Page 39 of Dragon My Crazy

Elana

Theattackcameinthe early hours of the morning.

The castle shuddered around us as we ran, the stone walls trembling with each explosion. My lungs burned, my legs ached, but I didn’t dare slow down. Flame and Blaze were on either side of me, their forms shimmering with barely contained heat. The air around them wavered like a mirage, and I could feel the power radiating from their bodies even from several feet away.

Emmett met us at the top of the stairs, looking disheveled.

“What’s happening?”

“Goblins are attacking the castle. Dizzi’s old tribe. I don’t know how they got so close without us noticing. Some of my wards are down.”

My eyes went wide. Emmett didn’t say the rest, but he didn’t have to. Leroy wasn’t around and couldn’t reinforce them. The goblins had chosen the right time to attack.

“Get her to the saferoom in the basement,” Emmett barked, urging me toward the stairs.

“Saferoom?” Flame’s golden eyes narrowed. “Where’s that?”

Before Emmett could answer, a dark figure materialized beside us: Cassian. The demon was tall and lean, with a dark red complexion and eyes that glowed like embers. His horns curled back from his temples.

“I’ll show you the way,” Cassian said, his voice smooth as silk but carrying an edge of steel.

Emmett nodded, his jaw set. “Protect her, Cassian.”

“Where’s Melly?” The question burst out of me before I could stop it. The thought of that little girl alone in this chaos made my stomach twist.

Emmett’s expression softened for just a moment. “She’s already down there. You get to safety. Now.”

I wanted to argue, to demand he let me help, but another explosion rocked the castle, sending dust raining from the ceiling. Emmett was already turning away, his form shimmering as he began to shift.

“Come on,” Cassian said, his hand closing around my arm. “We don’t have much time.”

I let him pull me away, my last glimpse of Emmett being swallowed by the smoke and chaos of the hallway. The castle groaned around us as we ran, the sound of battle echoing through the stone corridors.

Cassian moved with inhuman grace, his hand never leaving my arm as he guided me through the twisting passages. Flame and Blaze flanked us, their presence a comforting heat against the growing cold of fear.

Blaze’s hands flared crimson as he wove a shimmering barrier of living flame around us, the heat so intense it made the summer air ripple like water while we sprinted across the sunbaked courtyard stones.

“Through here!” Cassian barked, shoving open a heavy stone door that blended seamlessly with the wall.

Nak the goblin butler streaked past us, his usually perfect jacket torn and smudged with dirt. He carried what looked like a modified crossbow, his yellow eyes wild with battle fury. “They’re breaching the east wing!” he shouted before vanishing around a corner.

He was followed by a satyr and a centaur I hadn’t met. I couldn’t help but gawk at the centaur, never having seen one so up close and in the flesh.

We were nearly through the hidden doorway when the very air around us convulsed. The ground bucked violently beneath us, sending me crashing to my knees. Flame caught my arm before I could hit the floor. The castle groaned around us, stone grinding against stone as the tremors intensified.

When the shaking finally subsided, I stumbled forward, only to freeze in horror. A jagged swirling portal had torn open right in the corridor, its edges crackling with energy. Then ghouls were stepping out from the portal.

These ghouls were the freshest I’d ever seen. With no visible decay marring their forms, they looked almost human at first glance. But then I saw thewrongnessin their movements, the unnatural angles of their limbs. And the stench!Hurrk!The stench hit me like a freight train; the smell of rotting meat and maggots so thick I could taste it.

They turned as one, their milky eyes fixing on me. One lunged, its fingers outstretched, and I realized with sickening clarity that it was reaching for me.

The demons and djinn closed ranks around me protectively. The ghouls shrieked as flames engulfed them, their bodies curling into blackened husks before collapsing to ash. But the stench of burning flesh lingered, making me gag.

A small figure stepped through the smoke, his hunched and gnarled silhouette unmistakable. A goblin! This one was not likeNak at all. His beady eyes were full of malice as he raised a wand, pointing it at Cassian.

There was a bright flash, and Cassian stiffened mid-snarl, his muscles locking in place like stone.

“Flame! Blaze! Watch out!” But my warning came too late.