Page 62 of Prince of Storms
“Killed them,” Ty whispered, trembling. “Dead.”
“You killed them?” I asked.
He shook his head, his eyes staring past me toward the ceiling and into nothingness beyond. “In their sleep. Dead. They’re dead.”
I stiffened. “You mean Tempest and the others?”
Ty nodded.
The hairs on my neck rose. Whatever was out there had killed three other dragons and nearly done the same to Ty? What the fuck was it?
“Mia, now!” I hollered. Why was she being so stubborn? It was an emergency. Ty was near death. I didn’t give a fuck if she was naked or not. She needed to be in the room with me right then.
Ty gasped in pain, his back arching. I held him until he slumped down into the comforters.
“Who did this, Ty?” I asked. “Who killed them? Was it Rica? Was it my sister?”
“No sister,” he gasped, his head moving slightly from side to side. “No sister.”
I frowned. “Humans? Do the humans know about us? Did they discover some sort of super weapon?”
Even as I guessed it, I knew it was wrong.Ifhumans had discovered our existence and what we wereanddeveloped a weapon to use against us, they wouldn’t have made it a close-combat tool. They would have put it into a gun. Cut us down from a distance, where our strength couldn’t kill them with a wild death blow.
No, whatever had attacked had done so viciously, with intent. That bespoke rage. Rage, and almost a natural use of slashing weapons.
“Not humans,” Ty said, still staring into the distance. “No humans. Not sister.”
“Whatwasit, Ty?” I pushed. “I have to know.”
I leaned over the bed, forcing myself into his field of view. His eyes snapped to mine, and he shuddered.
“Vorgan,” he whispered. “Vorgan!”
I went still. “That’s impossible, Ty,” I said. “Vorgans aren’t on Earth. They’re back home.”
“Vorgan,” he repeated. “Vorgan.”
I wanted to deny him, to tell him he was wrong, that it couldn’t possibly be one of the near-mythical creatures from deep under Storm Keep. The only one seen in generations was the one Rica unleashed on me when I was younger. I’d seen my father kill it.
That wasn’t the only thing I’d seen, memories returning unbidden. It had left a trail of death and destruction through Storm Keep, striking unsuspecting dragons. During my flight from its attack, I’d come across two of those corpses.
Each one had been sliced up dozens of times over until they’d bled out, their systems too overwhelmed to heal that much damage.
Just like Ty.
“Holy shit,” I gasped, turning to the bathroom. “Mia. Out here, right now, it’s an emergency. I don’t care how naked you are!”
There was no response.
Remembering all the fear of my youth and the wild mass of shadows that was a Vorgan, I called even more power to me until my skin emitted light, driving back the shadows around me, providing no space for it the creature to hide. I was no longer the young dragon it had attacked. I was full grown, with all the powers of the noblest bloodline to back me up.
I’d seen my father kill the previous Vorgan. I knew how to do it. I would not hesitate.
“Mia!” I called again, leaving Ty on the bed to rest. There was nothing else I could do for him. Right then, I had to protect Mia. She was what mattered most.
I crossed the room, ready to throw the door open and berate her for being so unwilling to listen. Could she not realize that shit was going down, and we had no time to lose? What was making her so stubborn?
“Will you just come out of—”
