Russ had spent the majority of his adult life in a big city, but he was beginning to regret that decision now. Out here, in the forest, things were peaceful. Surrounded by the green beauty of the deep woods, he could hear himself think for what felt like the first time in forever.

And his thoughts were dominated by Mandy.

He knew he should pull back and take things slower. Spending half the night texting with her probably wasn’t the best idea when he still hadn’t figured out a way to reconcile the fact that he lived in Chicago and she lived in Torch Lake. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He’d felt a rush of nervous excitement every time his phone buzzed to let him know he had a new incoming text from her. Now, it would be several days before he could text her again.

Coming in to training at the crack of dawn this morning, he’d figured it was better to wait to send a good morning text until a few hours later. He knew she usually worked more regular nine to five hours, and he didn’t want to wake her up early. She was probably as exhausted as he was from staying up way too late.

But he’d never had the chance to send that good morning text. As soon as he arrived at the training facility, he’d been ushered into a room with Commander Hawkins and a few of his cronies. Commander Hawkins had worn a satisfied sneer on his face, and it had been all Russ could do to keep from punching the man in the nose. The next few minutes had been a blur. Russ had been stripped of his phone and car keys, and given a backpack of supplies. He was being sent on his dark monster elimination mission early, they’d explained. Russ had a feeling that this was some sort of punishment for his part in testifying against Commander Hawkins at the hearing, but none of his regular trainers were around to consult with.

One of the Torch Lake Wizard Commanders would be giving Russ a ride to the Gray Oasis Forest on a broomstick, and Russ was already sitting on the broomstick, a bit dazed by how quickly everything was happening, when Jake had come running out of the building, angrily asking what the hell was going on.

“He doesn’t know I’m leaving?” Russ asked the wizard commander sitting in front of him on the broomstick.

“Shut up!” was all the old man had said.

“What the hell is the meaning of this?” Jake asked again.

Commander Hawkins had stepped in then. “I’ve terminated his training. I have the authority to do that you know. It’s my opinion that Russ is ready to hunt down and kill a dark monster, so that’s what he’s going to do.”

Jake had set his mouth in a hard line and given Commander Hawkins a death glare. Russ had been sure Jake was about to tell off everyone in the vicinity, but in the end, he only shook his head in disgust. “I want a moment with Russ. And I want his stuff that you took from him. I’ll keep it for him until he gets back.”

Commander Hawkins shrugged. “Whatever. Russ, you can have one minute with Jake. Exactly one minute, and then it’s time for you to go.”

Russ had hopped off the broomstick and followed Jake away from the crowd.

“I’m sorry about this, Russ,” Jake said. “Technically he has the authority to end your training. He’s doing it to get back at us for testifying against him.”

Russ shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. I’ll find and kill a dark monster and then no one will be able to boss me around anymore. He’s doing me a favor.”

Jake sighed. “I’m glad you see it that way. I’ll keep your belongings for you until you return. If Commander Hawkins had them he’d go through all your texts just to be a jerk.”

“It’s sad when a man’s own life is so uninteresting that he has to snoop in someone else’s business for some entertainment. Speaking of texts, though, would you mind texting Mandy for me to let her know I’ve been sent off? I was supposed to have dinner with her tonight but that’s not happening now.”

Jake nodded but before he could say anything else, Commander Hawkins was yelling that their minute was up. Jake rolled his eyes, and then put his hand up on Russ’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll see you when you get back.”

Jake had turned and walked away without another look back, and Russ got the feeling that Commander Hawkins was quite disappointed by how unruffled Jake had been by the whole situation. The Commander had probably been hoping for a bit more drama.

Russ was glad to be in the forest now, far away from Commander Hawkins and all his cronies. After the drama of the hearing, it felt good to be alone, far away from any clan politics. And when Russ got back to Torch Lake, he’d be free to head back to Chicago. Commander Hawkins had done him a favor by ending his training early.

So why did Russ feel so conflicted?

He knew it was because of Mandy. Try as he might, he could not see a way for them to be together long term. He might as well accept that, and start planning the best way to say goodbye. Perhaps he’d stay in Torch Lake with her just long enough to hear the High Council’s decision on Commander Hawkins. Russ was expecting the decision to be in Mandy’s favor. After the High Council had time to fully review the records, they would see that Commander Hawkins had been abusing his power for a long time. And even though Russ always swore up and down that he didn’t want anything to do with the shifter or wizard worlds, he had to admit that it felt good to play a role in taking down an evil wizard like Commander Hawkins. Russ did still worry about what would happen if another war broke out. An unlikely possibility, perhaps, but still a worrisome one.

Russ took a deep breath of fresh forest air, letting the fresh, woodsy scents fill him and cleanse his mind. He didn’t need to worry out here. This part of the job almost felt like a vacation. The hiking wasn’t too strenuous, the forest was peaceful, and he wasn’t likely to find any dark monsters for at least another day, maybe two. He’d have to get deeper into the forest for that. The Commander who had flown him in had dropped him at the furthest outer edge of the Gray Oasis Forest. Russ knew it didn’t make sense to fly too close to the deepest interior of the forest, where there were supposedly several dark monsters hiding. The best way to find and kill the dark monsters was to take them by surprise, and it was easier to do that on foot than from the air, where the dark monsters would possibly see Russ coming in and be warned. Because the dark monsters had been created using dark magic, they were able to see through the wizards’ invisibility shields. The only way to sneak up on them was to use the old fashioned method of creeping through the woods.

Still, Russ had been dropped absurdly far away from where the dark monsters were thought to be hiding. He knew this was on purpose. Commander Hawkins wanted to make him suffer through several extra days of hiking, but the joke was on the Commander, because Russ enjoyed the hiking. In fact, Russ almost felt sad that the sun was beginning to dip below the western horizon now. He would have been happy to continue on for several more hours, but he figured it was smarter to sleep in the dark and hike when it was light. Thanks to his dragon side, Russ had excellent night vision, but he could still see further in the daylight. Better to be overly cautious, he thought. He didn’t want to do anything to mess up this mission. The sooner he completed his task, the sooner he’d be heading home as a millionaire, finally free to live his life however he damn well chose.

A few hours later, after he made dinner over a campfire and soaked his tired feet in a nearby stream, Russ climbed into his sleeping bag. He didn’t bother to set up his tent. He preferred to enjoy the fresh forest air and fall asleep gazing up at the stars. The tree cover was too thick for him to be able to make out full constellations, but he could still see bright stars twinkling through any gaps in the leaves. Russ fell asleep with a smile on his face, listening to the sound of those leaves rustling in the night breezes.

He awoke with a start several hours later, his heart pounding and his senses on high alert. For a moment, he felt disoriented, but he quickly remembered where he was. He sat up slowly, trying to calm himself. Why did he feel so anxious? Had he been having a bad dream? He looked around, peering into the darkness of the tree trunks. The whole forest was still now. When he’d fallen asleep earlier, the air had been filled with the night songs of birds and insects. Now, only silence filled his ears. Silence and the sound of his own breath, coming rapid and heavy.

His skin prickled the way it always did when he knew he was being watched. Russ breathed in deeply, trying to smell anything unusual in the air. All he could make out were normal forest smells: damp leaves, peaty earth, and woodsy tree trunks. Not even a scent of bear or mountain lion to explain the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Russ briefly considered lying down again and attempting to sleep a bit more, but the feeling of something being “off” was too strong. If Russ had learned one thing during the Dark War, it was to always trust your gut. And so, he slowly climbed out of his sleeping bag and stood. He turned around in a small circle, smelling, listening, and watching. He was just about to give up and concede that perhaps this time his gut was misleading him, when it happened.

A voice shouted into the air, and although Russ couldn’t make out the exact words being spoken, he knew enough to recognize that the voice belonged to a wizard yelling out a magic spell. A split-second later he saw a blinding flash of light fill the air, and he was knocked to the ground. A searing pain shot through his back, and he tasted dirt and leaves from where his face had landed on the forest floor. Thankfully, it seemed he had survived the blow with all of his teeth intact.

He had been stunned by the impact for a brief moment, but he quickly regained his senses. He hopped to his feet with a loud roar, and immediately started to shift into dragon form. He had no idea why he was being attacked out here in the middle of nowhere, but he wasn’t going to waste time pondering the matter right now. He was going to give his attacker hell and ask questions later.

Russ’s clothes tore away from his body in shreds as his dragon form began to take over. His human flesh gave way to his thick, iridescent dragon hide. His scales were a deep green, but they shimmered in shades of blue, purple, orange, and even pink when the moonlight caught them. Russ’s head morphed into a large dragon shape, with sharp horns and sharper teeth growing out in a matter of seconds. On his back, wings sprouted, quickly growing to the size of a small car. A sharp, spiked tail appeared, and Russ whipped it back and forth, warning anyone that if they approached him from behind there would be painful consequences.

His transformation complete, Russ swung his giant dragon head back and forth, looking for his attackers. Smoke curled up from his nostrils as he tried to smell his enemy, but still nothing smelled unusual. Whoever they were, they must be using masking scents or a masking spell to cover their smell. They had given away their presence when they attacked, but now they had pulled back. Why? It didn’t make sense to attack and then suddenly disappear. All they had done was lose the element of surprise.

Russ peered into the darkness of the trees, his whole dragon form tense. He flexed the claws on his feet, ready to pounce or to swipe. Something big was about to happen. He could feel it. For a full minute, he stood there waiting. The seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity, but Russ forced himself to remain still. He thought he understood now. They were trying to draw him into the woods. They had set some sort of trap for him in there. What it might be, he could not imagine, but he was not going to fall for it. He had nerves of steel. He could outwait them easily.

It didn’t take long for them to cave and rush into the clearing again. Sudden shouts filled the air, followed by more flashes of light. Russ roared and breathed out a stream of fire as he spun in a quick circle, doing his best to hold back the attackers whom he still couldn’t see. The flashes of light were blinding him, making it hard to see anything else in the darkness. At least he knew that his attackers were wizards. Whoever they were, they were not being shy about using magic. Luckily for Russ, dragon hide was thick enough to protect against most magic spells. He could feel the sharp pulses of energy hit him as wizard after wizard launched their attack spells at him, but none of them had been able to hit him in any vulnerable spots.

At least not yet. Russ knew that he could not hold off a group like this forever. There were too many of them, and each wizard seemed to be shooting off a constant stream of attack spells. One of them was bound to eventually hit him somewhere where it hurt. He had to start taking them out, but how could he do that when he couldn’t even see them?

He doubled down on his fire-breathing efforts. He breathed out longer, hotter streaks of fire, hoping to hit someone yet all the while fearing that he was going to set some of the nearby trees on fire. A forest fire would flush out the wizards, but Russ didn’t want to ruin so much beautiful nature because a bunch of obnoxious wizards were trying to attack him for god only knew what reason.

Russ had a sudden flashback to the night that Saul’s men had taken him captive. His stomach lurched uncomfortably at the thought, but he quickly calmed himself. He wasn’t as naïve now as he’d been back then. He knew wizards existed. He knew what evils wizards and shifters were capable of when they were drawn away by a lust for power. He was better prepared.

When he thought about evil men lusting for power, Russ instantly understood what was going on. He knew, as surely as he knew that he was a dragon shifter, that Commander Hawkins was behind this. The pieces fell into place in Russ’s mind as he continued to turn circles, breathing fire out into the darkness of the trees.

Commander Hawkins hadn’t just ended Russ’s training early to get rid of him, or to be a jerk. He had done it to lure Russ away from the relative safety of the city of Torch Lake. Out here in the middle of the wilderness, it would be easy enough to kill Russ off and make it look like it had been an accident of some sort. Russ’s body might just disappear, never to be found again. Or perhaps Commander Hawkins would find a way to make it look as though Russ had lost in a fight with one of the dark monsters. There were countless ways to explain away a dragon’s sudden disappearance. Which one was Commander Hawkins planning to use?

It doesn’t matter what he plans to do, Russ thought angrily. Because I’m not going to let him win.

Russ let out a long roar, and then ran straight into the forest. He knew it was a trap of some sort, but he didn’t care. If Commander Hawkins wanted to play, then Russ would play. He wasn’t afraid of anything that man could throw at him. Russ refused to hold back or run away in fear from such an asshole.

As soon as Russ left the small clearing where he’d been sleeping, he heard the shouting around him intensify. He could now tell that it sounded like it was coming from above him. Were the attacking wizards hiding up in the trees? Perhaps they were up there with broomsticks, ready to fly away at a moment’s notice if it looked like the battle wasn’t going their way. Cowards.

Russ strained his neck upward, preparing to breathe angry fire into the treetops, when an awful stench filled his dragon nostrils and stopped him in his tracks. He would know that smell anywhere. Dark monsters.

The dark monsters, simply put, smelled like death. There was no better way to explain it. Russ had seen them from far off when he’d been a prisoner in Saul’s dungeons. He knew some of his fellow prisoners had fought some of the dark monsters off when the war had ended and they had been released from the jail cells. Russ himself had not come across any of them during his escape from Saul’s headquarters, which he’d been glad of at the time. Back then, he’d just wanted to get as far away from that place as he could. Now, Russ wished he’d taken time to stop and hunt down the dark monsters before leaving. Perhaps if he and his fellow prisoners had done that, there wouldn’t have been enough dark monsters left for them to breed and cause further trouble. No one had known, though, that the monsters would survive so well on their own, let alone that their population would explode.

Now, it seemed, Russ was about to have his chance to kill off a dark monster or two. Maybe more, by the smell of it. Russ felt his stomach recoil at the stench, but he forced himself to keep moving forward. How was it possible that the wizards above him weren’t fainting from the smell? It nearly overpowered even a giant dragon like Russ. The wizards must have been using some sort of spell that blocked the smell. Russ breathed out another stream of fire, and this time, by the glow of the flames, he made out the form of two dark monsters ahead of him. The creatures were giant, nearly as tall as some of the trees surrounding them. They looked like a cross between an ape and a man, and were covered in slime from head to toe. Russ breathed another blast of fire to get a better look. He saw two pairs of glowing yellow eyes blinking back at him. The awful creatures pawed at the air, roaring in anger as they tried to get to Russ. But despite their anger, and their attempts to charge at him like a mad dog, the creatures did not move forward. They could not get away from the trees they were standing next to, it seemed.

They’re tied up.

Russ felt the taste of bile in his mouth as he realized that Commander Hawkins had gone to the trouble of capturing dark monsters alive just to bring them here, where they could be used as weapons against Russ. Commander Hawkins was a Torch Lake government official. He was sworn to protect the good wizards and dragons, and that meant immediately killing off any dark monsters he came across. It also meant protecting the dragons who were recruited to come work in Torch Lake. Instead, it looked like Commander Hawkins was using the dark monsters to kill. And it looked like several wizards had been recruited to join in on the effort. Russ wondered if the wizards in the trees above him were all traitors from Torch Lake, or if Commander Hawkins had somehow lured them away from other wizarding towns. Not that it mattered that much. Either way, Russ had in front of him proof that evil still had a foothold in the hearts of many. He hadn’t seen any shifters yet, but he was willing to bet that there were some hiding in the shadows of these forests, awaiting Commander Hawkins’ orders to attack.

Russ realized that he hadn’t actually seen Commander Hawkins, and yet he was still blaming this whole situation on him. Normally, Russ was the kind of person who liked to see cold, hard proof before he accused someone of wrongdoing. But he knew deep in his heart that this was the work of Commander Hawkins. He couldn’t explain how, but he could feel the Commander’s presence behind this attack. Besides, it was the only explanation that made sense. Russ had no enemies that he knew of, other than the Commander.

Well, if he wants to play, then I’ll play.

The wizards above him had started attacking again in earnest. Shouts filled the air as beams of powerful light rained down through the air and collided with Russ’s dragon hide. He ignored them as best he could. First, he would take care of killing off these two dark monsters. Then, he would deal with the wizards. The dark monsters should be easy enough, since they were tied up. Russ figured the wizards must have done that to keep the monsters from attacking their own ranks. Dark monsters weren’t known for being intelligent or loyal, and were nearly impossible to train. If loosed, they tended to attack any living thing in their path, which included wizards, of course.

But Russ was not afraid of them. He knew his dragon fire would easily destroy them. The only way a dark monster could kill a dragon was to catch one by complete surprise, and do mortal harm before the dragon had a chance to fight back with fire. These dark monsters were not taking anyone by surprise today. Confidently Russ moved forward, taking in a deep breath and preparing to unleash it as fire into the faces of the dark monsters. When he was nearly within firing range, though, he was startled by a sudden, loud chorus of screams.

He saw beams of light shooting toward the monsters, which confused him. Magic spells weren’t an effective way to kill off a dark monster, and, besides, why would the wizards want to kill the monsters they had brought here to attack Russ. None of it made sense. Russ hesitated for a moment, waiting to see how the dark monsters would react to the wizards attack. That hesitation was nearly his undoing. He realized in the next instant that the wizards hadn’t been attacking the dark monsters. They’d been slicing through the bonds holding the dark monsters back. All of a sudden, the two dark monsters were rushing toward Russ at full speed.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. Russ heard more shouting behind him, and the telltale pounding of heavy feet. There had been more dark monsters than just these two, of course. The wizards had waited until Russ felt a tiny bit relaxed, and then they had released all of the dark monsters. Dozens of them, if the sound of their pounding feet was any indication. Russ now understood why the wizards were all hiding out in trees. No one would want to be in the path of this many dark monsters. Not even a dragon.

But Russ had little choice. He had willingly walked into this trap, and now he had to deal with the consequences. With a roar, he released the fire breath he’d been holding directly onto the two dark monsters that were running toward him. As expected, the dragon fire stopped them in their tracks. They screamed in pain, their giant slimy hands reaching up to hold their heads as though that would somehow lessen the impact of the fire eating away at their flesh. But it was too late for them, they were already melting away, unable to fight or to threaten Russ any further.

Not a bad start to the fight for Russ, but he still had a lot of work to do. With another roar, he whirled around to breathe more fire onto the dark monsters he knew were coming up behind him. His heart sank when he realized there were at least twice as many attacking him from behind as he had thought there would be. At the same time, he heard more shouts from the direction he’d just turned from. More dark monsters were being released. This was going to be one shit show of a fight.

The next several minutes were a blur. Russ spun in circles, continuing to breathe out fire as hard and as fast as he could. But for every dark monster he burned down, two more seemed to pop up in its place. He had never seen anything like this, and he even questioned for a moment whether he was mistaken to think this was Commander Hawkins’ work. How could one measly wizard commander get this many dark monsters here to these woods, bound and ready to be released at the exact place where Russ had decided to hunker down for the night.

As soon as Russ asked himself the question. He knew the answer.

Dark magic. Commander Hawkins is dabbling in dark magic.

The realization sent a freezing chill down Russ’s spine, making even his hot dragon form shiver. Using dark magic was an unpardonable offense in the wizard world. It always had been, as far as Russ understood, but the punishment for dabbling in dark spells was meted out swifter than ever before these days. After the last great war, none of the wizard High Councils were taking any chances. Dark magic could not be allowed to rise again. And yet, Commander Hawkins had brazenly used dark magic to get these dark monsters here, and all these wizards knew. There was no other explanation for it.

Russ spun faster and faster, breathing out flames quicker than he ever had before. And still, he felt cold. He had been so secure in his home back in Chicago, thinking dark magic would never be able to touch him again. Yet here he was, beginning to worry that he might actually have some difficulty getting himself out of this situation alive.

No! he thought. I must not let them kill me. I have to survive. I have to live to tell the High Council back in Torch Lake that one of their Commanders is using dark magic!

Russ realized as he had this thought that he still had no proof that this was Commander Hawkins work. He would worry about that later, though. He would find proof when this battle was over. For now, he just had to stay alive.

Russ could feel himself growing weary, but he did not let himself slow down. He drew on all his inner dragon strength, killing off dark monster after dark monster. He even turned his dragon lips up in a smile when he realized that he’d been sent off to kill one dark monster, and had already killed at least a dozen. Would this count as completion of his job requirements? He didn’t see why it wouldn’t, which meant that he was a millionaire now. He doubled down on his efforts to fight. He would not die here today. He wanted a chance to spend that money, after all.

Just when Russ thought things couldn’t get worse, the wizards above him suddenly increased the tenacity of their attacks. They had been casually throwing out an attack spell here and there, but, for a while, it seemed they had mostly been interested in watching the spectacle below them. Now, they must have gotten a command to step things up, because Russ was blinded by a rush of powerful light beams. Voices above him screamed out attack spells, and Russ felt his spirits dropping again. How many of these evil wizards were there? How many dark monsters were there? Russ might be a powerful dragon, but his enemy sorely outnumbered him. His heart pounded in his chest as a mixture of adrenaline and nerves rushed through his body.

Focus. Don’t let them intimidate you. You’re a dragon, and you can beat them.

Despite the little pep talk he gave himself, Russ was finding it hard to focus. His nose was full of the awful death stench of the dark monsters’ slime. The ground around him was littered with dozens of dead and dying dark monsters. His eyes were continuously blinded by the wizards’ attacks, and he had no sense of how many enemy wizards he might be up against. Any ordinary man would have given himself up for lost, but Russ was no ordinary man. He might have avoided the truth for most of his life, but he could not change his DNA. He was, indeed a dragon. And he was going to fight like one.

He roared again, reaching deep within himself to find strength. An image of Mandy unexpectedly flashed across his mind, and Russ knew in that moment that he would come out of this alive. He must come out of this alive. He would not die without even a chance to tell Mandy that he loved her. He’d been a stubborn fool, and refused to acknowledge the truth, even to himself. But he did love her. He could feel his love for her in his very bones.

He whirled around faster, breathing fire hotter and hotter with each breath. The screams of the dark monsters as they died filled the air with an awful, dissonant sound, but Russ ignored the noise. It didn’t matter how many enemies came at him today. He was coming out of this alive. He had a reason to live, and her name was Mandy Evans.

The blur of battle continued, but Russ moved like a machine. He was so focused on fighting that he didn’t notice the wizard who had fought her way through to him until she was standing right beside him.

Mandy!

His eyes widened in shock, and for a moment he froze, thinking he must be hallucinating. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, but when he opened them she was still there. If he had been in human form, he would have asked her so many questions. How had she known he was in trouble? How had she fought her way through all the wizards and dark monsters to get to him? And what the hell was she thinking, putting herself in mortal danger like this for his sake?

But Russ couldn’t speak while in dragon form, and, besides, there wasn’t much time for small talk right now. The dark monsters were already trying to take advantage of the brief pause in Russ’s fire. He would ask questions later. Right now, it was time to fight.

“I’m hopping onto your back,” Mandy yelled. Without waiting for a response, she jumped onto the lowest point of his back, near his tail, and then scrambled up to the highest point, in the very middle of his back. Her weight felt comforting to Russ. He liked knowing that she was with him, even if he did wish she hadn’t put herself right in the middle of the danger like this. There was no changing things now, though. He might as well embrace the fact that he was going to be fighting the rest of this battle with Mandy on his back.

It didn’t take him long to see how much of an advantage that was going to be. Not only did having her so close give him a huge boost in motivation and morale, but he could also see that she was a damn good fighter. He had felt for most of this battle that he was barely holding back all of his attackers, but now the tides had turned. Her voice rang through the air, crying out magic spell after magic spell. Russ didn’t recognize most of the spells—he hadn’t spent enough time around wizards to be well-versed in such things—but he could tell that whatever spells she was using were making a significant difference in the battle. She must have thrown up some sort of shield spell, because the annoying pings from all the wizard attacks suddenly stopped. Russ continued to focus on killing the dark monsters, while Mandy took aim at the wizards in the trees above them.

After several more minutes passed, Russ could tell that the rush of dark monsters was finally beginning to slow. This knowledge energized him, and he let out a loud roar as he breathed fire faster than he ever had. Mandy had noticed the thinning numbers of dark monsters, too. He heard her let out a whoop above him.

“They’re almost all dead!” she yelled. “You’ve almost completely wiped out their secret weapon.”

Russ would have loved to shoot a celebratory stream of fire into the air, but he forced himself to wait on that. The most important thing now was to finish off the dark monsters. And finish them off he did. After a few more rounds of fire, the rush of awful smelling, slimy beings suddenly stopped.

“Now the wizards,” Mandy yelled. “Fly, Russ, fly! Let’s get up in the air and draw them out of the trees.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice. Russ was only too happy to flap his giant dragon wings and raise himself high above the forest floor, which was now littered with foul-smelling dark monster corpses. The shield Mandy had placed around them seemed to be holding well, because Russ could not feel the attacks the other wizards were throwing at him as he rose into the sky.

Once he cleared the treetops and looked down, Russ gasped at what he saw. The light up here was brighter, since there were no thick treetops blocking the full moon. By the moon’s silver glow, Russ could see hundreds of wizards perched in the trees. Their numbers stretched beyond what he could see in the darkness, and he felt like a fool for allowing such a large army to sneak up on him unnoticed. They would have been using invisibility shields and masking scents, but it didn’t matter. Russ still felt like he’d failed somehow by not seeing this coming.

“Look,” Mandy shouted. “On the forest floor!”

Russ strained his eyes to see what she was pointing at, and then almost strained his eyes literally by rolling them. He could see more dark shapes on the forest floor. This time, they were men, not dark monsters, but Russ could see them pointing glittering metal up at him. Guns. Russ would have bet anything that these were shifters who had been armed and instructed to shoot him if he was too far away for them to attack by shifting into animal form.

“That’s the second wave of attack, I’d say,” Mandy’s voice called to him. “First the dark monsters, then the armed gunmen, then the wizards. Looks like we’ve still got some fun ahead of us. You take on the gunmen. I’ll start dealing with these wizards.”

If Russ had been in human form, he would have asked Mandy how she was going to do that if she couldn’t fly. But even though he couldn’t talk, he didn’t have to ponder the question for long. Moments later, he heard her yell out “Magicae baculum veni.” A yelp sounded out from one of the trees below, followed by cursing. Moments later, a broomstick flew by Russ’s dragon head so closely that he thought it was going to run smack into one of his horns. It didn’t, though, and Mandy caught it as it flew toward her.

“Thank you for the loaner,” she yelled down to the trees. The wizard whose broomstick she’d just taken cursed back up at her loudly. Fresh volleys of magic attacks continued to come at Russ and Mandy, but Mandy’s shield was holding well. Russ knew he wouldn’t have the benefit of a shield once he flew away from her, but at least he had his thick dragon hide.

“I’m good to go,” Mandy yelled at him. “Go get the gunmen and I’ll start in on these fools up here in the trees.”

A moment later, Russ felt her weight leave his back. To his right, he caught a glimpse of her speeding by on her newly acquired broomstick, heading straight toward a thick cluster of wizards in one of the larger treetops. He didn’t pause to watch her long. She’d proven she was a capable fighter, and he had to trust that she knew what she was doing.

He dove down into the trees as fast as his dragon wings would take him. He didn’t bother to slow down to avoid any tree branches in his way, preferring to just plow through them instead. As he approached the shifters below him, they raised their guns and aimed, letting loose a wall of bullets in his direction. Russ did not slow down for this, either. His dragon hide could take as many bullets as they wanted to send his way. They were shifters themselves, so they should know this. They should know better than to mess with the king of shifters.

Compared to fighting the dark monsters, taking out the shifters was a piece of cake. The shifters were much smaller than the dark monsters had been, and their guns gave them no advantage. Russ wiped them all out in a matter of minutes, letting out a triumphant roar when the last of them had fallen.

Russ turned to fly above the treetops again, his eyes scanning the night sky for Mandy. She was holding her own against a large group of attacking wizards. As far as Russ could tell, these were the last of the wizards. The rest of the forest now appeared quiet and empty. He flew over to help her, but by the time he arrived there was only one wizard left, and Mandy was skillfully taking him down. Russ watched as the enemy wizard screamed, then fell from his broomstick as Mandy’s spell hit him.

Then came the silence. The sudden quiet felt strange after an hour of battle noise. Russ flapped his wings gently to hover in place next to Mandy, who was hovering on her broomstick and looking his dragon form over from head to tail.

“Your dragon is gorgeous,” she said, her eyes wide with wonder. “I’ve never seen a dragon in person before. Well, not in dragon form. I’ve obviously seen dragon shifters in human form. Oh, you know what I mean!”

Russ turned his dragon lips up in a smile. She was flustered, and it made her cheeks glow an adorable pink shade in the moonlight. He could have hovered there for hours, just taking in her beauty, but she was ready to get out of the open sky.

“Come on. Let’s get back into the safety of the forest.”

Calling the forest safe, after the attack that had just been launched on them from that very forest, seemed a bit foolish. But Russ followed Mandy back into the trees, anyway. The exhaustion was starting to hit him, and he wouldn’t mind taking a break from flying.

Russ flew back to the spot where he’d left his backpack and his sleeping bag. The clearing was a tight fit in dragon form, and Mandy barely had room to come in for a landing beside him. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he began to shift back into human form. He had so many things to talk to Mandy about.

She turned away from him shyly as he shifted, avoiding looking at his naked body. He wanted to tell her that it didn’t bother him if she looked, but he figured he should let them both calm down from the excitement of battle before bringing up how much he wished he could lie naked with her right then and there. Now wasn’t the time for conversations like that, although he was getting quite frustrated with waiting for a good time. If Commander Hawkins hadn’t interfered and tried to murder him, he would have taken Mandy out on a date tonight. The difference between this forest and a fancy restaurant struck Russ as funny, and he laughed aloud as he finished pulling on a fresh pair of pants.

“What’s so funny?” Mandy asked.

Russ turned to smile at her. “I guess this isn’t exactly the romantic candlelight dinner you were hoping for tonight?”

Mandy smiled, and Russ felt his heart do a flip-flop at the sight. Even after the craziness of a fight, with her clothing torn and her hair coming out of its bun in wild, frizzy wisps, she was beautiful. No woman he’d ever seen could compare to her, and he had to resist the urge to reach out and kiss her right then and there. He had to remind himself that she wanted to slow things down between them, and that he needed to respect that.

“I’ve had better date nights, I’ll admit,” she said with a laugh. “But don’t worry. I’ll give you a chance for a do-over.”

“Looks like I’ve needed a lot of do-over chances. I’m glad you’re still willing to give them to me.”

She laughed again. “Well, tonight wasn’t exactly your fault.”

“I know. It was Commander Hawkins’ fault. I don’t have any proof, but I know Commander Hawkins was behind this. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. He’s the only one who would want me dead badly enough to send a whole goddamn army after me. Although I still can’t figure out where the hell he got that army.”

Mandy’s face darkened. “You’re right. It was Commander Hawkins. I know that for sure. Not only that, but I know where he got his army. And it’s bad news.”

Russ didn’t like the ominous tone in Mandy’s voice. “You seem to know a lot more about what happened tonight than I do. How did you even know where I was, or that I would need rescuing?”

Mandy sighed, then gestured toward the few rocks that Russ had used as seats earlier in the night when he was so calmly eating his dinner, unaware of the storm that was coming.

“You’re going to want to sit down for this, Russ.”