THIRTY
Each death killed Tiana inside. Why was she so attached to these people she didn’t know? They were the enemy. Or where they?
She recalled her time in the prison. The spell put on them made them fight whether they wanted to or not. Sylvana lay inside one of the buildings, dead. The witch couldn’t reverse what she did.
More dragons crashed to the ground as she watched, helpless. Her heart pounded harder than it had ever before. She was near hyperventilating. Her body itched to do something. Anything to stop this senseless killing.
High above, she saw her father thrash his tail against Ker’s head. Her mate tumbled through the air, losing altitude each second. A stone falling through water. He righted himself and his wings caught wind to swoop him up.
In the instant his eyes met hers, and she saw the fatigue in his features. Only moments early, he was near death from being beaten and electrocuted. And now he was fighting a dragon his size. There was no way Ker could win.
No! No! Sayeh was going to kill him. She had to do something. She ran to the gate and shaded her eyes with her hand, looking for the brothers. Where were they? Why weren’t they helping Ker?
She found them. Each of their huge dragons was covered in black spots like the creatures were clothing. No, they wouldn’t be able to help her. A roar overhead snapped her head up. Her father whipped his clawed feet forward and slammed them into Ker’s chest, sending the dragon reeling.
Her mate didn’t catch himself this time. He crashed into the trees not far from the compound.
“KER!” She rocketed through the woods faster than she’d ever moved before. Blood zinged through her limbs, empowering them. Her breaths expanded her lungs, fueling her heart to pump harder, faster.
Sayeh flew overhead, searching for his enemy to finish him off.
Ahead she saw her mate. He lay among shattered trees; his eyes closed. Her heart broke knowing he was dead. Ker wouldn’t give up until he gave his last breath.
A shadow covered Ker. Her father was in a dive to send a final blow to ensure her love’s death. Anger and grief exploded in her body, propelling her forward faster. She’d give her life to save the one man she loved.
Just as Sayeh passed the treetops on his way to Ker’s lifeless body, Tiana lunged forward, instincts clicking. She slammed into her father’s dragon, sending him spinning through the forest to his own crash landing. From her high vantage point, she saw where he came to rest.
How the hell? Something strange was going on. She was above the trees. She looked down at her royal blue and black body. Holy fuck! She was a dragon, too. There wasn’t time to figure out how or why. She had to save her mate. Helping Ker live and ensuring her father never hurt another person again were her only goals at that moment. She’d worry about the damage to her psyche later, after she took care of her father. He would put a stop to the killing. Right now.
The black beast blasted from the trees, shooting straight up. If he could do it, so could she. She sensed the dragon inside her. Hoping speaking to it would help her out, she thought about what she wanted to do and it somehow happened. She had no clue how, but there was some link between her and the beast. A slight pressure pushed against her brain. Her dragon urged her to relax. To let their bond grow.
“I see I was wrong about you,” Sayeh said into her mind, much too intimately.
She tensed. She wanted to freak out over the voice in her head, but she didn’t have time. It would have to wait along with the other psycho crap until she could pass out.
“You never knew a thing about me or my mother,” she replied. “You were a dead-beat piece of shit that didn’t deserve a family. You got what you had coming— a lifetime of hate and anger in your heart. You are not fit to be ruler over anyone. Now order this war over. Call back your men. No more killing.”
Could dragons smile? It looked like her father’s animal was. “Why would I do that? I’m winning this war. As I knew I would.”
Tiana swirled around to survey the field at the edge of the forest. So many down. So much blood. The pain in her chest increased with each breath she drew.
Turning her back to her father was her first mistake. His tail slammed into her, throwing her to the side. Her breath was knocked out and she crashed onto the field with the others. She lay on her back, trying to force air in.
As Sayeh did with Ker, he was in a dive to deliver a death blow. Another pressure pushed against her head. She immediately let it in. She expected her father’s voice, but it wasn’t. It was Ker.
“Tiana…go for the…neck. Bite down…as hard as you…can, baby. I love you…” Her dragon agreed with what her mate said.
Just before her father’s claws reached her she rolled to the side. He skimmed off the ground and crashed into several clan dragons fighting, scattering them. Tiana raced toward him. Get his neck. Her eyes focused on the spot as he came to a stop on the ground. He pushed up to all fours and shook his head as if to clear it. He could clear it as much as he wanted. It wouldn’t do him any good. First, she blew a long fiery dagger at him, catching him off guard.
Holy crap! She’d breathed fire. This was surreal. She did it again, the action making Sayeh look for cover, giving her time to dive for him.
Tiana chomped down on the back of his neck. Her mouth wasn’t big enough to go around his throat, but she didn’t need that. The only thing necessary was for her teeth to sever his backbone. Sayeh tensed, but she’d been fast. Her bite had been quick and the pressure deadly. The bones crushed between her jaws. Sayeh fell flat to the ground.
Tiana flung herself backward, watching the light leave her father’s eyes as lay motionless. Another slash of heart ache hit her. Not because of his dying. But over what could have been.
Several of the black dragons stopped fighting and looked around. She realized now, she was their leader. They had to obey their ruler.
Imagining a megaphone attached to her brain, she said, “Everyone stop fighting and retreat to the compound.” Hundreds of eyes turned to her. That was an eerie feeling. “Now!” she added and sent clouds of fire to the blacks closest to her, scaring them into action. The skirmish became a mass rush back to their homes.
Relief rushed through her when many of those on the ground either shifted to walk or lifted into the air to retreat. “Those who can, help the injured on the battlefield.” A mass of black descended onto the field and immediately shifted, going to those not moving. “Not just Noir. All of them.”
She watched as a black dragon carefully approached a red stretched out on its side. The black poked a wing against the prone animal’s body. Red wings moved. Black bent its head toward red’s neck. Tiana was sure her man would kill the other like she had her father. But instead, he took a deep breath. That was strange.
The red dragon’s chest expanded as if it, too, were breathing deeply. Both shifted. To Tiana’s surprise, the red dragon was a female. The male lifted the woman into his arms and kissed her.
Whoa, there. That wasn’t expected. But since the woman returned the kiss, she’d allow it to continue.
“They are mates, love.”
Tiana turned to the side to see Ker walking out of the woods with a torn shirt in his hands. He was very naked and very scrumptious. She wanted to lick her lips, but the dragon form was confused. What were lips? He smiled at her, his eyes glowing brightly from his dragon and held the shirt open.
“Come on, sweetheart. Shift and I’ll take you home.”
That had to be the best thing she’d heard all day.