In shock, Dante leapt to his feet, slicing his sword through the air furiously, cutting the pipes into pieces as they clattered to the ground in a cacophony of sound.
And as he dodged the last few as they came down, Liam charged again, swinging his sword in a wide arc.
Dante whirled around.
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” the gold dragon said, his voice straining as he tried to defend himself.
“You’re the one who broke the rules. Now you’ll pay.”
Dante pushed off of Liam’s sword, backing up and grabbing a small table at his side. Instantly, the smooth wood became solid gold, and with a grin, he heaved the table directly at Liam.
Liam, unafraid, sliced the table in front of him just as it was about to collide with him, his sword glowing blue as the table flung apart into two pieces and crashed into the floor.
And with ruthless power, he threw his blade at Dante, the blue glow of it increasing as it spun through the air. Dante raised his sword to defend, but the force of the impact knocked the rapier out of his hand, catching him in the side in the process.
Dante dropped to a knee, holding his side, and Liam saw blood starting to taint the perfectly tailored shirt he’d been wearing.
“Now you’ve done it,” Dante said with a grunt. “You give me no choice…”
With a roar, Dante shifted in front of him, wings and claws and fangs appearing from nowhere until the gold dragon stood before him. His scales gleamed bright gold in the sunlight coming through the windows, eyes glowing red as his claws crashed into the granite floor, long golden wings filling the two-story foyer around them.
Liam felt himself shift as he grew in the blink of an eye to Dante’s height, the steel dragon inside him no longer playing with its prey, but instead ready to end it.
Liam roared, feeling his steel-plated skin shift as the gold dragon hissed back in response.
It looks like Silver and Platinum are making a run for it. Want us to go after them, brother? Magnus called out to his mind, sounding eager to give chase.
No, just keep Kate safe. Move her away from the building.
Already on it, Captain. Titus said loyally. Beneath him, he could see the now-small shapes of his crew quickly making their way outside of the building.
Which was good, because things were going to get hot.
Liam breathed in deeply, then breathed forth his dragon fire, a white-hot stream of molten metal. The gold dragon ducked behind a wide marble column as everything that wasn’t incinerated or melted by the liquid flame was set ablaze.
In retaliation, the gold dragon poked out from behind the column and breathed, too, a thick, shimmering gold mist that turned everything it touched to gold, and Liam jumped backward to avoid it.
As the mist dissipated, Liam charged forward, swinging his tail and crushing the column Gold hid behind, bringing down a huge section of roof as wood and metal crashed down in a thick haze of dust.
Sunlight poured in through the gaping hole in the ceiling, and Dante emerged from the rubble, extending his long, gold-encrusted neck and biting down into Liam’s side.
Even metal skin could be pierced by something sharp enough, and Liam slashed at the gold dragon, catching him in the side and sending him reeling backward into the wall. More rubble cascaded from the ceiling, and for a moment, Liam feared the house would come down on them entirely.
If not now, the flames that were quickly spreading would finish the job.
Sensing that the advantage wasn’t his, Dante spread his wings and made for the opening above them, breathing gold mist behind him to cover his escape.
But Liam beat his wings, dissipating the thick gold fog as he reached upward, catching Dante by his long tail and pulling him back to earth with a deafening crash that obliterated the side of the house, ripping through wall and ceiling and understructure all at once.
Victorious, he stood above the gold dragon, who heaved long, labored breaths as he tried to stand.
Like any creature, a dragon’s body could only take so much punishment before it gave out.
“Do it. Be the brute I know you really are,” Dante challenged, red eyes gleaming in defiance.
Liam wanted to kill him. Wanted revenge for the fear and worry he had made Kate feel because of his actions.
But something in the back of his mind told him Dante wasn’t fully culpable. Too much of what had happened didn’t make sense with the gold dragon he had once known. Something, or someone, else might be involved. And until Liam knew otherwise, the punishment just didn’t fit the crime.
“Not today,” Liam growled. “But swear, swear on your life that you and your crew will leave me and my mate alone. Forever.”
“I swear,” Dante replied, seemingly surprised, as if he’d actually suspected the steel dragon to be a ruthless killer.
Satisfied, Liam pushed Dante past the pile of rubble he laid upon and over the crest of the steep hill that bordered the back of the property. With a loud crash, he broke through trees and bushes as he rolled down the hill, coming to a stop at the bottom.
And below him, Liam saw the gold dragon shift back into his human form, alive and barely conscious.
If Dante’s crew really cared for their leader, they’d come to get him.
If not, then that was his problem.
All that mattered right now was his mate.
Around him, the house was an inferno, and anything that could burn was doing so. Had he not pushed Dante down the hill, the house would have certainly crushed him.
Without a single thought, Liam shifted back into his human form and sprinted for the exit.
As Liam walked out of the burning wreckage, clothing in shreds, Kate couldn’t resist running to him to be in his arms.
She nearly tripped over the gravel that made up the drive in her haste to get to him, and when she did, she nearly knocked him over, making him laugh, albeit wearily.
They held each other, ignoring the flaming wreckage behind them as it slowly began to put itself out, as she heard footsteps gather round them.
Opal and Aegis, who’d stayed with her during the fight, were right behind her.
“So glad everything turned out okay,” Opal said. “That was worrisome.”
Kate turned in Liam’s arms to face her. “Thanks for helping come for me. I appreciate it.”
“It’s fine,” Aegis said, waving a hand. His expression was cool as always, but despite him trying to hide it, she’d seen how worried he was during the fight that had just happened.
Aegis cared about his dragons, even if he wasn’t that good at showing it.
“So are you a metal dragon, too?” she asked Aegis.
He snorted. “One of those Neanderthals? Of course not.”
“Says the guy who didn’t help in the fight,” Magnus said from her right.
“As if I would let my mate, or Liam’s mate, close to that melee.”
“Thanks,” Liam said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”