Could fire burn a fire dragon? Liana wasn’t certain.
But whatever Braeden’s attack did was strong enough that their enemy took step after step backwards. He was roaring and hissing in anger, but unable to break past Braeden’s fire.
Liana grabbed hold of Timothy’s arm, her heart pounding in her chest, when the fire dragon at last succeeded in lashing out. His massive tail was raking straight across Braeden’s head.
But even though the attack made Braeden rear back for a second, blood dripping from a cut at his jaw, he didn’t relent.
Braeden took another step forward, breathing another gust of fire, and his enemy took another step back—at last reaching the edge of the cliff.
Without losing a single second, Braeden hurled himself forward.
He bowled straight into Steele. Together, they plunged downward in a bright trail of flames.
In the heat of the battle, Liana had completely forgotten to pay attention to the other fire dragons that had arrived together with their enemy. But now, as soon as the other two shifters had hurled themselves across the ledge, the three remaining dragons saw their chance.
Liana cried out in terror when the three dragons suddenly erupted into flame. Like living balls of fire, the dragons raced towards them.
The cave was lit by an eerie hue of red. Liana’s fingers clenched around Timothy’s arm. From somewhere behind her, she heard Autumn cry out.
Everything seemed to happen very slowly.
A shiver ran through Timothy. She could feel a wave of power coming off him.
The fire dragons were so close she could already feel the painful heat on her skin. There was no time left for Timothy to shift...
Then Timothy’s power erupted.
Cool, blue light seemed to fill Liana. It was as if she’d been transported back to their secret cave behind the waterfall. She could almost feel the cool moss against her back and the gentle touch of clear water cradling her.
Everything had been quiet when she’d sunk to the bottom of the river. Everything had been calm and cool.
And then the blue light seemed to burst, as if a dam had opened.
From wide, shocked eyes she watched as the huge cave was filled by a giant bubble of water. It trapped the burning fire dragons, immediately extinguishing their fire.
And then the bubble exploded.
Suddenly, water was everywhere. It hit her face like a rain shower, rushing past her feet.
The majority of water immediately streamed towards the exit of the cave, and the helpless, defeated fire dragons were carried with it. For a moment, the cave seemed to turn into a river, the current carrying their enemies away.
Everything had happened within a few seconds. Liana’s heart was still racing, and she realized that she’d forgotten to breathe.
The dragons were gone. The cave was strangely silent. She was still standing in what looked like a vast pond of water filling the cave. It reached to her ankles, and she began giggling as the tension began to leave her.
And at that exact moment, Braeden returned.
With powerful beats of his wings, he soared into the cave once more. Gracefully, he landed, shifting at the same moment—only to stare in consternation at his suddenly wet feet.
“What the hell—” he began, trying to wade out of the pool. Instead, he ended up walking straight into a spot where the water went up to his knees.
As Braeden cursed, Liana gave Timothy a suspicious look. Was the floor of the cave really that uneven?
Timothy, who’d been smirking, quickly sobered as he saw her look. With an apologetic grimace, he stretched out his hand. The remaining water immediately began to stream towards the exit of the cave.
“Sorry for that,” he said, not sounding sorry at all.
Braeden glared at him, and Liana felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of relief.