“It’s Reed,” he says, then answers the call. “Is this what I think it is?” he asks and then pauses to listen.
The silence is awful. Whatever Reed is saying, it’s making the line of his shoulders tighten.
“How many of these feral males are there?”
Feral males.
Holy shit!
He listens again for what feels like an age. Then his eyes narrow into thin, dangerous slits.
“Fuck!” he snarls. “Okay…copy.”
He listens for a few more seconds.
“Understand this: I’m going to counterattack, and I’m not holding back.” His voice has dropped low and rough. “Noted.” He nods once.
He ends the call and shoves the phone back in his pocket. He turns to Flint and Ridge.
“The excommunicated, feral males who live in the jungle on Mistveil somehow caught wind that the borders are open, and many of them are on their way here right now. The Mistveil guards are doing their best to stop them, but they underestimated how much effort it takes to guard such a long stretch of coastline. They’ve always inadvertently had us helping them, so to speak. At least fifty feral Reds have broken through, with more expected to follow.”
Feral Reds. What the hell? I thought all the Mistveil shifters were civilized. I thought the whole feral thing was a rumor.
“Over fifty?” Flint’s eyes go wide. “What happened to sixteen?”
“That was the start of it. More are attempting to cross, and Mistveil guards have their hands full. There are several hundred of them in that jungle. At least fifty have broken through the Mistveil defenses. Call your teams and have them intercept. We need to throw everything at it. They are not to hold back. I told them we weren’t ready for this,” Magma growls the last.
Flint is already on his phone. Ridge does the same.
“What do these males want?” Robyn asks, sounding frantic.
“Females,” Ridge says.
“What for?” I ask.
Magma’s eyes meet mine for a beat too long. “To mate with,” he tells me. “The two of you need to?—”
Snare runs into the hangar at the same time as the sound of metal being ripped fills the hangar, and then a whole side section of the roof is gone. It’s like the lid of a giant sardine tin being opened.
Early morning light filters through the gaping hole for a second before shadow takes over.
“They are attacking all the large buildings on Draig Island,” Snare yells.
“Including this hospital,” Magma snarls. “Use deadly force if need be.”
Snare shifts, his clothes ripping off as he does.
Above us, a Mistveil dragon is descending through the opening, scales the color of blood. Snare launches up to meet it.
Robyn screams, and Ridge grabs her hand, and they run.
The two beasts collide in the air with a sound that punches through me. They tangle, snapping and snarling, and then they’re gone, both of them disappearing through the broken roof, fighting as they go. The screech and crash of them carries on outside, somewhere over the building. There are more sounds all around us now. All drowned out by the sirens, which somehow seem louder.
There are screams and roars.
“I’m not permitted to shift,” Flint shouts at Magma. “I still have the vaccination in my system.” He sounds frustrated.
“Neither can I,” Magma shouts back. “I’m not cleared yet. Go with Ridge and get the females to safety.” His face is pulled tight.
