When I moved, the Fire Drake sent a tsunami of flame at us. Rafael dropped to his knees and screamed as the flames broke through the flickering shield to engulf his hands.
Marcus bellowed in rage and called the lightning down.
The crack of thunder was like the end of the world, shaking the ground and crumbling the walls. The wind howled, and hail pummeled us as a crackling cage of light enveloped the Fire Drake. I heard it shriek again, before another wall of fire obliterated my sight of him.
I curled my head between my front legs to protect my eyes. Panting in pain and holding Fang against his chest, Sebastian regarded me with eyes that spoke.
This is the end,they said.
Dammit. I wasn’t going to fucking let that be true. I gritted my teeth, and pushed on as the wind battled the fire, neither winning.
My lids were burned away and re-healed so many times they no longer opened. I navigated by Riley’s eyes, the link showing me where I was relative to the others.
We staggered our way through the inferno to the woman I’d swore would never be my mate.
I really was an idiot.
Then a heavy head butted mine, and it wasn’t only Riley’s presence that embraced me. Marcus swept me up as well, his relief that we’d reached them nearly overwhelming.
He kept the lightning and hail coming as Riley pushed into the middle of all of us, her smaller Storm Drake steaming in the driving rain. Anna grabbed hold of her wingtip. Talakai had his big arms wrapped around Anna and Matt, and Sebastian had a grip on him. Riley placed a taloned forepaw on Rafael’s shoulder.
As Marcus took her tail in his teeth, Riley’s voice wailed through my mind.
Mourning the one who would never soar with us again.
Vali…
And with a flash of golden light…
Snap.
50
Riley
Despite our victory, the atmosphere at the treehouse hung heavy with grief. I sat in the library, embraced by Marcus’s strong arms, and watched Cara heal Rafael’s hands.
In places, they’d been burned to the bone. If he were human, he’d have lost fingers for sure. Maybe more.
Despite the pain he must be in, Rafael never did anything more than wince.
At the far end of the table, Bess hovered over Sebastian, who was so covered in blood and blackened skin that it was difficult to tell how badly injured he really was. Matt was a mass of sliced skin, and Anna had her hands on him. I hadn’t realized she could heal too. I should have, considering Rafael’s abilities. She only suffered a few minor burns, as she had been shielded by Rafael.
Bess had worked on Marcus and me. Our Drake scales had repelled most of the onslaught, but not the Fire Drake’s flames. Physically, we were now whole, but we both bore scars that would never fully heal.
The arms that held me tensed sporadically as our grief surged. Kiko had a death grip on my hand, her eyes glazed as she stared off into the gathering shadows. She’d only stopped crying because I suspected she’d run out of tears.
Vali.
When I’d first seen the streak of vivid color diving from above, I hadn’t recognized her. By the time I realized who it was—
There was nothing any of us could have done.Marcus’s mindvoice sounded as exhausted as I felt.She saw the need, and went for it. Even if the fire hadn’t caught her—that was a deathstrike. The impact alone would have killed her.
My heart constricted. She’d intended to die?
Part of her was already fucking dead, Dreambit.The Dragon’s slow rumble surprised me—it was filled with pain.It died with my brother.
I caught a glimpse of treetops painted with the sun’s dying rays. Havoc was sitting somewhere high up, well away from us. And not all of his pain was emotional.
