Page 56 of Magic Claimed
He would never, no matter what happened…
Someone screamed from up ahead, a cry of horror and devastation that pierced my heart and left me reeling.
“Callum, no!”
I threw myself to the side, covering Logan with my own body as a jet of brilliant fire shot from the mouth of the colossal black dragon. It roared over our heads and splashed off the railroad bridge, setting trees and weeds ablaze.
Behind us, Ethan still hadn’t moved, as if he simply didn’tregister the danger. He watched the dragon circle, arms hanging loosely by his sides, just as they had that day when he called up the tornado and nearly killed me with its deadly winds.
I had to hope that his magic was still drained enough for him to contain it. If he lost control again here, there was no telling how many would die.
My gaze shifted back to Kira, but she was already gone. She’d acted swiftly in response to the threat, shifting to her dragon and taking to the sky, leaving a pile of shredded clothing behind. Hoping that she could stop her brother before he did anything he would regret.
This must be what I’d felt—that overwhelming storm of emotions had been the poison overriding his mind and will. Driving him to shift and attack.
But how could this have happened with Ryker and Angelica watching over him? They would never have let him leave the building. And if he’d just shifted without warning…
I glanced down the street as the dragon circled overhead, banking sharply to dive back towards Sheridan.
No, The Assemblage was still intact. The top of the building was visible from where I was standing, without even a broken window in evidence. There was no way Callum had gone full dragon while still inside.
Something wasn’t right here.
“Logan.”
He wobbled to his feet and came to stand beside me.
“Can you earth-travel?” The most powerful earth elementals could open up the ground and move throughit—like a fish swimming through open water. I knew Logan had been learning, but I wasn’t sure how far he’d progressed.
“I can’t,” he said, looking angry and ashamed. “Not yet.”
“Hey.”
He glanced at me, eyes wide.
“Don’t be down on yourself. It’s okay you haven’t got it down yet. But I bet you can make a barrier if you need to. Use the earth to block the flames. If the dragon comes back, you can use that to protect yourself and Ethan.”
“I can protect myself.” Ethan’s voice was surprisingly clear and a little sharp. “And I can deal with the dragon, too. As long as you aren’t too afraid of what might happen.”
“No!” I was probably a little too loud. “No more tornadoes, okay? We can’t risk it here.” And his other elemental powers weren’t likely to be much help against an airborne dragon.
Not to mention, I needed this dragon to live.
“We have to try to talk to him.”
“Look out!” Logan screamed, just as the dragon swooped overhead, drew up, hovered, and shot a jet of fire at the street.
It impacted with a whoosh and a roar, and I covered my face with my arms as the asphalt buckled beneath the onslaught of heat.
We needed cover, but this bridge was going to turn into a death trap if we couldn’t draw the dragon away.
And in order to do that…
I glanced up just as a shimmering bronze missile dove out of the sky and hit the black dragon broadside, drawing a hiss of pain.
His head whipped around, searching for his assailant, and I screamed Kira’s name…
But she’d already darted away, with an agility the larger dragon could not match.
