I wished Anna was there. She would do better. I wasn’t suited to thinking on my feet. I needed time and a plan. This was too much. I was too stressed out, not thinking clearly.
Come on. You can do this. Dirk needs you.
Reaching down, I pressed the sides of the gash on his forehead together, willing the skin to knit itself together.
It didn’t.
Something snapped, and the creaking returned, this time with a bone-deep ominous bass to it from somewhere above me.
Looking up, I spotted the source. It was the brellwood tree. The tremendous weight of the upper trunk was starting to shatter the weakened area. Even as I watched, more bark gave way and bunched up as things settled.
Oh, no.
“Dirk.” I tapped his shoulder, the one area that wasn’t a ruined mess. “Dirk, you need to wake up. We have to move. The tree is going to collapse.”
No response. Not even a groan. I stared at his chest for a moment, but it still rose and then, an agonizing moment later, fell. He wasn’t waking up anytime soon.
“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing how much pain I was about to cause him and also knowing I had no choice. He had to move out of the way. The brellwoods were hundreds of feet tall and weighed unimaginable amounts. It would crush him.
I got under his shoulder as best I could and tried to get his weight onto me so I could move him.
The tree trunk shattered in places and bark sprayed everywhere, peppering my skin as the entire thing began to lean precariously.
“Damn it, Dirk, get up!” I screamed, pulling on his arm. He didn’t budge.
I cursed and fumed. This should be easy. If my dragon was awake, I would have the strength to move him, to save his life, like he had mine. So where was she? Reaching into my mind, I sought out that cold, alien entity that had filled my head not so long ago. I begged her to come out, pleaded. I yelled and commanded.
All I received was silence. Again.
The tree shattered with a roar that threatened to burst my eardrums and echoed my scream as it came down.
Without thinking, I threw myself on top of Dirk in some stupid, last-ditch effort, as if I could protect him.
The ground trembled and shook, and I screwed my eyes shut, bracing for the end. It would be swift, at least. I hadn’t expected to live past the fall anyway, so how could I be sad?
Something collided and we both bounced a few inches off the ground as thunder sounded all around us in a deafening cacophony. I clung to Dirk, screaming through it all and wishing it would just happen already.
And then the silence rang out. Nothing moved. Nothing shook. And I still drew breath.
Nervously, I cracked open one eye. Tree trunk filled my vision. Lots and lots of tree trunk, no more than five feet away, and stretching as far as I could see.
“It missed,” I whispered, stunned at the luck.
A heavy grunt followed by a snort of air alerted me to the presence of another. “Not quite,” a familiar voice said wryly.
I looked up and over my shoulder. A gigantic white dragon was crouched nearby, grimacing slightly and covered in wooden splinters.
“Caz,” I whispered, stunned at the power it must have taken to move the falling tree. Even for the Ice Tyrant himself, that was unbelievable.
“Are you okay?” His green dragon eyes were filled with concern.
“Iam,” I said softly, peeling myself from Dirk.
The vertical eyelids of the ice dragon narrowed as Caz caught sight of his brother’s unconscious form.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It’s all my fault.”
Eight
