Page 174 of Her Tortured Beasts

She roars, fire from her open mouth lighting up the night sky as she circles around, looking for her prey.

Another dragon bursts from the castle, this one I know to be Flores Drakos from the pictures Xander’s shown me. Deep green like an emerald overcast with shadow, the dragon king barrels after his wife, smashing right into her in a full body punch.

But Lady Drakos is not swayed so easily.

Finally free in her true form, they tussle in mid-air as another two dragons join the mix, one a deep red, the other one smaller and green like spearmint chewing gum.

“I bet that’s Francesca.” Aurelia points to the chewing gum one. “And that’s got to be Ragnar.” So the red one is Selena’s bastard husband. We’d been trying to get at him for ages, but he’d been a hard one to catch out with all his security.

“What’s that saying about bringing a knife to a gunfight?” Minnie says, gaping at the sky of overgrown lizards breathing angry fire.

“They still have soft bits, Minnie,” I say defensively, squinting as I try to get a look at Ragnar’s underside. His dick and balls have to be hidden in there somewhere, right? I’d never really tried to find Xander’s in this form.

“Their eyes, yeah,” Minnie says, not understanding me at all. “It’s just their big old fire-breathing mouths that get in the way.”

My regina glances around and I know who she’s looking for. Meanwhile, the three dragons surround the black one and Flores Drakos lands a solid kick to her underside. She roars, stumbling a little in mid-air.

“They’re going to kill her,” Aurelia says through clenched teeth. “What do we do?”

“Who?” I ask.

“That’s Lady Drakos,” answers Scythe.

Suddenly, I’m angry too. “No! We have to help her!”

Something high on the castle walls amongst the rubble lets out an angry, screeching sound. Two more dragons burst into view, spewing fire at one another. I’d recognise Xander anywhere, dark as midnight, big as a monster, and the other one…

“Fabian,” Scythe growls, nodding at the foresty-green dragon.

“Many enemies,” Marduk says. “I’m taking my regina inside.”

Minnie ignores his tug on her elbow and catches Lia’s eye. “Between the three of us, we can take that red one down.”

Lia nods. “Do it, Min. I’ll hide you.”

The little tigress pulls her mates towards the shelter of the castle before they disappear into one of my regina’s shields. I imagine the three tigers with their hands up, making angry faces at Ragnar, who’s snapping his big jaws at Lady Drakos’s neck.

A moment later, Ragnar shudders and falls back, looking around in panic as something he can’t see takes control of his wings.

“Lyle!” my regina says like a military commander. “Take Francesca.”

Lyle steadies himself before raising his hands and aiming at the slender chewing gum dragon who’s flapping around Flores like a fly.

“Xander can take care of himself, but Flores is pretty strong.” My regina looks at me and Scythe. “I’ve made one of them faint before.”

Without another word, she shifts into her phoenix form.“Hold on to me.”

We both hesitate, glancing at the heavy clouds above us. Normally, I’d be right up for this type of thing. I mean, imagine sinking my fangs into a dragon’s soft eyeballs or belly? But I won’t have control in the sky and it’s my regina at risk here.

My chompy sweetie rounds on us, a light in her blue eyes I’ve never seen before. She shifts back into human form to hiss in a low, dangerous voice, “I never did tell you who tore my leg right off my body with no warning, did I? Who lay me down on a hospital bed and put his hands on my bare leg?”

Scythe and I go dead silent.

“It was FloresfuckingDrakos.”

That does it.

Me and my brother descend into our animuses before we realise it. My wolf takes over, my canines growing as I rumble in lethal rage.

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