It struck again, moving with a shocking speed for something so large. It clamped its teeth around my foreleg. Had the creature been venomous, I’d have been done for, but thankfully, all it had were wicked sharp fangs that managed to punch through my thick dragonhide. I bellowed in pain and slashed at the side of its neck with my free claws.
Even as I fought to free my leg, I noticed the bright red and green flashes of magic as the Hikshil took to the battlefield. The other fae who’d come to watch joined them, obviously seeing Bastien for the psychopath he was. The group waded into the fight, helping us drive back the wolves and other shifters. If a human had stumbled upon this, their minds would most likely have melted at the sight of magic, dragons, monsters, and werewolves.
Taking a chance, I opened my mouth and breathed a fire into the naga’s face. The blistering flames did little to harm the monster’s tough hide, but it got the thing to release my arm. I sank my claws into the softer flesh of its chest and stomach. My talons dug beneath the thin scales, and more of that putrid blood spurted out.
Before I could dig in further and try to disembowel the fucking thing, it lashed its heavy tail around, sweeping my legs from beneath me. Screeching in surprise, I slammed to the ground. Instantly, a group of half-shifted wolves and bears attacked me. They clawed and bit at me, digging at my scales and skin. One bear sank its teeth into my face, trying for my eyes.
Swatting at them with my wings, I managed to knock two off their feet. The bear attacking my head stumbled, and I made him pay for it with his life, biting down on his side and nearly severing him in two. Kicking out with my back legs, I struck the final attacker in the chest, feeling his ribs and sternum crack as he was flung fifty yards away.
I roared in pain as the naga lunged forward and bit deep into my stomach. Blood welled around its jaws, but the real problem was how fast it was. Before I could react, it yanked me forward, twirling its full length tight around me.
Shock and fear jolted through me as I found myself in the most dangerous position I could imagine-being crushed to death by a gigantic snake creature. Even as I tried to think of some sort of defense, the muscles contracted, crushing me, forcing the air from my lungs. I couldn’t even draw a breath to try and breathe out fire. My front and back claws were useless, pinned at my sides by the muscles that might as well have been steel bands.
Thrashing my head, I looked around for someone to help. My reinforcements were knee-deep in fighting off wolves, bears, panthers, and moose shifters. On the other side of the field, I saw Delphine’s wolf clawing and biting at attackers who tried to flank the Hikshil and other fae. Vince was ripping a pair of werewolves from Rasp’s back, both men in their half-shifted forms. That was when I realized I’d lost sight of Elle. Fear for myself vanished. I wasn’t important. Ihad to save her. She was somewhere in this hell, and Ihad to do something.
Even as my vision went gray and my lungs screamed for air, I looked down, forcing my neck to bend under the strain of constriction. Rage flowed through me. I would not allow this thing to beat me. Not when the woman I loved needed me.
With every ounce of my remaining strength, I opened my jaws, and clamped them down on the only part of the naga I could reach. The powerful muscles in my jaw flexed, creaked, and rippled as I forced everything I had left into the attack. My lungs burned for air, my vision dimmed, and my ribs cracked. Thunderbolts of pain burst through my chest as the bones snapped under the onslaught of the thing’s serpentine body. I clamped down hard, using my agony as fuel for my attack. My jaws throbbed and cramped as I willed them to crush the creature. Then, with a thunderous pop, my teeth tore through flesh.
A massive hunk of muscle and skin came free in my mouth. The blood tasted like rotten flesh and sulfur. The naga screeched in pain and loosened its grip on me. Sucking in a breath, I clawed at it, pushing it away before it could crush me again. The beast thrashed about, blood spurting from the wound. Taking my opening, I leapt upon the monstrosity and raked my front claws along its face, shredding the eyeballs and its lips into a bloody mass of pulp.
The creature thrashed about, snapping its teeth at me, trying to latch on to something it couldn’t see. All around me, the sounds of battle roared, and I was desperate to be done with this damned thing and find Elle.
Not wanting to give it even a second to recover, I lunged forward, clamping my jaws on the soft flesh beneath its jaw. The massive snake thing bucked and tried to hiss, but it could get no sound out. The fucking thing was strong as hell. It pulled me back and forth as it tried to throw me off, and icy, agonizing pain shot through my damaged ribs.
With my mouth clamped on him, the chance of anyone innocent being burned was almost nothing. Inhaling deeply through my nostrils, I activated the biological mechanism deep in my chest and throat that ignited and fed the fire within me and breathed out.
The fire burst out of my mouth. The beast let out a yowl that was almost feline in its pitch, and from the periphery of my vision, I watched its yellow eyes go wide with shock, horror, and agony as my flames seared, then melted its skin.
Releasing every ounce of fire I had within me, the blast of flame punched through the tough hide and spurted down the thing’s gullet, filling its entire body with a white-hot inferno. It gave one final twist, then stilled. An instant later, its eyes burst apart as tongues of flame started from the sockets. I released the monster, and it collapsed into charred remains.
For a few brief seconds, I looked down on the beast and wondered at the fact that I’d defeated it.
Turning, I shifted back to my human form, looking out at the battlefield. From what I saw, the tide was turning in our favor. Most of the native shifters were actively helping the fae and my people fight off the wolves. A few were still on Bastien’s side, but they were quickly being overwhelmed.
Speaking of the bastard, I spotted him in his werewolf form, slashing at Octavius near the tent. Octavius was one of the best warriors in our household, but to my surprise, Bastien appeared to be besting him, beating him down with swats of his clawed hands and powerful fists in his half-shifted form. The power-hungry bastard knew how to fight.
Ignoring them for a moment, I raised my voice to be heard over the chaos.
“Elle!”
“Here,” she answered and rushed to my side. Delphine and two other women at her heels.
Elle crashed into me. I winced as she rammed into my ribs, and it was all I could do not to scream in pain. Still, I embraced her, running my hands along her body.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, holding her at arm’s length to inspect her.
“I’m fine?-“
A howl of rage erupted behind her.
A wolf with thick black fur and angry yellow eyes leapt through the air toward her, jaws open wide. Moving faster than I could have dreamed, Delphine shifted and sprang, catching the attacker in midair. The two tumbled to the ground beside us.
“Holy shit!” the young woman with Elle cried, putting a hand to her mouth. “That’s Sasha.”
I glanced down as Delphine gave a single brutal thrash of her head, and even in the cacophony of fighting, I heard the dry snap of the attacker’s spine. The wolf went still, eyes wide and sightless, tongue lolling from its mouth.
Delphine shifted and stood, dusting her palms and glaring down at the dead wolf.
“Never liked her. Serves her right for being Bastien’s little lackey,” Delphine grumbled.
Staring down at Sasha’s motionless form, two emotions stirred in my chest in a split second. Relief that I had been saved at the last moment; pity for the woman. Yes, she’d followed Bastien’s orders and seemed to enjoy being his servant, but she’d been twisted by his promises of power, brainwashed and bent to his will, turned into a sick monster by his sick mind. She’d been dangerous, yes, but in the end, she was simply another victim.
“Delphine,” Elle gasped. “Thank you.”
The older woman shrugged, and took the hands of the other women. Now that I saw them, I recognized them. Collette, Elle’s aunt, and Sophia, Elle’s sister.
“I’ve got to get them to safety,” Delphine said. “They aren’t trained to fight like this.”
Elle nodded and touched my shoulder. “I’ve got Aurelius, I’ll be fine.”
Delphine gave her a single nod, but as she guided the two women toward the trees and away from the fighting, she turned to give Elle one last worried look.
“Once I get them hidden in the woods, I’ll be back.” Without another word, Delphine vanished toward the trees.
Glancing around, I found that our forces, while winning, had moved to the far side of the clearing. Vince slashed out with his talons, while Rasp crashed into enemies in his half-shifted form. The Hikshil and other fae assisted with spells, firing magic in such a volume that my skin tingled from it. Nothing like this had happened in centuries. It was awe-inspiring but fucking terrifying.
“Aurelius,” Octavius called out.
He had a bloody gash on his forehead and a double row of wolf bite marks on his forearm. He knelt on one knee, obviously exhausted and hurt as he pointed toward the forest edge. “He’s running!”
Bastien, having sensed the tides turning against him, had chosen the coward’s way out. Ahead of him, I spotted a few others running, including parents.
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