Page 85 of Dragon Awakened

"She was weak and useless, her dragon is broken--"

"You're weak." I barely recognize my voice now. "Cowing to evil. Standing behind something you know is wrong."

"We're about to become stronger than you could ever imagine." Fury's dragon is rising within him, his eyes flashing to slits and fangs dropping into his mouth. "This is your last chance."

I step back again, holding out my hand. Ember reaches for me, sliding her fingers between mine, and the love and support and comfort of my mate's touch sears into me. "I've made my choice."

The choice I should have made so long ago.

"So be it."

In a glittering rain of scales and wind, Fury's form twists and morphs as his dragon erupts from his skin. His sharp talons gleam, and dark shadows surround him as the other dragons--hovering above us while we spoke--descend once more.

One icy-colored Air Dragon shoots past them all. A burst of white flame jets from the dragon's mouth, and almost too late, I recognize her.

Jasmine--Fury's girlfriend, Ember's worst tormenter...

And she's careening directly, maniacally, viciously toward Ember.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

EMBER

“Oh, no you don't," I murmur.

And my magic is still weird and unpredictable. The harsh glimmer of the Shadow Dragon in my blood still makes me uneasy.

But none of that matters.

Fucking Jasmine, the girl who tortured me for years in Wynrath Crest is hurtling toward me, screaming through the sky like a twisted, evil, dragon-shaped Valkyrie.

All the times I turned the other cheek and endured come back to me in a rush. I fling my hands up and to the side, and the bracer on my wrist burns with violet fire.

The gleaming protection bubble that bursts from my fingertips is made of iron and pain. Every time she hurt me, ripped my clothes, raked her talons across my skin--every time she drew blood, and every time she pierced my heart--every time she told me I was worthless...

They all fuel the spell. I don't know what I'm doing, don't know how to control the well of magic rushing through my veins.

All I know is that I'm not weak and defenseless anymore.

The bubble explodes outward, and Jasmine's dragon slams into it with a force that vibrates in my bones.

But it vibrates in hers, too. She's thrown backward, her wing crumpling beneath her. Howling in pain, blood gushing from her snout, she plummets to the ground. Triumph surges through me like golden light.

But I don't have time to gloat.

Fury roars with a primal, deep-seated rage, and just like that, the dozens of circling dragons descend.

Instantly, my mates take to their dragon forms. Storm surges into the sky, brilliant silver wings flapping against the unnatural darkness as he chases Fury. He breathes a jet of ice and flame at his brother, and Fury swoops in at him, claws and fangs first.

My heart cracks just a little, but I don't have time to mourn the severed bond between the two brothers.

Jasmine may still be twitching on the ground, but a half dozen more dragons drop into a steep dive, aiming straight at me.

Rafe's dragon knocks most of them out of the sky with an explosive fireball that rockets through the air. Jianyu sweeps up behind him, hurling jagged spikes of stone at the attackers.

Malik hovers protectively above me as more of our friends take wing. Freya's brilliant white dragon and Jett's black one soar into the air, dancing together, back-to-back as they face down another battalion. Dark Shadow Dragons spew purple clouds of gas and streams of acid spittle, while Air Dragons hurl gusts of biting wind. All around us, miniature vortexes form in the air, spiraling into twisters. As one slams its way across the town square, Freya lets out a deafening screech, rage fueling a surge of her own, icy magic against those who would attempt to destroy her town.

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