming a wall of flame. “Stay behind me, witch-girl. Time to show these pretty boys whatrealfire looks like.”
Luna emerges from the bar area, and the air grows heavy with moisture. Water forms in impossible quantities, crashing through the clubhouse in tidal waves.
A water-touched fae strides through the surge, singing in a language that bends the tide sideways. Luna snarls and answers with overwhelming force, the ocean crushing him to the ground.
“The ocean doesn’t forgive trespassers,” she says softly. “Neither do I.”
Near the back entrance, Rhett and Bennett fight side by side, divine light and hellfire colliding. A trio of fae lancers strikes in perfect formation, one spear punching through Bennett’s wing, tearing feathers of light into the air before Rhett barrels through them in shadowed flame.
“Not bad,mutt,”Bennett says, breathing hard.
Rhett laughs, the sound like grinding stone. “I guess you’re not completely useless either,birdbrain.”
The battle rages with escalating violence, bodies littering the floor in growing piles, blood mixing with sap, ash, and melted snow. The clubhouse transforms into a slaughterhouse painted in blood and grime. The scent of death mingles with pale lilies and old enchantment.
But… the fae keep coming.
For every warrior we drop, two more push through the shattered windows and broken doors. But they’re not trying to kill us, I realize with dawning horror. They’re trying to overwhelm us through sheer numbers, to exhaust even supernatural stamina through relentless, grinding attrition.
This isn’t a battle.
It’s asiege.
And that’s when I see him.
The Seelie Prince enters through a portal like he owns the place, his armor crafted from moonlight and starfall, his beauty so perfect it circles back on itself and becomes disturbing. He moves with casual confidence, magic radiating from him in waves that cause the air to shimmer and reality itself seem uncertain. Behind him, two dozen elite fae guards fall into formation, their weapons gleaming with enchantments that make my dragon instincts scream warnings.
His eyes, pale as winter ice, scan the carnage with mild interest before settling on Roxy.
And he dares to smile.
Everything in me howls in recognition and rage.
This is the threat Thorn warned us about.
This is the enemy who wants our territory, our secrets, everything we’ve built over centuries of blood and fire.
This is the creature who thinks he can take what belongs tome.
“Dragon,” the prince yells, his voice carrying clearly despite the chaos, musical and poisonous in equal measure. “Your reputation precedes you. As does your… pet witch.”
I move to intercept, fire and ice detonating across my scales.
But the prince is already moving, faster than I thought, magic propelling him across the space between us in a heartbeat.
He doesn’t head for me.
He heads for Roxy.
Scar tries to intercept, vampire speed making him a blur of motion. But the prince simply gestures, and silver light explodes around Scar, freezing him mid-stride in a cage of crystallized magic. The vampire strains against the clearly iron-infused bindings, flesh beginning to smoke as the enchantment burns, but he can’t break free fast enough.
“Scar!” I roar, already moving.
But I’m too slow.
