The rain of gunfire is constant now, along with the shouts of the soldiers. Dragons never land in the city, and the fact that one has is making people freak the fuck out. Sasha hesitates for a moment, then offers me her good arm, and we manage to drag her onto the back of the dragon awkwardly. She sprawls behind me, her face white with pain as she clutches her injured arm to her chest.
“Good?” I ask, breathless. At her nod, I reach forward and pat Kael’s neck. We’re on!
Then we go! Kael launches himself into the air with a bellow.
“Hold on!” I shout to Sasha, one hand on the handlebars while I twist to look back at Sasha. She flings her good arm around my waist, but we bounce and slide as Kael takes to the air, our seats unsteady. Everything feels too loose, too unsafe.
“I’m going to fall,” Sasha cries as the saddle jostles again.
“You’re fine,” I call out, but I’m worried just as much as her. “We just need to get out of shooting range, strap in, and then we’re going for Amy.”
Sasha gives a moan of distress as Kael banks sharply, wings flapping as he gains altitude. I ignore the sick lurch of my stomach and hold on tightly, but I don’t feel secure in the slightest. Kael won’t let me fall. He won’t. I trust him. But Sasha weeps and clings to me, crying out with every dip. And every time she pulls on my clothing, I have to fight the urge to fling her hands off so I stay on balance. I know she’s scared, and I know she’s got a bad arm, so I don’t. But this isn’t going to work for long.
We’re sliding, I tell Kael. Please, get somewhere safe so we can strap in again.
“Where are we going?” Sasha cries out as Kael lifts higher and higher into the air. Her voice raises in a small scream of worry as she glances over the side. “We’re so high up!”
“We’re trying to get out of range of the guns,” I yell back, and cough when a bug flies into my mouth. I claw at my throat, grossed out. God, what I wouldn’t give for mental communication with Sasha at this moment! Her hands squeeze me tightly, and I fight back my frustration. “We’re fine. I promise. We’re going to go a bit higher and then head to the jail. Is Amy still there?”
“I guess?” Sasha says, fighting back tears. “They won’t let me see her, no matter who I try to bribe.”
All at once, I feel bad for being impatient with Sasha. We have no money, so I can only guess what Sasha was trying to bribe the guards with. That she’s putting herself at risk for Amy means everything to me. I pat her clinging hand, grateful. “I’m going to get you somewhere safe. I’m going to take care of you. We don’t need the city. Just trust me.”
Her eyes streaming with tears, she nods.
Kael wheels higher in the sky, then veers abruptly when a series of pops echo in the air. They spit fire too close, Kael warns. Head down.
“Duck,” I warn Sasha. “They’re shooting at us.”
“They’re shooting at us? Sasha is hysterical. “Why?”
“Because we’re with the enemy,” I tell her. “The other dragon’s attacking the city!”
“There’s another dragon?”
Hold on, Kael warns, even as his entire body tilts. They are spitting from both sides now. Stay close! Before I can ask how we’re supposed to do that, a growl erupts in his throat. Dakh approaches.
Something rat-tat-tats past my ear, and I fling myself against Kael’s neck. That one was close!
Behind me, Sasha shrieks in pain, and the arm around my waist loosens. I turn to demand that Sasha hold on, but as I watch, she slides slowly off the side, her eyes wide in horror.
Then my friend is free-falling through the air.
“Sasha!” I scream, sticking a hand out for my friend uselessly. “No! Kael! Save her!”
A massive shape swoops under us, and as I watch, Dakh’s golden dragon form arrows underneath Kael, neatly snatching the flailing Sasha out of the skies. With a triumphant bugle and the woman clutched tightly in his claws, Dakh turns about and begins to flap his wings hard, heading up and away from the city.
I bite back my cry of horror. He’s got Sasha! Kael, we have to save her!
No, he says, voice grim in my head. We will get your sister. Hold tight.
What? No! Kael, Dakh’s crazy, and he has my friend. She’s not safe!
She is safe with him. He wants a mate.
I gasp at the ugliness of it. Is that all we are to you? Just playthings you can grab and claim for yourselves?
We will argue about this later, Kael says. For now, she is safe with him, and you are still in danger. We must find your sister, and fast.
I grit my teeth at his determined tone, watching Dakh fly away. Part of me knows that he’s right, that Sasha won’t be hurt by the other dragon if he truly wants a mate, but it’s a small comfort. I saw the bruised look in Sasha’s eyes, left there by abuse. Now I’ve turned my broken, damaged friend over to a dragon that wants nothing more than to stake his claim as her mate. I just traded her from one overbearing male to another, and the thought feels like a raw wound.
I hear your thoughts, my mate. Do you wish me to turn and confront Dakh? Know that even if I took her back from him, I cannot guarantee her safety. Other males would scent her out and seek her. I cannot fight all of them. But for you, I will turn back now and chase him down.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to fight the tears that’ll just pool in my stupid goggles. Go after Sasha and forget about Amy? Or save Amy and leave Sasha in Dakh’s insane clutches, knowing that my sister’s only safe until another dragon comes along to drag her away?
There are no good choices. I fight the sob choking my throat, because I can’t cry right now. I need to focus. “Let’s just go and get my sister from these fucking bastards.” At least a dragon will only want to covet Amy and take care of her. The humans want to hold a gun to her head to force me to do what they want. No fucking way am I going to continue to let that fly.
I’m sorry, Sasha. I’m sorry I’m choosing my sister over rescuing you. I hope you understand someday, I tell the disappearing speck of gold on the horizon.
We go, Kael tells me. Hold on.
I cling to the saddle as he dives low, my body instinctively knowing which way to turn and when to grip harder. Without Sasha clinging to me and screaming in my ear, I can move with him since our minds are connected…and then I feel another twinge of guilt. Would Sasha be with Dakh if I’d belted her in and not worried about my own? Could we have belted just her in?
We are close. Be ready.
The roof of the parking garage comes into view, and there’s no more time for doubt. Kael circles the building, swinging lower, and as he does, my heart feels as if it moves into my throat.
Two figures stand alone on the roof. One has a blindfold over her eyes, pale blonde hair streaming, her arms against her sides. She wears a familiar faded pink shirt and a long skirt. The other is the mayor, his fat paunchy belly hanging over his pants.
He holds a gun to Amy’s head, his own head tilted back to watch us as they circled.
He has my sister, I tell Kael furiously. That fucking cocksucker!
Shall I eat him?
I wish. No. He’ll shoot her the moment we come any closer. Let me down on the far end of the roof.