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59. Tez

59

Tez

As we chased after the fucking Drakes, I pointed my narrow jaws at a group of oncoming Trogs, and let them have it.

The shriek was effective—and they were too stubborn, or maybe too dim—to run. I turned away from their crumpled bodies.

Aurora's and Victor's deaths had provided a much-needed boon to my spirits, but everything my grandmother had taught me was adding up to a whole lot of nothing out here. My metallic feathers repelled the Drake fire, and my shrieks could halt a Dragon in its tracks. But it was all like raindrops in a river.

The battle had only intensified, the valley echoing with the clash of swords and the rip and tear of teeth and talons. Bolts of pure fire flew across it, and the Earthshakers had the ground trembling beneath us. The fierce Sabres were over twice the size of the enemy Dires, but they were vastly outnumbered. I saw Sid, his long hair dripping blood, ripping mercenaries apart, with Adilyn as a tiny mote flitting around him, sprinkling her sparkly dust. Overhead, Dragons dove and dodged and tore at each other.

The molten fire, lightning, and earth-shaking ability of the Drakes decimated large numbers of Dragons and ground forces with each and every strike. And for all our efforts, we'd only managed to take down two.

We'd yet to get close enough to any of those still living to re-enact Caliel's plan. Rafael clung to Bree's tail, one hand on the sword as she pursued the Earth Drake. It roared, and the ground beneath us heaved, knocking Bree into a lightning bolt from the Storm version. The strike sent her flying.

Something exploded within me. I leaped to stand between her and the Earth Drake, and reared to my full height.

"You will STOP," I yelled.

I had no description for the wave of power that came off me—but it caused the Drake to freeze. My mouth fell open, and the shriek rang out. The Earth Drake shuddered, and a trickle of blood appeared from its ear.

Wait a minute. It was fucking working…

The collars were powered by bloodmagic from the coven, Caliel said. They shielded the Drakes from your scream, but are now weakening.

The Drake tried to get away, but it was held by the power I wove around it as my shriek did its damage. Blood dripped onto the snow, pouring from eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

The Drake slumped to the ground. Before I could finish it off, a huge red form crashed down on it from above. Havoc sank his talons deep into the Drake—the effort had his muscles writhing beneath his scales—and then ripped upward. Blood fountained, and the Drake screamed before it collapsed.

Three down. Two to go. A blast of fire from the remaining Fire Drake scorched along Havoc's flank as the Dragon rose into the air. When it turned the flames on Bree, Marcus deflected them.

How strong is that commanding ability of yours? Riggs was airborne again after dropping Nar off at the healer's cave.

My mind spun. Helped by the sword and Rafael, I'd stopped that Drake in its tracks… but I'd only possessed enough power for the one. And I'd had to get close. Too close.

Take Rafael and the sword, so you can channel the power directly, Bree said.

I wasn't sure I could handle more, but if it fried those fucking Drakes…

Marcus airlifted a pile of snow, and Bree used it to send a giant icicle crashing down on the Fire Drake's head. She managed to get him half frozen before he thawed again.

I took the sword from Bree and wound it in my own tail. Rafael moved up beside it to once again lay his hands on the hilt.

His human body was vulnerable, so I coiled my tail around the sword and Rafael. It enabled me to stay between them and the Drakes.

You weren't considering doing this without me, were you? A form passed over us, and Riggs landed behind Bree. Both she and Marcus immediately moved to block the Fire Drake's efforts to blast them.

Without us, Caliel added as he slid off Riggs's back.

Trust you two to hone in on my action, I snarked. But if you are going to help, we need Riggs human rather than presenting as a looming target.

Moments later, Riggs's human joined Caliel, and they stepped into the circle of my tail with Rafael. They overlaid their hands, taking hold of the other side of the sword's guard.

I turned to face a pair of Drake asses that formed a solid wall, and said, Out of the way, mi amor. Then I added, please.

Bree looked over her shoulder at me and raised a Drakonian brow.

He needs you to move your ‘shapely butt', Caliel provided.

Bree took a giant step sideways, leaving a clear path between me and the menacing Drakes. But as she did so, she draped her tail over Riggs's hands that clutched the sword.

It vibrated. Light shot out in all directions. And then, the fucking sword sang . The chanting music reverberated outward, and the two Drakes' collective gazes snapped to me as I rose between Marcus and Bree. They are soo going down, I vowed. I swayed gently, like a giant cobra, to the sword's music, and bristled my crest of metallic feathers as I braced myself for what lay ahead.

"Okay," I told Rafael. "Letssss me have it."

What surged through him to me only confirmed what I'd feared—no way to even remotely hold onto it. I barely had time to attach my demands to it before it blasted from me in an invisible wave.

Power spread as if I were a rock dropped into a pond, and it wasn't something that I vocalized. Rather, it was a mental demand.

Bow before me!

The next surge from Nikolai threatened to tear me apart from within. And in the process, it unleashed something from deep inside, something immensely powerful and very ancient, as if I'd tapped into ancestors many years in the grave.

BOW BEFORE ME!

I was dimly aware of the Dragons closest to me dropping from the sky in a flurry of frantic wings. The enemy, and our own, landed and crouched on four legs before dropping their heads to the ground.

All except the fucking Drakes. They held their heads high, and hissed.

There was a flash of golden light behind us. I caught a glimpse of Riley out of the corner of my eye, and then she vanished again. A millisecond later, a big hand replaced Rafael's on the sword.

Nikolai's eyes gleamed silver as he pumped me the energy directly .

What the hell. My entire body vibrated as it surged through me. I felt as though I were being burned alive… I opened my jaws, and the emitting shriek made the very air tremble.

The Drakes screamed, their collars glowing red-hot as the remnants of Finn's magic fought me. But the power poured over them, and blood poured from their noses, mouths, and ears, as the conflict ripped their brains apart.

The Storm Drake fought me to the end. He blasted me with lightning that I deflected desperately with my feathers, worried about those who sheltered behind me. But then he folded in on himself, crashing to the ground.

"Keep going," rumbled Nikolai from behind as he gave me more …

The ancient thing inside me embraced the concept, and I rose to my full height to direct my power to the skies above. More Dragons fell from it. Those that fought me crashed rather than landed.

The two remaining Trinity members managed to partially block me, as the Dragons they rode flapped in crazed circles, caught between me and them.

Nikolai's big hand tightened on the sword. The power that coursed through me scorched as it passed.

YOU. WILL. BOW.

The wave spread across the valley. Even the mercenaries and shifters were now dropping to their knees. Above us, I heard a Dragon scream.

The two mounts carrying Finn and the female turned, and fled. Finn was running away . I sent a surge of power after him, but the air shimmered as he opened a gateway, and vanished.

Gone. Finn was gone .

Fucking coward.

Rigg's rage passed through me. He was desperate to see the end to an evil that had tormented the realms. But there was no help for it right now. We would have to find another way to take Finn down.

Silence reigned around me. Every soldier on the battlefield froze, kneeling or bowing to me.

Nikolai sighed, and pulled back on his power. It left me trembling.

What the heck, Riggs said. I'd be kneeling, too, if you weren't squeezing.

Sorry. I loosened my coils.

Well done, Tez, Caliel said. He had dropped to his knees.

"When you release the army, Finn's forces will bolt," Nikolai warned.

I stared out at the submitting warriors. "How do I release just the right onesss?"

Nikolai snorted. "Excellent question."

The effects were already wearing off. I saw one of Finn's mercenaries attempt to get up and run.

Nikolai sent me another burst.

STOP. STAY.

The mercenary froze.

"Thisss," I said. "Is going to be tediousss as hell."

One Dragon not too far from us managed to raise his head from where he kneeled. His eyes blazed out at us.

Daize.

"I believe this one is mine," Riggs said, stepping free from my coils to face him.

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