We’d needed a distraction for the black witches to prevent them going straight to the mountains.
Well, we’d sure gotten one.
My throat dried out as I looked once again at the long line of paralyzed werewolves and vampires. They’d be the first to feel the dragons’ wrath, and we still had no way of moving them.
I did the only thing I could think to do as the dragons approached: hold up two guns and aim for their eyes and nostrils. I missed. My attempts only served to aggravate them further as they sped up along the final stretch of sky and now appeared directly above us. Hovering in the sky, they formed a circle. It seemed that even the powerful black witches saw the futility of attempting to injure them from this angle—they didn’t even hurl a single curse up at them.
“Foolish people of The Shade,” a gravelly voice boomed out from a particularly massive silver-orange scaled dragon, apparently the leader of the pack. “Give back what is ours. You will all be ashes by the time dawn breaks, but handing the girl over now will at least prolong your lives enough to give you a chance to say your final prayers.”
A stunned silence followed. A silence that was about to cause us all to be torched.
“I’ll take you to her,” I yelled.
All eyes shot toward me—my comrades’, our enemies’ and the dragons’. The leader’s body shook as he chuckled, his sharp blue gaze digging into me. “And lead us on a meandering tour of your island? I’m sure you know where she is, vampire. Go bring her to us. You have exactly ten minutes before our patience runs dry.”
“She’s no longer on the island,” I shot back. “Her parents sent her away to keep her safe.”
This time all the dragons joined in with their leader’s laughter. “Well, if that really is the case, vampire, you’ve just talked your people out of time.” He swooped down, his claws outstretched, and scooped me up in his scaly fingers before climbing back into the sky. “You’ll take us to her after we’ve finished our work here.”
I considered trying to shoot at this dragon from this close angle, but there was no point. The moment I did that, I would surely be scorched by one of his companions, and it would only make them more aggressive in meting out vengeance on The Shade.
I didn’t know what to do. They were bent on ravaging The Shade whether Rose was here or not.
The dragon’s chest heaved as he drew in a monstrous breath. Heat engulfed me as he let loose his first roar of fire. I watched in terror as the flames hurtled toward the beach, narrowly missing people as they leapt out of the way. The dragons surrounding us followed suit and soon I could barely even see the beach any more as it became a sea of smoke and flames. There was no way even a supernatural could have survived that devastation.
I closed my eyes, wincing as I said a prayer for all those who’d just been consumed. Aiden, Micah, Saira and so many more I’d only just recently known, yet come to feel a bond with stronger than others I’d spent decades with.
Moving further inland, the dragons continued to burn everything in sight.
If even a single person survives this night, it will be a miracle.
Chapter 32: Rose
Strangely, accompanying the emergence of my fire powers was speed I’d never had before. I found myself running so fast, I almost smacked right into a tree trunk more than once as I dashed away from Corrine.
I still had no clear plan about what I was going to do. All I knew was that I had to get their attention. I ran straight to the Vale, which was now a ghost town. Reaching the bell tower in the center of the main square, I clambered up the ladder. I didn’t stop when I reached the platform beneath the bell, as I usually did. Instead, gripping hold of the rope dangling from the metal bell, I hauled myself up until I was level with the glassless windows that lined the sides of the structure just beneath the ceiling. I leapt and gripped hold of the ledge of the window nearest to me. Sliding through it, I climbed right out until I was fully outside, clinging to the side of the building with sweaty hands. Slowly and carefully, not daring to look down, I pulled myself up onto the roof and stood up.
The cool night breeze whipped against me, sending goosebumps running along my skin. The roars were becoming louder and louder and I could hear shouts and screams in the distance. One thing was for certain: the dragons had reached the island.
I drew in a deep breath, willing the fire to return to me once again. It didn’t take long. Once I felt ready to explode, I pointed my fingertips upward. As the fire rose high in the sky, I just had to hope the dragons would notice the flares.
I considered shouting out my name to hasten their attention toward me, but decided against it. The black witches were still on this island, and I couldn’t afford to get entangled with one of them now.
I resorted to shooting flare upon flare up into the dark night air as I watched the sky above the treetops surrounding the square with bated breath.
Another chorus of roars rang out, terrifyingly close this time. A powerful wave of dry heat rushed through the forest toward me as billows of fire closed in around the trees. Finally, I caught sight of the fiercely beautiful creatures, soaring above the blazing treetops.
“Hey!” I managed to shout, my voice hoarse from the smoke. “Down here!”
The dragon flying at the head of the horde with silver-orange scales fixed his narrow, gleaming eyes on me.
“Rose! No!”
Caleb?
As the beasts swooped down toward me, I could make out the vampire clasped in the hand of the leading dragon.
Oh no.
He attempted to leap from the dragon toward me, but the monster’s hand closed tighter around him. When Caleb pulled out a gun and aimed it at his captive, I yelled, “No, Caleb! Don’t! Leave this to me.”
The dragon grunted before hurling him toward the ground. “No!” I screamed, rushing to the edge of the roof and staring down at the vampire lying on the cobblestones. A chill ran from my neck down to the base of my spine when he still didn’t move. I wanted to race down the tower and fling myself at him, but I couldn’t. Not yet.
I raised my gaze slowly up toward the dragon who was watching me intensely. Fighting to steady my feet, I stood up straight and glared back at him.
“What’s your name?” I asked in as calm a voice as I could manage.
“Jeriad,” he growled.
“Jeriad,” I repeated. “I don’t believe we’ve met before.”
“I’m commander-in-chief to Erisard, king of The Hearthlands. I was away during your visit.”
The Hearthlands. So that’s what they call their realm.
Without warning, Jeriad’s hand shot toward me. I stepped back quickly, raising my hands to shoot fire toward him, and to my surprise, flames shot out on cue. That was the first time I’d been able to release flames with such precision. Perhaps I’m getting better at this.
Jeriad drew his hand away, his eyes widening as he watched my fire die down.
“Maiden of Fire,” one of the dragons whispered in awe behind him.
“I’m sorry about what we did to Charis,” I said, my eyes traveling from one dragon to another. “I’m not proud of it. But he threatened me and my people… Whatever you believe me to be, I am not yours. I am princess of this island, and I belong here.”
Jeriad growled and motioned to pick me up again. I released another blaze of fire to keep him back, once again surprised that it came on command.
“My father, king of The Shade, is also a fire-wielder,” I said. “Perhaps together, we could form some kind of understanding.”
Jeriad exchanged glances with the other dragons. I wasn’t sure what that piece of information meant to them, if anything. At least their demeanor calmed a little, their breathing coming a little less heavy.
I looked anxiously down at Caleb, relieved to see that he’d managed to pull himself up off the ground and was staring up at us. I wanted nothing more than to hold him in my arms at that moment.
Jeriad gripped the edge of the roof with his front legs and
his scales began to smooth out, his brilliant color fading, his body shrinking. The next thing I knew, I was standing before a magnificent specimen of a man. He was naked from the waist up, and his muscled physique shone with a sheen of sweat as he took a step closer toward me. Wavy jet-black hair licked the sides of his tan face, making his bright eyes look all the more severe. Were it not for the orange-silver scales capping his shoulder blades and pointed earlobes, I might have mistaken him for an ordinary human… on steroids.
“We have no interest in meeting your father,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “My king’s orders are that you return with us.”
He held out a hand to me.
I kept my hands firmly at my sides.
“I’m neither object nor possession,” I said heatedly. “You can tell your king that I have politely refused due to obligations here on Earth… Why exactly do you want me so much anyway?” I couldn’t help but ask.
He furrowed his brows. I flinched as he reached up and touched my cheek with the back of his warm hand before pulling away.
He looked conflicted, as though he wasn’t sure whether or not he ought to answer my question. “Our realm is in dire need of females,” he said. “Each day, we pay homage to the Fire and our ancestors in hope of a solution. You were a clear gift to us.”
“Why do you need females?” I asked, not sure I actually wanted to hear the answer. I looked down nervously at Caleb, who was now climbing up the bell tower toward me.
“We have lost too many of our own after a series of unfortunate events,” Jeriad replied. “Most urgently, we’re in search of a worthy maiden to continue our royal line.”
Oh, dear.
This is much worse than I thought.
Caleb reached the roof and moved to wrap an arm around me. As much as I wanted to feel his touch, I gave him a sharp look. “I’m too hot,” I whispered.
I didn’t like the way Jeriad was staring at Caleb.
“You need females,” I said, gulping as I stepped in front of Caleb. “While I’m, uh, unavailable, I’m sure if you stayed with us long enough, beautiful men like yourselves could win the hearts of many a lady on this island.”
Jeriad paused, looking over his shoulder at the dragons still hovering in the air behind him.
“Do they possess fire as you do?” he asked.
“Um… not exactly.”
“Then they can’t help us. Only you—”
A grey-blue scaled dragon approached behind Jeriad, manifesting into a brown-haired humanoid form and jumping down onto the roof beside him.
“We should consider the maiden’s proposal,” the man said.
Jeriad shot a look at him. “What do you mean, Ridan?”
Ridan looked at me thoughtfully before replying, “You forget Farrias. One of the mightiest warriors in our history. Yet he was the result of the illicit affair between Sideon and his human servant, Trisanda.”
“That example hardly makes your case,” Jeriad replied. “You’re speaking of a legend. Sideon could have impregnated any species and the child would have turned out as strong. We don’t all possess Sideon’s potency.”
My insides writhed when Jeriad’s gaze wandered back to me. It was clear he was running out of patience.
A third dragon transformed into his human form and stood next to Ridan and Jeriad. His hair was silver-streaked and he had moss green eyes.
“I still agree with Ridan. If this island is filled with humans as the lady says, they might prove to be more valuable to us than her alone, even though she does possess fire. True, the majority of us are not like Sideon, but we might not need to be. Our strength might be enough.”
Jeriad exhaled deeply. “But Erisard’s instruction was explicit.”
“He wasn’t aware of the large human population on this island,” Ridan said.
A tense silence ensued as the trio stared at each other.
I dared break the silence after a minute had passed. “I, uh, don’t mean to interrupt, but if you’re even considering staying with us, you ought to know that our humans are currently in grave danger. An army of black witches is on this island and they’re after our humans. If we don’t do something about it, you won’t even have this option any more.”
“Black witches?” Jeriad’s eyes sharpened.
“Yes. They might have even found our humans as we speak and be stealing them.”
Ridan gripped Jeriad’s shoulder. “We don’t have to make a final decision now. But we should keep this option open. Even Neros agrees the humans could be valuable. Let’s help them drive these scum away, and in the meantime we can think about what our decision should be. I fully believe this is what Erisard would instruct us if he was here.”
To my relief, Jeriad grunted and leapt up, transforming back into a mighty dragon in mid-air. Neros and Ridan followed suit, joining the rest of their horde surrounding us in the sky.
I felt Caleb’s arms wrap around my waist. I leapt back instinctively, expecting him to be burnt.
“You’re not hot,” he said softly, staring at me in awe. “You’re just warm.”
That was shocking to me. I wondered if perhaps because he was a cold vampire, he didn’t notice it as much. Either that, or I was beginning to get control of my body temperature along with the flames that burst from my fingertips. I didn’t have much time to ponder over it, however, as Jeriad’s voice boomed down.
“Where to, maiden?” He lowered to our level, indicating that we mount him.
I couldn’t help but grin to myself as I climbed up onto his back, Caleb sliding onto his hide behind me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to being addressed as maiden.
I didn’t know what was going on now around the island. It had been a while since I’d been watching the battle scene on the beach from the top of the mountain. I twisted my head back to look at Caleb. “Where should we go first?”
There was a sadness in his eyes as he said, “We should just head straight for the mountains. That’s where the witches are heading toward.”
“Okay,” I said, looking back down at the dragon. I pointed toward the mountain peaks in the distance. “Those are the mountains.”
I held on tight as we began speeding toward the distance. Launching higher into the sky, I gasped at the sheer extent of the destruction. My heart ached to see the damage to our beautiful redwoods. Some of it I was sure was caused by my father’s fiery battle near the entrance to the Residences, but the vast majority of it was due to the dragons.
I prayed that we hadn’t lost anyone to those flames, yet I couldn’t see any way these flames hadn’t caused at least some casualties. Somehow, I suspected that the sadness in Caleb’s eyes was confirmation of this. But I dared not ask him now. I couldn’t afford to break down. Now, I had to be stronger than ever to help The Shade survive this battle and keep the dragons on our side.
Caleb’s hand slid to the base of my throat. He bent my neck gently back against his shoulder. Pressing his lips against mine, he kissed me slowly and tenderly.
His voice was hoarse as he whispered into my ear, “I’ve never felt prouder to be your man, Rose Novak.”
Chapter 33: Derek
After Corrine disappeared with Rose, the powers I’d seen in her kept replaying in my mind. In between focusing on heading off the black witches, I tried to figure out how on earth she could possess them. Soon, however, I didn’t have any concentration left for Rose.
Rhys disappeared for a while, but when he returned, it was with a crowd of reinforcements. The battle intensified tenfold. Soon the witches assisting me—including Ibrahim, who’d returned after failing to find Mona—and I were simply no match for them. Their gushing of water put out more fire than we could keep maintaining, and their hurling of curses became more violent and abundant.
As much as I hated to do it, I was forced to yell, “Retreat!”
Ibrahim ran up to me and vanished with me from the spot. We all traveled about two hundred feet away where everyone gathered around m
e. “Head directly for the mountains,” I whispered.
“But Derek—” Adelle protested.
“Do as I say,” I hissed.
We all disappeared again and reappeared in the clearing outside the entrance to the mountains. We were failing spectacularly at trying to head them off in the forest. They’d figure out eventually that our humans were being kept in the mountains—if they hadn’t already—so we might as well be waiting for them there. And in the meantime, we could do our best to prepare.
As everyone huddled toward me, I was surprised to see Corrine approaching us. I’d expected her to stay with my daughter. I hurried over to her and gripped her shoulders. “Where’s Rose?”
Her face was covered with sweat and ash. “Derek,” she said, her voice filled with trepidation, “d-dragons have arrived on the island. The beach, the Port, the forests around it, everything’s been completely torched—”
I shook her. “Where’s Rose?”
“She forced me to let her go. She said only she could stop the dragons. I’m sorry, Derek. She was so determined, I didn’t know how to argue with her.”
“Let her go where?”
“To seek out the dragons herself. Her powers, she—”
Goosebumps ran along my skin.
“Where’s Sofia?” I asked.
Corrine shrugged, tears beginning to well in her eyes. “I don’t know, Derek. Heck, I don’t know where half of our army is now. The dragons’ flames are eating up the island as we speak. I was barely able to see through the smog when I neared the Port.”
My stomach flipped.
It felt like I was being torn in separate directions. Seek out my daughter. Search for my wife. Stay here and help the others protect the entrance to the mountains that housed my pregnant sister and all our other humans.
Perhaps it was good for my sanity that I didn’t need to make the decision, as a pair of giant wings appeared in the skyline over the trees in the distance, followed soon after by a monster of a dragon. As soon as the first one appeared in the sky, dozens followed immediately after it.
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