Page 113 of Ancient Magic

Zanna shrugged. “We are the superior species.”

“You’re certainly the most arrogant of the species,” Skye muttered.

“For good reason.” A sneer twisted the female’s exquisite features. “As you’ll soon discover.”

She was going to discover, Skye acknowledged, terror pulsing through her. There was no doubt that the hellscape she’d glimpsed in her vision was about to happen.

Unless she found some way to stop it.

But how?

“Do the others know?” she abruptly demanded.

Zanna stiffened, as if Skye’s desperate stab in the dark had hit a nerve. “Others?”

“The dragons,” Skye clarified, even though there was no need. The unease smoldering in Zanna’s dark eyes revealed she knew exactly what Skye was asking.

“I’m their queen.” Zanna tilted her chin, her expression defiant. “I made the decision that’s best for my people.”

“To live in a world that has nothing to offer but a barren emptiness?” Skye shook her head. “Who would want that?”

“Dragons adore fire. It’s our natural habitat.”

Skye frowned. There wasn’t a great deal of information about dragons available to mages. They’d been gone a long time, and even when they roamed the world, they were secretive. But she did know that they were the dominant species for thousands of years.

“If that’s true, then why didn’t you torch the earth when you were awake? It wasn’t like anyone could stop you.”

Zanna’s lips pinched. “We attempted to share our world. Now it’s obvious that the only way to get rid of our enemies is to destroy them all.”

“Ah.” Skye suddenly understood.

This wasn’t about the dragons being forced into hibernation. Or the desire to be the lone surviving creatures.

This was about Zanna and her ruthless ambition.

“Ah, what?” the dragon snapped.

Skye narrowed her gaze, pretending she could still read the female’s mind. “We’ve already discussed the fact they have some questions about your ability to rule. And now you realize that when they climb out of hibernation there’s a real possibility that they’re going to make some hard decisions about who they want sitting on the throne.” Skye shook her head. “Are you really so determined to cling to your position of power that you would condemn them to hell?”

“It will be too late,” Zanna snapped, confirming Skye’s suspicions. “They will have no choice but to approve my decision—” Belatedly realizing she was revealing more than she intended, Zanna balled her hands into fists and glared toward the trembling fairy. “Place the crystal on the pedestal. Now.”

“No!”

Skye jerked her hand in Lynx’s direction, muttering the words to a hasty spell. She didn’t have a hope in hell of defeating a dragon, not even if she was at full power, but she was reacting on instinct, not logic. If she was thinking clearly, she’d have given up the moment she realized Zanna had lured Lynx to this hidden lair.

Thankfully, the charms on her bracelet reacted to the threat in the air, and without conscious thought, a column of power blasted from her wrist and aimed straight toward the fairy. Of course, it was Peri’s magic, so it didn’t just knock Lynx to the ground. Or freeze him in place.

Instead, it wrapped around his hand like a glove and lifted him off his feet until he was dangling off the ground. Then the magic started to pulse, tightening on Lynx’s fingers until the fairy screamed in pain.

Zanna hissed, her eyes widening as the glow from the crystal clutched in Lynx’s hand started to dim.

“Stop it.”

Skye cut her connection to Lynx’s mind, distracted by the male’s agony. She wasn’t a mage who was cruel or enjoyed causing pain to others, but right now nothing mattered beyond keeping the crystal from the pedestal. Even if it meant sacrificing Lynx. Or even herself.

“I don’t think so,” Skye ground out, taking a step toward Lynx. Proximity didn’t make the magic stronger, but she hadn’t forgotten about Azra.

The vampire must have felt his hold on Lynx being severed. It was possible he would try to physically force the fairy toward the pedestal.

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