Page 146 of Centaur Bolt

Well, that was a problem. “I don’t take prisoners.”

“You will, or you don’t come with us.” His eyes blazed turquoise fire at me.

Damned controlling Legion Dragon.

“You don’t get it.” For just an instant, the Deranger in me rose. And glared through my eyes.

I saw Tyrez blink, and his eyes narrowed.

“I have no control once it is unleashed.” My voice deepened and hoarsened with the prevalence of my monster. “And it takes no prisoners.”

Cody, the tall Sabre, moved up alongside him. “From what Sebastian said, we’re outnumbered,” he stated calmly. “We might need what he’s offering.”

My mind sifted all the names I’d recently absorbed. Sebastian was one of the Bellatis that had been in the Watcher’s suite. He’d also gone with the recon team they’d sent into the town to assess the situation.

That team was still in place, but had used a Phoenix to send back a message. That’s how we knew that Isobel’s army, or at least part of it, was still at the stronghold. But they were in the process of pulling out.

So we were moving in. But these do-gooders were going to be a major pain in my red-scaled ass. I’d be lucky to keep the Deranger from shredding them, too.

Another Dragon moved up. This one was almost as big as Tyrez, but covered in dark-purple scales. “You can take us to this Rafael?”

“No,” I said, and he frowned. “I don’t know where exactly they are keeping him. But I do know where the dungeons are.” I grinned, revealing teeth growing sharp. “And I am hell in a fight.”

The purple-scaled Dragon looked to Tyrez. “He’s a wild card, brother.”

Brother? Now that I peered closer, they did look like brothers. Great. More sharding Legion Dragons. Explained the overall size and gleam of health amid the Dragon warriors that had joined us.

“But we might need him,” Cody countered.

Tyrez assessed me. Much as I hate to admit it, there was intelligence in that measuring gaze. He nodded.

“We use the tools Fate has granted us,” he declared. “Ash says to take him.”

Whoever this Ash person was, it seemed to settle the argument. Just as a female walked straight up to Tyrez.

Slim, with long dark hair featuring a startling white forelock. She was clad in the shiny black scales of a Dragona, and the way she moved into Tyrez’s space showed much.

Her dark gaze assessed me before she asked, “Are we good to go?”

“Yes.” Tyrez turned to the gate where the Watchers waited.

I turned toward it, too, doing my best to ignore the small figure seated on the bench near the lake. It felt odd not to be worrying about Fang before I went into battle.

Something within me didn’t mind that she was with the Dreambitch. What that implied fucking alarmed me.

So I kept my back firmly to her as the army moved through the gate.

* * *

I’d never seen the Isobitch’s stronghold from the outside.

We stood on the cliff overlooking it. The mansion shone white in the moonlight, and I saw forms busily running about in the courtyard.

The mercs were still there, or at least some were. Those that had been standing guard up here now lay in bloody heaps on the ground.

The man responsible for taking them out stood a small distance from us. Another Dragon, but not Legion this time. His eyes glowed indigo in the darkness. The way he’d dispatched them and how he held himself—Black Guild if I had my guess. Sneaky, scary bastard. And vaguely familiar.

He was part of the recon team they’d sent in, and his teammates remained close to him. A beautiful woman who held herself like a queen, another Dragon who smelled like he shared a heritage with a Dire, and the arrogant Bellati, Sebastian. The touchy-feely way they moved around each other showed a closer association than a simple team.

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