Swallowing the bitterness in my throat, I glanced at the trio of dragons surrounding the vehicles. My gaze instantly sought the red dragon standing at the edge of the road. She had taken a few steps back from the soldiers she had killed and was now staring around the battlefield at the bodies surrounding her. It was hard to tell with dragons, but she looked almost sickened. Her wings were pressed tight to her body and her stance was more of a cringe than a crouch. Killing still didn’t sit well with her, even if they were soldiers of St. George. Or maybe it was the mass destruction and slaughter we’d caused, and the realization was just now hitting home.
Truthfully, even though I felt sympathy and guilt in equal measures, I was relieved. She was still the same. The Ember I’d known...the girl I’d fallen for, was stubborn, hotheaded and all too willing to fight if push came to shove, but even as a dragon, she had never been a coldhearted killer. It had been her mercy, her refusal to kill a known enemy, that had made me realize the Order was wrong. It was because of her that I was here now, risking my life to protect the creatures I’d once driven toward extinction. Because a dragon had spared the life of a soldier of St. George, and everything had changed.
I climbed down from the tree and made my way toward them, silently asking forgiveness as I passed the bodies in the road, the shells of my former brothers in arms. There were more than a dozen of them sprawled over the pavement, burned, blackened, or shot in the back. The attack had been swift and brutal, and had worked only because we’d taken them completely by surprise. Then, of course, there was the storm, which had helped immensely as it was difficult to track targets in the wind and driving rain, especially if you didn’t know where they were coming from. The Order certainly never expected the weather to turn on them out of the blue, but apparently, there was a lot about dragons we still didn’t know.
Like Eastern dragons being able to call down a thunderstorm. I shook my head in amazement, remembering the disbelief I’d felt when she’d first told us her plan. Just like the old legends said. I guess some magic isn’t quite as gone as we thought.
Still atop the truck, Jade regarded me with solemn, pale green eyes as I approached, her mane rippling behind her in the wind. The rain had lessened somewhat, the lightning had ceased and the main fury of the storm had died with the soldiers. “It is done,” the Eastern dragon stated, sounding neither happy nor sad about it. “I must return to the temple and inform Abbot Lang that we were victorious. I will meet you there soon.”
Lifting her head, the Asian dragon rose off the roof, her serpentine body moving from side to side as she climbed into the air and “swam” away over the trees.
As soon as she was gone, the rain faded to a drizzle and died, the clouds slowly parted and the sun shone through the branches again.
On the hood of the truck, Riley snorted, looking simultaneously pleased and disgusted as he gazed around at the carnage. “Well, that was terrifying,” he stated, though he didn’t exactly sound broken up about it. “I can’t believe we actually pulled it off. And that the Eastern dragon actually summoned a freaking thunderstorm.” He craned his neck in the direction Jade had vanished. “St. George is going to crap a brick when they find out.”
I moved beside Ember, forcing myself not to reach out and touch her, keeping my hands firmly on my M4. Her scales gleamed metallic red in the light, and spots where the sun hit them directly were almost too bright to look at. But her eyes were dark as she gazed over the bodies, the green shadowed nearly to black.
“Are you all right?” I asked softly, and she let out a gusty sigh.
“No. Not really.” Turning, she faced me, her narrow muzzle almost level with my face. “I’m so tired of this, Garret,” she said, though the anger in her voice wasn’t directed at me. “More death, more killing, more chances that somebody I know could die at any time. I know it’s a war, and I know it’s either us or them, but...when will it stop?” She glanced back at the bodies, shivered and closed her eyes. “I’m not afraid to fight,” she muttered, “but right now, it feels like we’re at war with everyone.”
“We are,” I told her, as that emerald gaze shifted to me again. “We might be fighting the Order now, but Talon is the one pulling the strings. Once we sever that connection, things will go back to normal.”
“Normal.” Ember curled a lip, revealing a flash of razor-sharp fangs. “Normal isn’t that hot, either. We’ll still be killing each other, battle after battle, running and fighting in an endless circle. It seems so pointless.” She sat down, curling her tail around her legs, and sighed. “Even if we survive St. George and Talon, will there ever be an end to it all? Or will I still be doing this exact same thing three hundred years from now?”