I turned in the direction the tunnel of flame was originating from as I neared the center of the street. The heat from the fire was hot enough to parch my face and dry my eyes even from yards away.

I looked up to see a lavender-hued dragon in the air, its wings flapping as it hovered in place, its jaws agape as the fire rushed out.

I just stared in awe for a few seconds.

I'd seen the dragons fly and there was something in their size and the clear power in their bodies that inspired respect. But to witness it as heat from the flames licked my skin, the sizzle of burning flesh hot in my nose…

Yup. Fear. But I didn't have time for it. I needed to work fast if I was going to be of any real help.

Bracing my feet, I brought my bow up and took a deep breath, calming my heart. The angle was too weird, I didn't have a clear shot at its eyes. Shooting for it anyway might do nothing, or distract it and make it attack me.

Not great outcomes. But I couldn't just do nothing.

I scanned its body quickly and finally decided on a shot I might be able to make. Adjusting the bow, I aimed at the place where its wing joined with its shoulder. I might be able to incapacitate it, forcing it to drop to the ground.

No time for second guesses. I tapped the release.

Just as the arrow flew, a gust of wind from another pair of approaching wings changed the trajectory. It just missed what I was aiming for, and instead lodged right in the dragon’s shoulder.

Well, shit.

The column of flame abruptly disappeared.

Yellow eyes turned to look at me. And they weren't happy.

I turned as the sound of another pair of wings drew closer. It was another purple dragon. It stopped, hovering to my left, not nearly far enough away for my comfort. Though far enough would probably be on the other side of the city, maybe the planet.

Double shit. This was it. At least death by dragon sounded badass. Not that anyone but dragons would know.

Then a bright gold flash hit my peripheral vision. My gaze jerked back over to the dragon that I'd managed to annoy just in time to see the golden dragon hit it from the side, pushing it away.

Away from me.

I recognized that bright gold flash, though I didn't know how when he was going so fast. But I knew it was him. Ashur.

I turned back to the other dragon still hovering near me. Why wasn't I dead? One quick burst of flame and I'd be gone. Mia kabob.

My eyes caught its deep yellow ones as it twisted its neck, its head tilting to the side and the slits of its nostrils flaring. It drew even closer, and then landed just yards from me. My hands itched to draw my bow, but that might set it off.

Did dragons eat people? Now probably wasn't the best time to speculate on that particular topic.

I took some slow steps back.

It raised its head, straightening it again, as it regarded me.

I frowned, completely confused. What was going on?

The strange stare-down lasted for a few more seconds, though it seemed much longer. Time had a certain elasticity to it when adrenaline was pumping that hard.

A loud roar from above us was what finally broke it. The dragon's attention immediately veered upwards. With one last look at me, it beat its wings and propelled itself off the street. Its neck stretched upwards as it rose, revealing a distinctive star-shaped darker patch on its chest.

I stood, taking deep breaths as I tried to get my body back under control. I opened my hands, stretching them out. I was still alive. Somehow.

I didn't know what had just happened, but I didn't have time to dwell on it.

The golden dragon that was still huddled in the building right next to me moved, pieces of the building rolling down onto the street. I took a step back, looking up. It pushed away from the building, half of its body almost black from the fire, the other half still intact. Visibly anyway. Miraculously, its wings were still perfectly fine, probably protected by the way the building had wrapped around them.

It shook its head, getting its bearings, and also launched itself back into the air to rejoin the fight. Couldn't fault his or her commitment.

But I really needed to move. Now.

Getting myself back into gear, I hurried down the street to Ashur's building. The harsh sounds of the battle continued up above me, but I kept my head down and stayed as close to the buildings as I could.

It was difficult not to look up at the mash-up of loud sounds: the flapping of wings, the crackle of fire, the pain and rage filled roars. Thankfully, the battle stayed in the air for the rest of the way.

When I reached Ashur's building, I ran up the steps. The doors were closed. I tried them.

Locked.

I pounded on them, but the thick, sturdy barrier didn't move at all. And nobody answered.

"Fuck."

I took a few steps back and looked up the building in frustration.

I wasn't helping anybody down here. I racked my brain for another solution, and remembered something from when I first arrived here. It wasn't ideal, but this wasn't exactly an ideal situation.

I circled the building, my eyes scanning the walls. And I found it—the sun shone down, glinting off the ladder. It looked ridiculously flimsy as it traveled up the side of the place. I traced it with my eyes, all the way up the dizzying length of the building.

Maybe now was the time to mention that I'd never been the biggest fan of heights.

I might even be an active hater of them.

Though I'd been forced to get over the worst of it over the years. I could do fire escapes, stairs, or even a nice, stable rooftop. A ladder didn't have quite the same sturdiness.

It was a long way up. But also the only way up.

Silently cursing in an effort to release some of my nervous energy, I secured the bow and quiver on my back to free my hands. I gripped the hot metal but immediately let go, the heat from it almost burning my hands even from that brief touch. I had some resistance to heat, but maybe pure dragons had more.

I patted my pockets, hoping I had them on me-- aha. I pulled out my insulated, fingerless gloves. I shoved my hands into them and tried to touch the ladder again. It still wasn't comfortable, but my palms weren't burning. I'd make do.

I kept my eyes on the building in front of me as I started climbing. I just needed to keep moving.

Hand.

Foot.

Push up.

I focused on each individual movement, trying not to think about the fact that I was moving vertically. With nothing to catch me if I fell.

As I rose higher, the wind picked up. The heat from multiple streams of fire mixed with the already-hot sun, as if the anxiety and adrenaline weren't enough to make me sweat already. I wiped my face with my arm before the sweat started stinging my eyes.

I was maybe three-quarters of the way up when something swooped past me so fast, I almost lost my grip. I let out a huff of breath and hugged the ladder.

My heart had skipped a beat and then gone crazy.

All right. Still alive. Taking a deep breath, I turned to look. But as I moved my head, my eyes fell on the world beneath me.

Oh man. The street look like a narrow strip below. I was a long way up.

A dizzy spell hit me and jerked my eyes back up. Fainting now was not the way to go. Picturing falling and becoming a pancake was not helpful either.

Not at all.

Forcing myself to look where the dragon who'd swooped by had gone, I found the bright gold of Ashur's hide. And the three cool-colored dragons surrounding him. As I focused on them, they attacked with fire and claws and teeth.

Ashur dodged and maneuvered his large body expertly, but there was no way he was going to be able to keep them off him. Not with all three attacking at once. I couldn't just sit back and let them take him down.

It was a much stronger reaction than I'd had to Hathai. I really didn't want to examine why that was.

I glanced back up to see how much farther I had to go before I reached the roof. It would take me too long.

"Wonderful," I muttered to myself as I hooked an arm around a rung and pulled my bow off my back. "Just what I wanted to do. Hang precariously from a great height while in the middle of a war zone."

I wrapped one of my legs around the side of the ladder for good measure and pulled an arrow out of my quiver. I couldn't focus on the height right now. I needed to aim. So I aimed. I cut out any thoughts about how high I was and raised my bow as I watched for an opening.

Ashur pushed one of them away with a roar, and it went tumbling through the air only to catch itself with a hard pump of its wings.

Bingo.

I took a deep breath and stilled myself. The air currents were unpredictable with so many wings in the air. I adjusted as well as I could and tapped the release. My arrow veered too far to the left and instead embedded itself shallowly in the dragon’s snout.

It roared and swung its head over to look at me. Not again.

I quickly got another arrow and brought my bow up as the irritated dragon tucked its wings close to its body and darted in my direction, cutting through the air fast. My heart was pounding in my chest but I forced that sensation away. I'd only have one shot at this. My eyes zeroed in on one of the narrowed eyes.

If I waited too long, it could slam into me. If I didn't wait long enough, my shot might not hit my target or it might not penetrate enough to be effective. Both would be disastrous.

My finger itched to hit the trigger. Wait for it. Wait for it...

There.

I released the arrow.

It grew from the dragon’s right eye, buried halfway in.

Yes!

I watched its other eye glaze over as death came for it.

But it was already plummeting in my direction. It wasn't alive anymore to stop itself short before impact. I scrambled up the ladder, trying to move as quickly as I could without slipping. Don't think about falling!

The dragon slammed into the building right underneath me and I hung onto the ladder for dear life as it shook. If the ladder tore off the building, it wouldn't matter how tightly I was hanging on. I was trying really hard not to think about that either as I waited to see what would happen.

I opened my eyes when the shaking finally subsided. Still on the building. Okay. That was good. I looked down. The dragon was half embedded into the side of the building, its hindquarters and tail the only parts still visible. Not very dignified, but you couldn't win them all.

I took a moment to get my breathing back under control, closing my eyes again. Okay, I had this. No problem. I forced my muscles to unclench and opened my eyes to look up.

With the odds a little more even, Ashur had already dispatched one of the other dragons and the last one looked like it wasn't going to be able to dodge him for much longer. But I'd drawn more attention with my shot than I'd realized. A slightly darker mauve dragon was headed right at me, its eyes locked on my body. I could not be stuck on this ladder for another attack. I'd already reached my quota of heart attacks, thanks. I needed to get to the top.

An incoming dragon was apparently enough motivation to get me going quickly. After this was over, I was going to kiss the ground. I wrapped up the rest of the distance at record speed.

No time, no time.

I rolled over the short wall at the top and turned, bringing my bow up with the same movement. But I was too late. It was like I had all the time in the world and none at all.

I watched the dragon's jaws inch open, revealing the crimson interior of its mouth, its glistening fangs. At the very back of its throat was a tiny flicker of flame.

And I watched as it grew bigger.

Bigger.

The heat hit me first. Before the flames ever touched me, the heat seared my skin and burned my hair. It smelled awful.

There was no time to do anything. The flame engulfed me, a bright yellow tinged with orange red. The pain was excruciating. An all-encompassing, inescapable pain like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

I thought I saw another flash of lavender, a distinct star shape. I vaguely realized it was the dragon from earlier as it knocked my attacker aside. But I must have been delirious.

Why would it do that?

I fell to my knees, my body completely not under my control. I was numb. I knew I was hurt. Badly.

The glint of familiar gold and a roar of pure rage. A bright gold shape and the deeper purple that had just been knocked aside collided.

Was that Ashur?

I listed over to the side, and my body hit the floor. The impact wracked me in pain, but in a distant, disconnected way.

And then I knew nothing.