Timothy had told her all about it while they’d lazily rested in each other’s arms in bed this morning. There was one plinth each for the dragon of air, earth and water. And the mysterious fourth plinth bore the symbol of fire—even though there’d never been a fire dragon on the council before.
No wonder everyone was so worried.
Liana really didn’t like the thought of one of those scary fire breathers reclining on a plinth, staring at her from evil eyes and ready to set her on fire any second.
The only fire dragon she’d ever met who seemed almost like a normal human being was Braeden.
But Braeden had vanished—and in any case, he wasn’t the mysterious new dragon of fire. That could only be the scary fire dragon who’d nearly killed Timothy.
And that knowledge didn’t exactly fill her with reassurance...
As soon as they’d made it into the large cave, they were greeted by the sound of huge wings. A second later, the griffin shifter came flying into the cave. He didn’t even bother to shift back. Instead, he was in such a hurry that he flew straight towards them, only shifting back at the last moment so that he nearly stumbled right into them.
“They’re coming,” Jared gasped. His face was flushed and he looked wrung out, as if he’d been flying at top speed for a long time. “They’re coming—and they’ve got Braeden.”
From the shadows, the chimera growled in sudden anger.
“No fire dragon will have a seat on the council,” he roared. “Not after what they’ve done.”
“Hurry,” Jared panted, grasping hold of Timothy’s shoulder to steady himself. “You’ve got to take your mates somewhere safe.”
“I’ve increased Sky Home’s defenses,” the chimera hissed. “No ordinary fire dragon will break through—”
At the exact same moment, there was a flash of blinding light somewhere near the entrance of the cave.
A strong smell of acrid smoke suddenly filled the air. Beneath them, the rock itself seemed to groan in agony.
For a long, terrifying moment, it seemed as if the earth itself stood still.
Liana stopped breathing as she stared towards the cave’s opening. She could feel something immensely old and powerful throwing itself against whatever shield the chimera had erected to protect Sky Home.
And then, just like that, the rock beneath them trembled. Another flash of light rent the darkness of the cave—like the fabric of space and time itself ripping apart.
There was a shrill sound ringing in her ears, and for a heartbeat, it was impossible to see.
Blackness had oozed into the cave.
Desperately, Liana blinked, her eyes tearing up. It felt like she was breathing in stinging smoke—but when she finally blinked away the tears, there was no smoke to be seen.
Instead, four fire dragons had entered the cave. One of them was the large, shadow-flecked dragon who had wounded Timothy.
And in his claws, he held Braeden, who was still in his human form. The obsidian cuffs around his wrists gleamed, blocking his powers.
“I am no ordinary fire dragon,” the new arrival roared. “I am Steele, Master of Fire, Lord of Dragons, Scourge of Humans. I have come to claim what is mine. The reign of fire has begun, and you will bend your knee or die.”
“Never,” Timothy sh
outed, protectively stepping in front of Liana.
When she looked around, she could see that the other two dragon shifters had done the same. And despite her earlier declaration that she’d ride into Mordor itself on Timothy’s back, her throat was suddenly tight with fear, every instinct telling her to run.
Timothy had been right. She could feel it now. The fire dragon’s power was immense—but it felt tainted somehow.
It wasn’t just clean, hot fire. It was surrounded by a terrifying darkness that tasted like bitter smoke and oppressive shadows. Even now, safe behind Timothy’s back, it seemed to reach out towards her with tendrils of darkness.
Silly human, something whispered in her mind. Run. Run now, or we will devour you. Leave behind your mate or you will die here. Do you think he’ll protect you like he promised? Don’t you know that promises are all smoke and shadows? He’ll betray you. After all, you’re just a silly human girl. What are you to a dragon? He only used you to increase his power. Now that he has the power he wanted, he has no use for you anymore...
For a moment, Liana couldn’t see. The cave had vanished. Instead, she was enveloped by clouds of darkness wavering all around her. The gloom was so oppressive that she could feel it against her skin, darkness pressing in on her until she felt herself inhaling it with every breath she took.