Confused, Brittany started to scream and thrash around, trying to fight off whatever it was that was holding her. Its grip was strong, though, and her flailing was futile. Brittany realized that she was rising high above the lake, a stream of water falling away from her as she did. The boat below her looked smaller and smaller, and she finally had the presence of mind to stop thrashing and look up to see what had captured her.

That’s when she realized that Simon’s dragon was the one carrying her. She relaxed instantly, realizing she was safe. She was being carried off by a friend, not an enemy. His giant dragon wings cut through the darkness, flying back across the lake toward the city. Behind her, she could see that most of the dark wizards looked like they were following Simon. Brittany hoped with all her heart that that meant they were leaving her friends on the boat alone. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her friends out there while she conveniently escaped with a dragon.

But she was also terrified that they were being followed by so many dark wizards. Could Simon outfly them? Or could he fight them off? Even for a dragon, it seemed like a big job to fight off this many wizards while still holding onto Brittany and keeping her safe. Brittany had no choice but to hope for the best. For better or worse, she was stuck with Simon and his fate tonight.

The war sirens continued to sound off across the city, and Brittany soon saw that more wizards were rising into the air now—and these ones were Torch Lake soldiers. She started to feel a little less frightened as she saw that Simon was not truly alone out here with her. He had backup.

Brittany had no idea how much backup he actually had, but she was about to find out. With a roar, Simon suddenly dove downward. Brittany felt her stomach flip-flop at the sudden change in direction, and it was all she could do to keep from hurling up her dinner. But Simon didn’t seem all that concerned about her comfort. He continued to dive downward at top speed until he was seconds away from colliding with some rooftops. Brittany winced and squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating the impact.

But the impact never came. Instead, Simon pulled up at the last possible moment to fly straight over the rooftops. Brittany’s stomach swirled once again at this new change in direction, but at least she hadn’t been flattened into a pancake. Once she caught her breath, she looked back to see if all of Simon’s maneuvering had managed to put more space between him and the dark wizards. To her surprise, she realized that no one was following them.

Confused, she looked upward to where all the Torch Lake soldiers had appeared, wondering if they had somehow managed to stop all the dark wizards. But it wasn’t wizards that had stopped the Dark Warriors. It was dragons.

High up in the sky, in the exact spot Simon had dived from, at least half a dozen dragon shifters had formed a line and were not letting the Dark Warriors pass. Brittany knew in that moment that she was safe. She had no idea how Simon had managed to call them for help, but she knew in her heart that he somehow had. They had sensed that he needed to get away, and they had formed a wall so he could do so. Brittany watched the dragons in awe until she and Simon were too far away to see them properly. She looked up, then, taking in the large, fierce body of Simon’s dragon above her. In that moment, she regretted every time she’d ever made a comment about dragons being stuck up and full of themselves. If tonight had taught her anything, it was that it was good to be in the company of a dragon.

Simon was coming in for a landing now in the backyard of a large house high up in one of Torch Lake’s hills. As soon as he touched down, he began to shift back into human form. Brittany waited for him, wet and shivering. She only had a swimsuit on, and the night didn’t feel so warm anymore. Not with the chill of evil in the air.

A few moments later, when Simon’s transformation was complete, he came running up to her, completely naked once again, with a look of deep concern on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Brittany could only nod. Tears were streaming down her face as she realized how close she had come to dying yet again—and how she didn’t know if her friends back on the lake were okay. The whole evening had been overwhelming, especially coming on the heels of the grizzly attack the night before.

“Come on,” Simon said gently. “Let’s get you inside and I’ll find something for you to wear. Your skin is ice cold.”

That’s when Brittany realized that this must be Simon’s house. She was simultaneously grateful to him for bringing her to his house safely, and angry that he had abandoned her friends. Surprising even herself, she pushed away his offered arm.

“I didn’t ask to run away from the danger, you know?” she said in a fuming tone. “I’m not the kind of person to abandon my friends out on the lake to a bunch of Dark Warriors.”

Simon looked taken aback and confused for a moment, but then understanding dawned across his face. “I didn’t abandon them,” he insisted. “I drew the Dark Warriors away from them. Those wizards were after you, Brittany.”

Brittany’s eyes widened, and then she laughed. “Me? You must be mistaken. Why would the Dark Warriors come after me? They go after important people, remember. You said so yourself.”

“I did. And I realized as I watched them attack tonight that they consider you important. They wanted to take you out, and I have a pretty good idea why.”

“Well then please, enlighten me. I have no idea what would make anyone consider me important.”

“You interfered with their plan to kidnap that boy. If it hadn’t been for you, that boy would never have been saved, and they could have used him for all their horrible extortion purposes. The fact that you stopped that makes them think you’re a threat worth taking out. I should have seen this coming, honestly. It’s not the first time they’ve acted spitefully when someone messes up their plans.”

Brittany was taken aback. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, shivering as the wind hit the damp fabric of her swimsuit. “I didn’t save him, though. You did. I just called for help and did a pretty awful job of trying to hold the grizzly back.”

“You did more than you think you did, Britt.”

His use of her nickname sent a strange little thrill through Brittany. It made things between them feel personal and intimate, and she had to admit that she liked that feeling. Still, when he took a step toward her, she stepped back.

“Are you sure my friends are alright? They had no one to protect them out there on the lake except you, and you left.”

Simon looked mildly offended. “I’m sure they’re fine. Like I said, the Dark Warriors were after you. They didn’t care about a bunch of random wizards and shifters on a party boat. But if it makes you feel better, I sent several of the dragon shifters out to the boat to make sure they were all okay.”

“You did? How?”

“Did you hear me roaring in the middle of all that fighting? I was calling out to the other dragon shifters. I knew they would be up in the air already thanks to the war sirens, and so I asked them to help me get rid of the Dark Warriors that were following us, as well as check on your friends on the boat.”

Brittany’s eyes widened as she took this in. “I had no idea you could communicate with them while in dragon form.”

“They can get the gist of what my roars are about. Half went to check on the boat, and half fought off the Dark Warriors. Remember when I dove down sharply? It’s because I had seen them coming and was letting them do their thing. You have them to thank for your safety tonight just as much as me.”

Brittany lowered her eyes. She still didn’t like the fact that she’d left her friends behind, but if everything Simon was saying was true, then it was better that she had. Simon seemed to sense her confusion, and he stepped forward, putting his arm gently around her shoulders.

“Come on. Let’s go inside and get you some clothes. I’ll have to head straight downtown to meet with the High Council, but you can stay here as long as you like. You’ll be safe here. The Dark Warriors aren’t going to want to attack a dragon shifter’s house, and, besides, they likely have no clue you’re in here now. We gave them the slip.”

Brittany nodded, feeling more like a robot than a person right now. She would go through the motions of going inside and getting dressed, but she wished she could go home and hide under her own pillow. Her heart felt so confused, and frightened. If the Dark Warriors had attacked again, that must mean they had once again found an easy way into the city. And that meant they could attack again at any moment.

Part of her didn’t want Simon to leave. She wanted him to stay here and protect her. But part of her was angry at him, as though this attack had somehow been his fault. After all, weren’t the dragon shifters supposed to be the protectors of the city? Surely they could find a way to keep the Dark Warriors from getting into the city.

To make matters worse. Brittany knew that she was falling hard for Simon on a romantic level. She couldn’t ignore the way she’d felt when he kissed her out on the lake. Or how good it felt now to have his arm around her shoulder, comforting and warm.

Brittany pushed away the thoughts as best she could. The city was in the middle of a war right now. This wasn’t the time to worry about herself or her own love life. She should be doing whatever she could to help her city, and right now, that meant not unloading her anger and frustrations on Simon. He had a job to do down at the High Council building. The best thing Brittany could do was let him go and act like she was fine, even though she felt like she was anything but fine.

So, with a brave smile, she took the t-shirt and sweatpants he offered her, along with the peppermint tea. She nodded encouragingly when he said he was taking off for downtown, and tried to act like it didn’t bother her to be left alone.

But when she finally was alone, she realized that her heart felt like it was breaking into several pieces. This feeling confused her. Was she in love? Was she just overwhelmed with emotion because of the attacks and the war dangers always lurking in the air?

There was only one thing she knew for sure: she had let herself get tangled up with a dragon, and getting untangled wasn’t going to be so easy.