Without warning, a dragon burst out of the large crack in the earth. He was red from the tip of his tail to his jaws, every scale gleaming as if it was glowing from within. And there were strange shadows moving all over his body, tendrils of darkness that mingled with the flames.
Timothy felt a surge of the same strange energy he’d felt when the earth had cracked open.
The master of the fire. It has to be. I’ve never felt that sort of energy from a fire dragon before.
The dragon was close to Jared. Too close.
With horror, Timothy watched how the fire dragon’s jaws opened. A moment later, a huge jet of flame exploded out of his mouth—and despite Jared’s frantically beating wings, he was too close to escape the fire.
Without thinking, Timothy opened his own jaws, concentrating on the energy that was thrumming within his chest. A lance of water shot forward. It hit the fire, turning it into harmless steam just before it could engulf the griffin.
Jared and Braeden were safe—at least for now.
But on the other hand, now Timothy had attracted the attention of the fire dragon.
And Liana was still on his back...
He spread his wings, then began beating them with powerful strokes. Instead of rushing towards the ground, he now began to rise again. But was it enough?
He could hear the angry roar of the fire dragon below him. Then there was a moment of silence.
And a second later, an impossibly hot gust of air hit his wings. It was the only warning Timothy received—and it came just in time for him to summon the energy of his element.
The song of water filled his heart, at the same moment as he willed a bubble of water around them into existence.
He was still rising rapidly into the sky, trying to carry Liana to safety.
And then a huge ball of fire hit his water shield.
Water sizzled and turned to steam. Timothy roared in challenge as he felt fire and water fight for dominance. His shield was strong... and the fire was surprisingly weak.
Was this truly the master of the element of fire? Maybe they’d been mistaken...
A moment later, something pierced his shield of water and singed the tip of his wing. At the same moment, another attack pierced his chest.
Impossible, he thought in terror even as he began to sink like a stone, the agony so strong that he couldn’t keep in the air.
He tasted fire on his tongue, felt the acrid scent of it fill his nostrils.
Flames... No. Not flames. Smoke and shadows. Darkness...
“Timothy!”
It was Liana’s terrified cry that brought him back to his senses.
His body hurt. It hurt to move his right wing. And every time he breathed, his chest ached fiercely.
Still, he couldn’t give up now. He had to protect his mate.
Liana didn’t have wings... And right now, they were surrounded by enemy dragons.
With a groan, Timothy forced himself to rise up higher into the sky. The fire dragon was still somewhere below him. From the corner of his eye, he could see that their enemy had turned around again, going after the griffin shifter once more.
Timothy bared his teeth. He’d never abandoned a friend in need before—but how could he endanger Liana?
And then, from out of nowhere, a storm seemed to rise up.
Clouds appeared, and with them came a distinct smell of ozone.