Page 73 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

"What the fuck--" Rafe growls.

Jianyu beats his wings harder, surging past us both. "The Citadel."

And there it is. A black stone monstrosity rising out of the waters, all jagged towers and broken, craggy walls. It's an entire city radiating darkness and evil, perched atop an island in the middle of the sea, exactly where the old maps said that it would be.

Only it's crumbling. One tower craters, its very foundation sliding out from under it, sending plumes of shattered rock flying in all directions. Black dragons pour from the broken rock, but I don't care.

Because there--

Falling--

Plummeting--

"Ember," I breathe again.

Hot terror boils in my chests, and my dragon jets through the air. Our lungs burn, our wings aching.

Ember hits the water, and every part of me cries out.

I plunge downward. The water here is ice, swirling with black rubble and the purple glow of dark magic. The bastards stole every bit of warmth from the sea.

My dragon recoils at the stinging bite of the cold as we dive, but we refuse to let it slow us down. Tumbling, black stone is falling all around, sending more ash and dust into the water. I can't see, but I can feel. Ember glows with light, and then she's there.

I curl my talons around her and pull her in against my belly and surge upward.

She's not breathing. She's ice.

Everything inside of me screams.

"Rafe," I bellow. "She needs you."

I can still feel her. There's still time.

"Got her." Rafe swoops in, but the instant I crest the surface, there are a dozen Shadow Dragons on my tail.

The earth shakes, and huge chunks of gray stone launch themselves out of the water. Jianyu falls into formation at my flank, hurling enormous pieces of the ocean floor at every Shadow Dragon around us.

It gives us enough time. Rafe is there, burning hot, and I slip Ember into his dragon's waiting arms. Her limp body shivers, and she coughs.

Rafe hisses.

"We need to warm her up," I gasp.

"No shit," Rafe growls, flying higher.

The Shadow Dragons refocus their attack on him, sending purple bolts of shadow magic raining down on him--and on my mate. Rage roars within me. I beat my wings against the sky and soar through the air, sending plumes of water at the black dragons. My magic tingles, and the jets of water become ropes. I use them to pull dragons down into the sea.

But then a black cloud blindsides me. I cry out as pain burns down my side. Rafe turns his head and breathes a torrent of fire at the Shadow Dragons following us. Despite the pain, I right myself and yank more dragons down into the sea.

A few still pursue. Rafe dodges their attacks with skill, but every burst of dark energy rushing his way makes my heart seize.

"Cover me," Jianyu orders.

I don't have time to ask why. I just do. He circles back toward the Citadel, and I raise the tide. Weak as she is, Ember's presence gives my magic an infusion of power that makes it glow in my veins. The sea rises thirty feet into the air, pulling black dragons from the sky.

Jianyu's scales glint in the setting sun as he crashes his wings together. The remaining towers of the Citadel shudder, seismic waves radiating through the waters. He's shaking the very foundations, digging deep enough to push past the black rock the castle itself was carved from.

A great screech rings out through the air.

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