Page 103 of Centaur Bolt

I looked to the alley’s entrance, and saw a second form, much slimmer than the first, that seemed to show up better in the shadows due to his brighter coloring. His hair, hanging past his waist, shone so pale it was almost silver. And the wings folded behind him reflected gold in the lights.

“I like to give them the option,” the bigger Dragon responded, and with a slight hiss of metal, he pulled a sword free from the scabbard on his back. “Last chance,” he warned the thugs.

The big dude with the rope stared at the golden-haired Dragon shifter, who stood with his arms crossed, leaning on the wall, and clearly not prepared to engage in battle.

“You just going to watch?” he asked the golden Dragon.

One shoulder shrugged. “He doesn’t need me.”

The thug faced up to the larger shadow, his steps almost a sway rather than a normal walking stride. “Five against one,” he growled. “I likes them odds.”

My captor’s fist tightening in my hair was my only warning before he flung me away from him. My head hit the wall so hard I saw stars. Or at least a bunch of sparkly, dancing things. Vali backed toward me as the thugs faced up to the single Dragon.

We could run, but my head swam, and my feet refused to move. Vali also seemed frozen, staring at the form in the shadows.

He just stood there. I could barely see him, but his sword gleamed as it caught the light. It was long and thin, like the katanas I’d seen in the movies.

The thugs spread out, waving their wicked collection of knives and swords. One even had a mace.

I never even saw our hero move. One millisecond he was in the shadows, the next, only inches from the largest thug. It took me a moment to recognize that he’d driven his non-sword-wielding hand into the dude’s stomach.

Not his hand. Histalons.

The breath whooshed out of the thug’s lungs. A second leaped from the darkness of the alley, and the Dragon’s sword arced around to separate the thug’s head from his shoulders.

Vali jumped on the back of one of the others, sinking her talons in and ripping. The thug screamed, flung her off, and swung a long knife at her until she backed away.

I tried to get my feet beneath me, but they wobbled rather uselessly. I could only watch as our tall, blue, and handsome hero pulled his hand back. The talons emerged covered in blood and a few things better left a mystery. The thug’s body crumpled to the ground when he released it.

Only then did I recognize him. Blue, not turquoise. Not Tyrez—this was the blue Dragon I’d seen at the academy.

The remaining three thugs scrambled past Vali and me to vanish up the alley.

“What did they want?” My voice emerged rather breathless.

“Us,” Vali said. “They would have sold us into slavery.”

Her talons dripped red, and our hero gestured to her. “Kidneys on a Grikin are a little higher,” he told her. “I took out his heart, which sits low in their abdomen.”

“That was a Grikin?” she said.

The Dragon reached down and pulled back the thug’s hood. The features revealed were almost apelike, with a short muzzle and fur around his cheeks. “Movement is distinctive,” the Dragon said. “They sway from side to side with every stride.”

She stared at him. “I just thought he was drunk.”

He shrugged. “Took two strides, rolled on the outer edges of his feet as he did so.” He leaned over the headless one. “That one’s a Salanik. Spotted the tail beneath the cloak as he lunged. Beheading is the only way to kill them.”

My breathing had finally resumed. Vali helped me to my feet—my fingers tingled as hers interwove with them, and I tried to ignore the smear of blood they left behind.

As I carefully bent to retrieve my shopping bag, I struggled to remember the Dragon’s name. Started with a T, I thought… My brain hurt. “How the hell do you know those things?”

His indigo eyes glimmered at me. “I studied. The academy will teach you much.”

Vali’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t learn those moves at the academy.”

He avoided her gaze. “No. I didn’t.” He glanced at his friend, and said, “I recommend we keep moving, before anyone else decides we have something they want.” He cleaned his sword off on his cloak.

A familiar figure appeared near the golden Dragon, who still leaned against the wall. “What the hell is going on?” Kiko demanded.

---