Straight away from us.
Away from the dragons.
Away from his family.
“Dad!” His son cries, trying to tear after him.
Catching the kid around the waist, I yank him back and throw up a shield just a second before another hail of rocks slams into us. Sweat starts seeping down my face, my pulse pounding in my throat, but I force the shield to hold as a brutal roar tears across the clearing.
In front of us, the red dragon’s jaws are parted as molten light gathers behind its teeth and its attention is now solely on the father still running.
Shit.
Flaring its wings wide, it goes to move but JC drives forward first.
Her teeth clamp around the red dragon’s neck, tearing a savage wail from its chest.
Beside her, the green dragon throws itself skyward, only to come hurtling down again, claws aimed straight for JC’s wings. She rolls, but not fast enough.
Talons slice across her side, and red blood sprays as a scream rips through the air.
Luc bolts, racing for her side.
Behind us, the father is still running in the opposite direction. Holding my breath, I pray he’s far enough.
One of the riders in white hurls a blast of magic towards Luc, but the rider must be distracted, because his Threads lose their aim and rebound off him at the very last second. Then Luc’s hands fly out, the air around him detonating as he blasts his own Threads at the green dragon in front of him, and relief rushes through me as the beast recoils—more startled than hurt. But the distraction buys Luc enough time to climb onto JC’s back, and together they launch.
“Down!”Cal’s warning flares through the bond. I duck on instinct, dragging the kid and his mother down with me just as half a dead tree tears over our heads.“Stay down.”
The demand makes no sense, but I trust Cal’s judgement, so I pin the two Innerlanders beneath me as chaos erupts around us.
Dust kicks up in choking clouds. I can hear wings, roars, the heavy impact of bodies hitting the ground. But I can’t see a fucking thing.
Beneath me, the mother and boy tremble, but I pull them flush against my chest and hold them there until the noise cuts out all at once.
Then a familiar voice breaks through the silence.
“Hey, Goldie, what in Stars are you doing down there?”
Rubbing sweat and grit from my eyes, I blink through the haze to find Reya standing a few paces away, hands on her hips, glaring at me.
God, I’ve never been so grateful to see her in my life.
“Draconite.” I mutter with a heavy sigh then I shove myself upright, every muscle protesting with the effort as the clearing comes back into focus.
The four Outerlanders still lie unconscious around us, scattered through the dirt where I dropped them, but beyond them are the remains of two dragons—one red, one green—their bodies slashed open, wings twisted, and their white-robed riders crumpled nearby.
JC, Shanwyn and Nex tower over the carnage, blood streaking the ground between them, dark and wet against the dust.
“It’s like a bloody battlefield. Is JC okay?” I ask as Darren and Luc step up beside us.
Luc gives a relieved nod.
“Did either of them see you?” Reya tilts her head toward the dead riders in white.
I shake my head. “No. They were too far away to get a proper look.”
“That was too close.”
