But then, right as he was plummeting towards the ground, Jared shifted. Spreading his large eagle’s wings, his free fall turned into an elegant glide.
Nervously, Liana turned her head again. She could feel Timothy’s own fear through the bond. He was afraid, despite all of his strength and power—afraid for her.
Warmth rushed through her again. She pressed her hand against his neck.
I trust you. No one will harm me with you here. Don’t worry.
The fire dragons were close enough now that she could make out their exact number and see the dark glint of their cruel claws.
Claws just like that had grabbed her in the alley. Claws like that had pulled her far up into the sky...
She took a deep breath. It was no use thinking of that. Any second now, Jared would return with Braeden in his own claws, and they could finally run.
At that exact moment, an ominous rumble erupted far below her.
It was a sound she’d never heard before—deep and drawn out, stone grinding against stone. As if the earth itself was crying out in agony.
And then, just as Jared swooped down towards Braeden, sudden flames burst from the earth, blocking her view.
Chapter Sixteen: Timothy
Timothy realized what was wrong at the same moment that Liana cried out.
An explosion of a terrible power had taken place below him.
A power that was like nothing he’d ever felt. It was an outburst of fire—but fire that seemed to sizzle with a terrible power.
The element of fire.
No one had controlled the fire element for hundreds of years. But it seemed that all of their fears had been right.
The fire dragons were led by a new elemental dragon. And whoever it was had at last decided to join the fight.
Instinct made Timothy beat his wings to race straight towards the suddenly appeared cloud of fire and smoke, which had almost swallowed Jared.
The griff
in shifter was frantically beating his wings. He’d just barely escaped the billowing flames—and there was something struggling in his claws.
It was the body of a man. He’d grabbed Braeden just in time.
Relief filled Timothy.
No matter whether Braeden had tried to betray them or had just chosen the worst possible moment to try and go for a walk, they could talk about that later.
First, they’d have to get out of here. Together.
Timothy gathered all of his power, still racing straight towards the hissing flames that had shot up from a large crack in the earth. Meanwhile, Jared was beating his wings rapidly, trying to outfly the flames.
As soon as he was close enough, Timothy opened his jaws. He breathed a torrent of water right into the heart of the fiercely burning flames, while Jared soared towards safety.
A cloud of steam rose up, the fire beneath them hissing and dying away.
For a moment, Timothy hovered in the air.
Was that all? He’d felt a terrible energy he’d never felt before... But where was it now?
Was their enemy hiding? Had he given up?