Page 104 of Stolen
MyDragondoes.
And my heart—our heart—nearly breaks.
She’s fighting alone.
Forme.
Forus.
She turns to face a new threat, blood on her cheek, teeth bared in defiance.
She is all instinct and light and raw, wild courage, and she has never looked more beautiful.
Never felt more mine.
I drop from the clouds in a streak of silver and rage.
My wings shatter the wind. My roar splits the heavens.
And then she sees me.
Her eyes lift. Find me. Widen.
Through our bond, I feel it—relief.
Hope.
That aching thread of welcome that binds soul to soul.
Take cover,I whisper through the zareth.
She doesn’t argue.
Doesn’t hesitate.
Shetrustsme.
I watch her grab Shade’s arm, ducking behind the inner portico just as Iunleash fire.
The courtyarderupts.
White-hot flame scorches the sky and silvers the stone.
The shrieks of SoulTakers echo, high and shrill, as they burn.
Their shadows disintegrate.
Their clawed limbs flail, trying to crawl away from my fury.
Too late.
My tail lashes through the air, smashing through the enemy ranks like a blade of molten iron.
Stone cracks beneath my claws. I tear through the courtyard like a storm, knocking down wave after wave.
I see faces I once knew—Demons I once broke bread with—now twisted by shadow, consumed by the madness of Idris’s foul promises.
Gods help us.
