Page 92 of Of Flame and Fury
The wolves leap from the dragon when fire streams through the openings of its skin. They tumble into the water and are immediately swarmed by the sharks.
The dragon blasts a funnel of orange fire in Celia’s direction. Celia breaks free from theweresprotecting her and takes off down the beach, permitting theweresto scramble to safety and leading the dragon away.
In her pregnant state, Celia isn’t as fast. She hugs her belly, her bare feet beating against the sand as she fights to keep her baby safe.
“No,” I rasp.
My fire builds, brewing into a firestorm but failing to unleash.
Aric hangs tight to the dragon’s head, punching it through the eye and blinding it. Like a man possessed with rage, Aric digs his hands through the socket and yanks out lumps of brain.
Aric’s attack is savage yet has no effect on the dragon. The monster keeps going, barraging Celia with an undulating stream of flame.
I scream. “No!”
Aric howls, leaping off the dragon to take the blow for Celia.
He’s too late.
Ileana takes it instead.
Naked, her magnificent body brilliant in the light, Ileana stretches her limbs, shrieking in agony as the fire incinerates her flesh. The power of this ancient vampire spills out from her breaking body, amplifying and expanding into a protective sphere.
Aric tackles Celia and races her away.
Ileana remains standing, through the upheaval of battle, the collective shock around us, and the dispersed groups continuing to fight, she does not fall until the last of the sea dragon’s flames lick her bones dry.
I writhe, willing my magic to discharge. The first waves of heat gather along my skin, only to be snuffed when the moth slaps me across the face.
“The little tiger still thinks she can fight,” the moth slurs. “Poor little thing. Doesn’t she know her cub is just as dead as she?”
The Nyte leans in, licking the blood streaming from a cut above my eye. It expects a free feed, not the headbutt to the face I nail it with. The moth arches up, swiping its nose, its antennae twitching as it analyzes the dark fluid closely.
I clench my jaw, working to restart my fire as the discord on the beach reaches its tipping point.
Uri jumps into the fray. He lifts a large boulder and hurtles it at the dragon, giving Celia and Aric time to escape. The boulder partially crushes the dragon’s face, yet it barely makes an impact. The dragon shakes what remains of its head, angling its gargantuan body and stalking after Celia.
Uri rushes to Ileana’s remains, lengthening his nails and slitting his throat. Like a fountain, blood pours from Uri’s neck, saturating Ileana’s skeleton.
Aric bolts down the beach, carrying Celia. Everywereand vampire in the vicinity is tearing into the dragon, trying to take it and the circling sharks apart.
Everything I see becomes too much to bear, and my body reacts, striking the concrete like a jackhammer, the blazes surging within me set to erupt.
The moth strokes my head, satisfied that Celia no longer stands a chance. “Let me eat you,” it tells me. “Let me enjoy another taste before you die.”
I grin, even though that much hurts. “How about we send the moth to the flame instead?”
My fire washes over the moth and me, singeing its wings and limbs like paper before cooking its long outlandish form. I push its burning remains off me, grimacing as the moth continues to analyze its dying form.
Gemini’s twin hobbles to me, his ribs cracked. He licks my face, encouraging me to my feet when I stumble.
“Taran,” Gemini falls next to me. “What happened?”
“A moth tried to eat me,” I say.
He stretches his arms to lift me. “No. You have to help Celia and Aric. We’re losing, Gemini. They need you.”
“Go,” I insist when he appears torn. “My fire will protect me from anything that comes.”