Chapter 35

Ashlyn

Ever since I learned I was a phoenix, my first instinct was to try and bury the power I felt. But now, as I watched the vampire take Arya, I knew I needed to do the exact opposite.

I focused on my fury and the fear of losing Arya, embracing the simmering heat within. Blazing balls the size of marbles flared at my fingertips, shooting like a machine gun. It shocked me so much that I almost lost control of the direction they were going. So I put all my focus into aiming them before I knocked out a window or something.

Targeting the vampire engaged in a fight with Niko, the balls entered the vampire's body. He fell to the floor, frantically rolling on the ground as the pain burned him from the inside out. Niko's eyes grew as he stared at the damage I had just done.

Three more vampires appeared, blocking my path to Arya. But I was on a vicious rampage—one I wasn't about to quench. I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, drawing confused looks from the vampires. Combining my hands, I willed my fire power to my fingers, focusing on creating a rope of thin lava.

It happened quickly. I swung my hand over my head and used the lava strand like a whip. I lassoed it around the ankle of the farthest vampire. The others tried to jump out of the way, but it was too late. With one slick wave of my hand, I caused the lava rope to flare into a wall of fire, torching all three vampires to a crisp.

But there wasn't time to relish my small victory.

I caught sight of Arya being dragged over the edge of the roof. A deep and powerful grief consumed my entire body. An ice-cold chill started from my head and seeped down to my feet. I felt my heart beat slower and slower—so slow that I thought it would fail me.

Was it the pain of losing Arya, or did I just give up on the idea of getting her back? Every cell in my body seemed intent on shutting down, and I fell to the ground. My heart thrummed its last beat, nothing but searing and burning pain lingering in my chest. I thought I'd be stuck in the blackness of my own comatose mind forever.

But before the darkness consumed me, a spark like a supernova exploded in my brain.

What had felt like hours was only seconds, the fight still raging around me, Arya's foot just disappearing.

I rose to what seemed like a dream, dark ash appearing at my feet. My vision was enhanced, focused and tunnel-like. Every fiber of me flickered like the wick of a candle, succumbing to the heat that enveloped my soul.

And as I tried to stand, I couldn't move my feet because my feet were no longer there.

I looked down and stared in awe as I tried to balance on rose-colored talons, which radiated a pearly sheen.

I flailed my arms but quickly realized they were gone as well. In their place were large red and orange wings that draped behind me like a veil. I sucked in a breath as I got lost in my golden-yellow feathers, which sparkled in the shimmering firelight that consumed them.

Holy shit, it finally happened! I finally shifted!

Fiery bliss like nothing I'd ever known radiated from me as brightly as the flames that I'd become.

I flapped my wings, a clumsy and disoriented flail. I moved my head from left to right, hypnotized by the waves of fire encasing my body. But it was the smoke trailing from me that calmed me enough to steady my new wings.

I didn't have time to waste savoring this incredible revelation.

Another batch of vampires circled Tobias and Niko, whose fierce glares didn't flinch at being outnumbered. The dragons fought back-to-back, annihilating one vampire after another. Relief washed through me at seeing they could handle themselves.

I just had to get Arya back.

Two vampires raced toward me, large weapons strapped to their backs. I'd seen something similar on a pamphlet in my dad's office. I didn't know what they did, but they stood out because they looked like miniature cannons or bazookas. It didn't make sense why a vampire would need such a weapon.

One of the vampires disengaged the weapon from the strap on her back, and her partner stopped to assist.

I glanced at where Arya had just disappeared. I needed to get to her! But I wasn't used to this form, wasn't sure how to use my wings to fly. I had to get it together.

The first vampire pulled back on a piece on top of her armament, firing it directly at me. Like a dance, I gracefully avoided the pellets it spewed. Heh, not so bad.

The vampires were getting more and more frustrated with every bullet that zipped by.

Fuck this shit.

I opened my sharp, shiny beak to let out a shriek, and with it came a scorching wave of fire.

I flapped my wings with as much strength as I had, propelling myself up into the darkened sky. With my magnified vision, I looked down and scanned the scene. The two vampires and their weapon had been incinerated.

My keen attention shot to the vampire that had Arya. They'd only made it one roof over.

I tucked my wings behind my back and dove. I let out another one of my shrieks, but this time there was no fire with it. The vampire carrying Arya looked back, his eyebrows pushed together in shock and confusion.

Seeing Arya so close bolstered my confidence. I could get her back. I'd had plenty of defense training—though that was in my human form. Hopefully it would still prove to be effective in my phoenix form.

With another strong and heavy beat of my wings, I ducked and prepared to crash.

A grunt came from the vampire—and Arya—as I made contact. I'd hit my target. The three of us rolled in different directions like billiard balls. I was back in the air in seconds, and the vampire stumbled as he tried to catch his balance.

I inhaled deeply, focusing on the fear that had coursed through me when he'd taken Arya, and when I exhaled, a stream of flames spewed from my open beak.

The vampire let out a brief, sharp wail as he melted before my eyes.

"A—A—Ashlyn?" Arya said, her brows pinched, the glow of flaming phoenix reflecting in her eyes.

I gave her a nod, then swept down, gently hooking my talons—the only part of me not on fire—around Arya's shoulders, then took off.

Now that I had Arya back, I had the chance to savor my phoenix form. Everything I'd heard from the other students about shifting was right. It was freeing and magical, and incredibly satisfying. I reveled in the way the whirling wind felt beneath both feather and flame of my wings.

A loud roar snapped me back to the danger still at hand.

Again, I dropped my head and swooped toward the ground. But I wasn't familiar enough with my phoenix form, and holding Arya didn't help.

We crashed into a pile of garbage bags just a few feet from Niko and Tobias. My head slammed against the nearby dumpster. It pulsed with pain, and my vision blurred. Arya groaned next to me, laying awkwardly tangled with the garbage bags.

Instinctively, I reached up to rub my head—and immediately realized I'd shifted back. I looked down and was relieved to see I wasn't naked.

So glad I put on my smart clothes.

When I pulled my hand away from my face, crimson blood puddled in my palm. I tried not to panic—there were bigger things at stake.

"Arya!" I scrambled to her.

There was a large gash on the back of Arya's neck, and blood dripped out of the open wound, filling the air with its thick, metallic odor. If I could smell it, the vampires certainly would, too. This was all my fault. If I'd just stuck the landing, neither of us would be injured.

Plastic bags rustled behind us, and my rage swelled.

Slamming my fists on the ground, I heard a sizzle, the acrid odor of burning plastic and food filling the air. With one fluid movement, I swung around with my leg in the air. My foot made contact with the jaw of the approaching vampire, and I heard a crack that I knew was a broken bone. The vampire with the broken jaw buckled inward with his head in his hands.

With a sinister sneer, I turned and prepared to fight the rest of the vampires circling us. Two vamps were trying to inch their way closer to Arya. I spun and spread my arms, blasting two large balls of fire directly at the heads of the encroaching vamps.

Two down, two to go .

The first vampire, the one whose jaw I'd smashed, was back up. He joined the remaining vampire as she turned to fight me, rather than attempting to take Arya. I smirked. That was exactly what I wanted.

They charged at me with the speed of a bullet, but the buzz of the shift was still with me, my senses enhanced by the lingering fire within me. I watched them as if they were moving in slow motion, easily ducking out of the way.

Snarling, they turned to strike again, coming at me from either side. I jumped and spread my legs in a perfect, symmetrical split kick. Both vampires fell to the ground, momentarily rocked.

I formed the same rope of fire, slinging one strand around each of the vampires. I squeezed my hands into fists, and they screamed in agony as the ropes tightened around their torsos. The ropes sliced through them like butter, their severed bodies toppling to the ground in a magnificently gruesome display.

I raced back to Arya, who watched in shock. Turning Arya's head to reevaluate the gash on her neck, I stared in confusion. It didn't look nearly as bad as I remembered. In fact, it looked like it was almost…

BOOM! BOOM!

A loud blast exploded, causing the ground to vibrate. I looked around frantically in search of the source of the noise. Three groups of vampires stood directly in front of Niko. He was surrounded.

His red scales bristled in panic, and my heart sunk to my stomach. In horror, I watched the closest vampire pull back on the top piece of her cannon-like weapon.

At any moment, Niko would be blasted. I couldn't leave Arya, but I also couldn't watch the boy I'd been in love with for months die.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and, pulling on my fear and rage, I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to send my shriek of fire to every vampire that threatened him.

BOOM! BOOM!

I screamed. But I was too late. My fire had defeated several more vampires—enough to dampen their attack. Through the thick smoke, I could see Hadrian's silhouette and what was left of his cronies fleeing into the darkness, abandoning us to fight—or die—another day.

I pulled Arya to her feet, and we ran toward where the guys had last been, my heart broken into millions of pieces.

"Breathe, Ash. He's going to be okay." Arya's gentle voice helped keep me steady, but nothing could soothe the dread that poisoned my veins until I knew for myself that he really was okay.

As their bodies came into view, my heart beat faster. I ran the rest of the way, then froze in my tracks.

The bloody body I was staring at wasn't Niko.

It was Tobias.

I gawked down at his limp and battered human form, a lump balling in my throat.

Overwhelming relief washed over me to see Niko kneeling unharmed beside him, which triggered a pang of guilt in my gut. I wouldn't have traded Tobias's life for Niko's, but thank the gods he was alright!

With his head on his knees, Niko trembled. I wanted to console him, but the grim remains of the fight were all around us. I wouldn't know where to start.

I went to him, making sure he was okay enough to help me figure out our next step.

"Why did he do that?" Niko moaned. "He didn't have to do that! He shouldn't have saved me. He shouldn't have!" Niko's pained and angry shouts pierced my eardrums and shredded my heart.

Arya threw herself on the ground by Tobias's body, tears flooding down her cheeks. When she shouted my name, I rose and ran to her side, thinking nothing but the worst.

"Look!"

I looked down at him, confused as to what she saw that I didn't. But then I realized. An open wound on Tobias's face was slowly shrinking. Healing! I frowned at Arya, who looked just as confused.

Suddenly, Tobias sucked in a sharp, shuddering breath, then groaned.

"He's alive!" Arya cried .