Chapter Thirty-one

ARCHER

The terror on Ollie's face was a punch to the heart. I'd failed him.

"Leave him." I didn't know what my voice was doing, but it didn't sound like me. "I'll fight you right now, but leave Ollie alone."

Pleading, that was what my voice had done. Not something I'd ever done before, but for Ollie I'd sacrifice my pride, my dignity, everything .

"Please, Chris."

The smile that curved his mouth was dragonish—this wasn't the Chris that I knew. But he released Ollie and stepped away from him, and that was all that mattered.

I was between them in a heartbeat, desperate to check Ollie was unhurt but unable to turn my back on the threat to us both.

"Outside. One minute," Chris said, before leaving me alone with Ollie.

I turned to him, and he threw himself against me. "It's okay," I said, holding him as he trembled. "You're okay now."

As always, I'd got it wrong. It wasn't almost being killed by another dragon that was upsetting him. "Don't fight him, Archer, please." He looked into my face, blue eyes begging me. " Please."

He could ask anything of me, and I'd give it. Anything except this. "He'll come after you again if I don't." Because Chris now knew my weak spot. He could have tried threatening Mia or Tim, but I'd never have believed he meant it. Ollie, though—I'd seen it in Chris's face. He'd have killed Ollie if that was what it took.

"There has to be another way. Can't you get the family together and talk about what's going on?"

"There's no time," I told him, feeling with every beat of my heart the seconds that were passing, the fury that would be mounting even further in Chris. He'd been in such a rage and seemed so unbalanced that I wouldn't put it past him to start flaming the house if I didn't get out there in the next few minutes, and then Ollie really would be in trouble. "I have no idea what's going on with him, but if I refuse to fight him, he's going to come after you again." I drew a difficult, painful breath and confessed, "I can protect you now, but I can't be with you always. The only way to end the threat is to fight him and beat him."

Ollie's eyes were bright, as if he was holding back tears.

"I love you," I told him, and pressed a swift kiss to his lips. "I want you to stay in the house until we're both in the air, and then come outside and shift. That way, if things go wrong, you have the protection of your dragon. Stay well away from us, and if it looks like he's winning, get away from the Court before you shift back. Go home to your family as fast as you can." He'd probably be arrested for public indecency before he got far, but better that than to be left in the empty house and gardens with a raging, rampaging dragon.

His nostrils were quivering and any second now he was going to cry. I couldn't cope with that, not from Ollie. "It'll be fine," I promised him, my voice gruff.

As I turned to leave, he caught at my hand. "Love you," he said, and tears spilled down his cheeks.

I should have gone. Every minute I kept Chris waiting was another minute for his rage to grow, but I couldn't leave Ollie like this. I cupped his face in my hands, swiped his tears away with my thumbs and kissed him gently.

I finally tore myself away and headed outside, leaving all thoughts of Ollie at the door. I had to concentrate on Chris. Whichever of us was victorious, our family would never be the same again.

OLLIE

My heart was pounding, my gut knotted in terror as I sheltered in the open doorway, listening. Once I heard both dragons in the air, I ran across the bridge to stand in the garden and stare up into the night sky, trying desperately to see through the low cloud.

I couldn't see them or hear anything except the flap of dragon wings, like sails in a storm, but at least there were no flashes of fire through the clouds. Not yet.

Remembering Archer's instructions, I headed away from the sounds of wings, shimmied out of my jeans and shifted. Archer was out of his mind if he thought I was going to run away and leave him, but it felt far safer to be in dragon form with a hostile dragon around, even though I'd never fought another dragon in my life. I'd never known anyone who had. This stuff belonged to legend.

When I saw the flickering of light through a cloud, I realised they were over the maze and knew it was safe to launch myself into the air. Gaining height over the lake, I cautiously edged my way towards where I'd seen that flame. The last thing I wanted was to get in the middle of them or distract Archer, but I couldn't just sit around waiting to find out if Archer was hurt, or worse.

Cloud cover was patchy, and I was finally able to see them. Chris was smaller than Archer, giving him more manoeuvrability. He was whipping around in a tight circle, and Archer wasn't able to keep up with him, which would leave his flank exposed in another couple of turns.

About to bugle a horrified warning, I firmly closed my mouth again. Archer knew. He abandoned the chase and headed straight up, leaving the smallest possible target as he gained the advantage of height. Bloody hell. I'd never seen a dragon fly that vertically before. Never known we could fly like that.

But Chris wasn't stupid, even with whatever was wrong with him tonight. He didn't give chase. He looped around the house, watching the sky above, waiting for Archer's attack.

For an instant, I thought about ambushing him. Chris's whole concentration was on Archer, and he'd never see me coming. That felt wrong, though, and the thought of flaming anyone made me queasy. I knew Jack would have words to say about that, but my dragon and I were perfectly happy as we were, a little less savage than the rest of them.

Archer plummeted down with no warning, and he and Chris locked together, tumbling over and over amid snarls and the snapping of great jaws.

Oh God. They were going to crash into the house, surely, but they wrenched apart at the last instant, Chris screeching as Archer's claws raked his hind leg. He blasted flame at Archer, who was already out of range, flying low and fast across the garden then turning before the lake to weave back towards Chris. His clever manoeuvres evaded all Chris's attempts to scorch him.

If the stakes weren't so high, I'd have loved to watch Archer like this, master of the sky and unmatched by his rival. The outcome was still to be decided, but my fear was lessening now I saw how Archer was out-thinking Chris and out-flying him. Less manoeuvrable, but more powerful and infinitely cleverer, he was setting the terms of each engagement.

I hadn't realised how close I'd crept towards them in my fascination until I heard a voice. "Archer?"

My heart jolted. Looking down, I saw Mia at the open front door. Thank God Archer hadn't heard her. Go inside I thought to her as loudly as I could, but I was too late—she was already shouting.

"Archer! What the hell is going on?" I hadn't known short, slender Mia could yell that loudly.

He stopped on a sixpence, whiplashed around to look at her, and Chris seized his moment. Closing for the kill, his great mouth was open as he flew straight at Archer's exposed neck.

Terror gave me speed as I flung myself towards Chris, roaring flame in his direction.

I only wanted to scare him off, to get him away from Archer. But it didn't work out that way.