We reached the SUV last. Teddy and Simone hurriedly helped to lift Quinn into the car with the others. Once they did, Islammed the door. Everett, Maisie, and Talli did the same for the other doors.
I love you so much, Quinn said.
I love you back, Starlight.
I rushed to stand in front of the SUV. The wind shifted hard suddenly. The scent carried on it made me growl, breath steaming in the cold air.
Closing in. Defend our mate. Protect our mate. Keep everyone safe.
That’s the plan, babe.
The first distant roar cracked through the clouds, long and thunderous. It rattled the windows of the SUV and shook something deep inside me, something my dragon knew. It wasn’t fear or danger exactly. It was more primal than that.
It was awarning.
The dragons had broken through the clouds now. They were in a diamond formation, just like a trained brigade. They were exact and intimidating.
And, they were coming in fastasfuck.
A thick swirling sphere of purple and coral magic enveloped the SUV behind us. Everett took off his sweater to release his eagle wings. Then, his griffin form burst forth in a shimmer of gold, his wings snapping wider and larger than before. He gave a mighty, echoing screech like a massive bird. I summoned my own wings and tail, feeling my tail thrash and my wings flutter behind me.
“Try not to hurt them, okay?” I said. “I don’t know which of these are my cousins, if any of them are, but either way, they are just protecting their home that most of us came into uninvited.”
“This is one hell of a family reunion,” Maisie muttered.
“Tell me about it.”
Then, a shriek pierced through the sky.
One of the leading dragons folded their feather wings and dove steeply with terrifying speed. The other two followed behind, racing toward us like living arrows. The dragons were smaller than my mother’s dragon, but bigger than me in my full form. Their size was closer to Pops’ form, which made sense considering they were air dragons. I wasn’t as familiar with the different types of dragons as I probably should be, but I knew my father came from a line of air and earth dragons, whose powers mainly went toward the air element. Despite being broad across their chests, they were nimble and lithe in their bodies. Their scales were glittery, hardened armor in various shades of blue, white, purple, and yellow. Their horns curled like a ram’s spirals from their head. Feathers went down their spines and at the end of their long, ribboned tails, guiding them and snapping behind them like banners. Seeing other dragons would have excited me under normal circumstances.
Right now, they were going straight for my hunters.
And, I would be damned if I would let anything happen to them.
Tree Roots and Branches
BYRD
Everett launched into the air to intercept the leading dragon to scatter their forces. He slashed at them with his talons, locking them both in a brutal aerial grapple. Their wings tangled, claws raked, and roars echoed across the sky. They slammed into a backyard, a plume of snow exploding in their wake.
Next to me, coral orange spellfire crackled around Talli’s arms on my left while sharp spirals of violet coiled around Maisie’s arms like serpents ready to strike on my right. I took the same fighting stance that Everett had taught me, both my dragon and I prepared for the remaining three dragons.
Two dragons parted their jaws in the direction of the witches. A gust of magicked wind exploded from one of them, sending a blast toward Talli. She barely managed to shield herself in time. Her flames flickered against the windstorm, sputtering under the assault. The second dragon bared their ivory fangs and surged toward Maisie, claws glinting like hooked daggers. Maisie hurled a magical spiral at the creature’s face, but the dragon twisted mid-air and dodged the attack before they slammed Maisie into the concrete hard enough to crack it.Maisie screamed. Talli cried out as she, too, was thrown through the air, hitting a parked car and setting off its alarm.
A shout built in my throat, but an electric tremor raced down my spine.
Still, I was blindsided.
The last dragon came in low and fast. Despite being a sunny-yellow blur of motion, I could tell this dragon was a fucking brute, the biggest of the fleet and possibly the fiercest. Their talons snagged onto my ribs and hurled me into the shield that Maisie and Talli had erected. A sickening crack reverberated in my ears as I was slammed into the crystalline dome, causing spiderweb fractures in it. Pain rattled my bones. My breath caught on the scream that wanted to come from my throat. Sparks of darkness danced across my vision. Then, the dragon backed away and flapped their wings once. With the power of their wind magic, the gust sent me smashing through the magic and into the side of the SUV. The metal groaned from my impact. The entire vehicle flipped onto its side with a thunderous crash and cries from everyone inside.
I am so in over my head right now.I coughed, the sharp taste of blood coating my tongue.How the fuck did I think I could take on Lilah or Cooper? I am not a fighter. What did I think that this was some kind of fucking movie where I had plot armor and would ride off into the sunset?
None of that is true, Byrd! You can do this. Listen to your instincts. You are so much more powerful than you know,Quinn hollered in my mind, desperate and raw. Strength poured into me from our bond, even though I could feel her pain.
I had no time to respond.
The dragon pounced on me, its massive claws swiping down toward my face. I rolled, still in the crater I made in the SUV. I slammed my tail up in retaliation, managing to catch the dragon across their jaw. A hard crack split the air. I watched blood andbroken fangs fly. I smiled, proud that I finally managed to land a blow.
