Page 77 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

“There!” Milo gasps.

I look down, and in the distance, in the gap that Milo’s made for us to see through, I can see two dragons on the horizon, but just by instinct, I know my Alpha when I see him.

“We need to hurry!” Orion growls.

We all speed up, still bumping into each other since we’re so close to one another. The Eclipse dragons have spread out, but luckily, they’ve split up into groups of three.

“Rufus,” Orion says, and I straighten in attention, “you take the closest ones to the left. Kaius, the right. The others look like they’re coming from above—Milo, back me up as those take them.”

We all nod. The Eclipse dragons are getting closer… Cyrus and Evander keep flying forward, none the wiser. We watch the Eclipse dragons getting closer…

Then, they swoop in. They dive down, swarming like bees as they dive in. Cyrus and Evander look up, barely with enough time to see them.

“NOW!”

We crash out of our cloud, roaring our battle cries. The Eclipse dragons pause. Their heads snap up toward us as webear down on them, claws unsheathed at the ready. I see the others scatter around me as I focus on the ones to the left. Three of them—the first thing I do is sweep around them, lining them up so only one of them has direct access to me. That one charges toward me, teeth first.

As it flies toward me, I watch the teeth close in on my face. At the last moment, I duck my head under the jaws, ramming my head into their throat. The dragon chokes. I shove as hard as I can, and the dragon tumbles backward, collapsing into the other two. As I fly around, I grab one of the Eclipse dragon’s wings in my mouth and crunch it between my teeth, breaking it. They shriek—but most importantly, they fall from the sky, flapping their one wing to no avail.

Pain scatters over the back of my neck. I hear myself cry out and roll over in the air. The other dragon loses their grip on my scales and falls away from me. When I get my bearings, I can see both of them starting to surround me, the hissing sounds of the clashes happening around me. I keep both of them in my line of sight at the same time. They both surge toward me. I jerk backward, and one of them misses me. The other’s claw rakes through the air toward my face. I throw my arm up and block the other one. I then thrust a kick out into its stomach, and the dragon floats away from the force. The one that missed looks around to me, and I headbutt the enemy as hard as I can. The other dragon hisses and lurches away from me in flight. I take the risk to look around. Orion and Milo are holding their own. Kaius seems to be out-speeding them, looping around them in an ariel battle. Cyrus and Evander have joined in the fight, but they only have a couple to face themselves.

Then, Kaius roars in pain. Evander notices and throws his own opponent off to fly over and support him. But more gather around Cyrus. Others soar toward him.

No! Evander! They’re aiming for Cyrus! Don’t leave him!

Cyrus roars. He’s fighting four at once. He grabs two of them and smashes them into one another—but then another begins to strike a clawed hand down toward Cyrus’s neck.

No!

I beat my wings and plummet toward Cyrus like a rocket launched. I aim for the strike.

I need to block it!

I hit the other dragon. Try to grab the dragon’s arm. But the strike has too much momentum. The arm crashes through my resistance. Gouges into my wing. I scream as my wing begins sizzling in pain. I flap my wings, but the wind rushes through my right wing. I’m losing air.

No! NO!

The dragon ahead of me smirks and raises their hand again. Cyrus snaps forward and bites the dragon around the jaw—stopping the attack before it comes.

But I’m losing air. I’m starting to plummet down.

“Rufus!”Cyrus snaps, but there’s nothing he can do—there are too many of them around him.

I flap as hard as I can, but I’m falling. All I can do is brace myself as I begin crashing toward the ground.

The earth strikes me hard. Hard enough for my head to snap back on my neck and for stars to flutter behind my eyes. A dull ache shudders through my shoulders.

No! Don’t pass out! Don’t!

Something hits me hard on the back. My head reels again. Pain strikes down on the back of my head. I scream, but my body feels like lead; I can’t move it.

No! NO! MOVE!

I PROMISED SARAH I WAS COMING BACK!

Suddenly, a second wind, a renewed flood of strength, crashes through me. I push off the ground, forcing the other dragon off my back. I spin around. The dragon has stumbled, taken by surprise, and I snarl. No. He’s not going to be the reason I don’t make it back home!

I leap forward, grab him by the throat, and twist my head. Thesnapthat rings out rattles through my teeth, and he’s limp in a moment. Once he’s gone, I listen, and I realize there’s a disturbing lack of sound in the air.

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