Page 71 of Dragon Rivals of New York

Jethro leads us to a back door, wooden and rusted. He opens it slowly and peeks in first, then motions to Kyro that the coast is clear. The siren still screams, dragons roaring and scouring the sky and cliffs.

Kyro ducks inside first, then me, then Jethro. We’re in a long hallway, lined with doors, rooms that seem like cells. It’s cold, even in my wetsuit. Wind whips through the door behind us before Jethro closes it, slashing against my soaked hair and pushing me forward.

We’ll never be able to fight off the Ruby Diamond Horde, so we’re just hoping most of them are distracted enough that we can sneak up to the pool undetected. Kyro will step in first—to check for poison—if everything’s clear, we’ll all enter.

Hoping no one sees or catches us for that long is a fools dream, and we all know it. But what else can we do?

There won’t be any vows or ceremony, but they both assured me it shouldn’t matter, as long as we enter the pools together. And naked.

They both felt confident the goddess wouldn’t fault them for skipping the vows, but apparently it’s sacrilege for anything other than flesh and blood to enter the pools.

While Kyro keeps guard, Jethro helps me out of the wetsuit. I hate being naked and exposed under such vulnerablecircumstances. Going without clothes while we head into what could easily turn into a fight feels particularly unnerving.

The cold seeps right through to my bones. Goosebumps pebble my skin as the hair on the back of my neck lifts. This is it. I keep my headphones on for now, and we all keep the wax in our ears, but we’ll have to remove it all before we get in the pool. We’re hoping once the siren stops, there will be a small window before the dragons give up on their search outside and return to the temple.

Kyro leads the way, creeping forward cautiously, but not slowly. The fireworks won’t distract them for much longer. Light pours through an open archway at the end of the hall and a shadow flicks past. Kyro freezes.

I hold my breath, waiting until he moves forward. We’re only a few feet from the archway now, pressed against the wall. I can see two people in human form and one dragon. The people are shouting at each other, but with my ears covered, I can’t make out what they’re saying.

That’s when I notice I don’t hear the siren anymore. Kyro pulls the wax out of one of his ears, listening. I’m too curious not to do the same.

“Tell her to keep yelling!” The taller man screams.

“They aren’t here,” the other retorts. “No one’s attacking and it’s giving our men headaches.”

“They’re here! They set off those fireworks.” Just then, a booming bang signals another round of fireworks going off. “Search the cliffs again. They’re only waiting to attack in order to throw us off. Don’t drop your guard!”

The shorter man shifts back into a dragon.

“And tell the siren to keep yelling!” The first man shouts as his dragon counterpart flies out of the massive temple sanctuary.

Kyro curses. We have seconds before the siren will scream again.

It all happens so fast, I can barely keep up. Kyro yanks out his wax, shifts into a dragon, and charges into the room, breathing fire. At the same time, Jethro yanks off my headphones, grabs my hand and pulls me after Kyro.

As we run, I take the wax out of my ears, barely aware of the space as we charge ahead. Something shifts to my left. Kyro roars at two dragons on my right, never slowing his pace. My heart is racing as fast as my feet, my gaze locked on the gold pool ahead.

What will we do if it’s poisoned? We’ll be trapped here with dragons who want to kills us, backed into a corner, ruined.

Please, God, goddess, anyone, let this work.

A dragon lands on Kyro’s back and he roars. Jethro doesn’tslow. He pulls me right past the fight.

“Wait!” I yell. What happens if we enter the pool without Kyro? Will I only be mated to Jethro? I wantbothmy men.

I tug on Jethro’s hand, but he holds fast, until a force charges into him from the side, knocking him to the ground. He’s shifting before I blink, taking on the other dragon with a roar.

In a clash of claws, both my men fight. Kyro faces off with two dragons behind me. Jethro, battling the third. None of the other Ruby Diamond Horde dragons are in the temple, but I can hear them outside, and through the massive sandstone arches, I can see four of them diving towards us. My skin feels clammy, and I can’t think straight. What am I supposed to do? I can’t fight them. I’m human. Even trying to help my mates would be pointless. Those dragons would rip me to shreds in seconds.

My gaze lands back on the swirls of liquid gold ahead of me. My destiny. My future.

If I can just make it to the pool and transform, all of this will be over. The Ruby Diamond Horde will fail in their goal to stop us. They’ll have no reason to stay. No one will get hurt, and I’ll be able to spend the rest of my life with Jethro and Kyro.

Assuming it works even if I’m on my own. Assuming it’s not poisoned like the silver pool.

But what else can I do?

Kyro growls, teeth gnashing into dragon hide. Jethro’s head snaps back as the dragon he’s fighting nearly claws his face.

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