He growled. “I’m going to check on my mate.”
Fraser winked at Fergus and turned back toward the control panel.
Chapter Sixteen
Faye MacKenzie stretched her wings one last time and deemed her muscles were warm enough to use without injury. Or, at least, without further injury.
Her dragon growled. We will be fine. Let’s take down the bastards and help our clan.
We will. But if we’re not careful, we’ll undo all the months of hard work and physical therapy.
You worry too much. Our muscles are warm. Let’s go.
Looking over the bright blue hide of her shoulder, Faye touched the tips of her wings together. The other dragons behind her followed suit, confirming the command to fly.
She made sure to clutch the plastic canisters in her front claws firmly but not hard enough to break the seal. If any of the special powder touched her skin, it would be game over. Worse than that, she’d let Grant down. After his belief in her and support, she would rather die than fail.
Her dragon growled. Then don’t fail. It’s simple.
Crouching down, Faye leaped into the air. The first few beats of her wings were the hardest since the bones in her right wing ached with a pulsing pain. But once she was high enough to take advantage of the wind currents, the pain and the knots where her wings met her shoulders eased.
It was time to protect the clan and take down the intruders.
Her beast grunted. Yes, so hurry up.
She ignored her dragon and took in the scene. Faye and her wing of dragons had taken off from a hidden area at the back of the clan’s lands. All of the attacks seemed to be focused on the front gate and the main living areas, which was where Lochguard’s Protectors were trying to defend the clan.
At the edges of her vision, a few other dragon intruders let loose their bombs on other big structures dotted around the clan. The great hall was already partially destroyed and still under attack.
Remembering all of the events and celebrations held in the great hall over the years, Faye narrowed her eyes and headed for the dragon attackers near the hall.
She barely noticed the tightness in her back muscles as she flapped her wings faster. Timing and surprise was the only way the secret maneuver would work.
Right before her wing of dragons would collide with a group of enemies, Faye and her team spread out to form a line. As they hovered in place, the enemies screeched and half of them turned to charge Faye and her compatriots. Yet Faye didn’t blink; they all held their line. It came down to timing.
When she could see the black slitted pupils of the dragon coming at her, Faye tossed one of her canisters at him. From the corner of her eye, she saw the others in her team doing the same.
The plastic cracked against the red dragon’s hide and the powder inside dispersed over the enemy dragon’s scales. The intruder looked unimpressed and reached out his forearm to attack when he flashed into his human form for a second, then his dragon, and human again as he sped toward the ground.
All of the dragons hit with the canisters had the same reaction; the brief flashes of returning to a dragon allowed each target to slow down their descent with their wings. They might be injured when they crashed, but they should survive it.
The modified periwinkle and mandrake root concoction was working.
Not that Faye had doubted it. After all, she had been part of the test group with Grant and a few others. She knew firsthand that being forced to flash between forms bloody hurt. It was as if one’s bones and skin were stretched and then crumpled together, the cycle repeating itself for ten or fifteen minutes.
Her beast growled. Stop dawdling. It’s time to finish the others.
Snapped back to her task, Faye dove down to another group of enemies releasing bombs on the hall. She released her other canister before pulling up at the last moment. The capsule broke and soon, the same flashing between forms happened.
Faye waited to see how the other intruders would react before making the decision to retreat and reload.
The intruders farther away finally noticed what was happening. The leaders gave the signal to retreat and they turned around. As they fled, Grant and his wing of Protectors pursued them.
She had always loved watching a group of dragons beating their wings with purpose as they dove and rose in their practiced maneuvers. When she’d been head Protector, drills had been top priority. Of course, the role had been taken from her when she’d been injured and unable to lead. Grant McFarland had taken her place.
Even a few months ago, Faye would’ve burned with jealousy that Grant was performing her role and protecting the clan. But as she watched his retreating green dragon's form, she admired his strength as he nipped one of the intruders and sent the enemy crashing into a tree. He was no longer the young male who’d done everything in his power to put her down or undermine her.
Grant’s belief in her after her injury had changed things between them.