Page 85 of Twilight of Embers
“You’re leaving?” I squeaked.
He jerked his head in a nod. “I have to. If we don’t shift, we’ll be sitting ducks.”
Knox didn’t wait for me to answer. He was out of the SUV and launching himself into the air in a matter of seconds.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my vision wavering as he transformed in front of my eyes. Gone was the man I was falling for, and in his place was a dragon, soaring into the sky. The creature taking flight was beautiful. A mixture of greens and golds. As I stared harder, I realized that its markings were a similar pattern to Knox’s eyes.
“Because it’s Knox,” I mumbled. “Knox is a dragon.”
I was hallucinating. That was the only explanation.
A dark green dragon swooped down, sending a blast of flames in Knox’s direction. I couldn’t help the scream that left my lips. But Knox ducked and rolled, avoiding the hit.
He returned a blast of his own, but his fire was pure gold. The shot hit the other dragon’s wing, and it howled in pain, landing on the road ahead.
My gaze jumped to Cáel as he ran toward the beast. Mid-stride, he, too, transformed. His scales were white but also not. They were covered in a silvery shimmer but also seemed to change colors based on how the light hit him.
The two dragons ahead of us snarled, letting loose a torrent of flames.
My eyes burned as I watched Cáel narrowly avoid the blasts. But he quickly retaliated, catching one of the two attackers in the throat.
The sound that came from the falling dragon was inhuman and made my stomach twist violently.
Shadows danced in the sky, and I jerked my gaze upward. Half a dozen dragons filled the heavens. They seemed to be in battle, but I couldn’t tell who was who, until I spotted another green-and-gold dragon. This one’s markings were eerily similar to Easton’s eyes.
He and Knox tag-teamed three other dragons, taking them out one at a time.
Tires screeched on the road ahead, and I saw Cillian and Maddox jump out of a sedan. The moment they did, more men spilled from the trees.
Panic gripped me. A trap. It was all a trap. To get all of them out here so that they could kill them one by one.
Movement caught my attention outside the SUV, but I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the two enforcers circling. Protecting.
I swallowed hard as shadows emerged from the trees. More men. Too many.
My eyes burned.
This wasn’t happening. I was dreaming. I had to be.
Cillian and Maddox fought with fire and blades, even hand to hand. They each took on four or five men, but I couldn’t see how they’d be able to last.
The wind picked up, and Cáel let loose a vicious roar. Suddenly, snow was falling from the sky as he sent that silvery fire into the trees. Howls of agony reached the vehicle, and I knew he’d gotten several of the men attacking us.
The enforcers battled with their own attackers, trying to keep them away from the vehicle. My heart hammered against my ribs as I began searching the SUV for something, anything, that could help. I couldn’t let them fight alone, not if I could help.
The only thing I found at first was an ice scraper. I didn’t think that would do much of anything in terms of defense, so I threw it into the trunk and kept looking.
Feeling beneath the seat, my fingers closed around what felt like leather. I tugged it free. It was a black bag, similar to the one in the other SUV. Unzipping it, I pawed through the contents. Nothing seemed especially helpful until I came across a sealed bag with a metal instrument inside.
A scalpel.
I quickly peeled back the plastic and pulled it free. At least I knew this could do real harm.
A howl of pain had my head jerking up. Cáel had been hit by a blast of fire right in the shoulder. Maddox started toward him, not seeing a man sneaking up on his right.
I didn’t think. I just launched myself from the vehicle, screaming Maddox’s name as I ran toward him.
I didn’t make it more than five strides before hands grabbed me by the hair, jerking me back against a hard chest.
