Chapter 33

The sky was alive with war. I thought of amore mio, and the depth of love I held in my heart for every member of my family. And as lightning crackled against my navy scales, the promise of death glittering against my armoured flesh, I held the Oscura motto in my mind.

A morte e ritorno. To death and back.

I released a bellowing roar, one single warning for my allies to defend themselves before a destructive storm exploded from my body. The rebel air Elementals that were darting through the clouds shielded those of our army in shifted form along with themselves, and though I directed my lightning away from them as best I could, sparks still crackled against their protective shells. My intended targets dove for cover, or tried to climb higher into the sky, and a blaze of power scored through my chest at seeing the other giant beasts of my Order flee from me.

Lightning slammed into the hide of a mottled yellow Dragon, and she roared in agony, the lightning climbing higher over her scales as I willed it on and on. Her wings faltered, flapping meekly as the lightning drove deep into her bones and sought out her wretched heart.

With a wail, she died, tumbling away into the darkened clouds below, and the sound of her hitting the ground was lost to the crash of thunder and the cacophony of battle.

A charge like that would take me some time to recover from, and the other Dragons knew it, already turning back to seek out an opportunity to kill me. But lightning wasn't my only weapon; I had teeth and claws as sharp as any beast.

I didn't turn from the oncoming attack or take cover in the clouds below, I faced my enemies eye to eye and let them see the wild creature they were daring to take on. I was the Alpha of the Oscura Clan, Dragon born of Wolves, the only Werewolf pack leader in Solaria who was not of their Order. But I still held the power of the pack in my heart, and every soul I claimed today was for them.

Five Dragons swooped for me at once, the attack making a snarl rip from my throat. Three Pegasuses swooped up from the clouds to intercept them, and I recognised Xavier's lilac pelt alongside his pink mare and silver stallion.

Xavier's horn drove into the belly of a monstrous brown Dragon with spines all along his back. The beast roared, swiping at Xavier, but he moved faster, avoiding the blows and stabbing at him again, then again. The brown Dragon barely paid him any heed, but Xavier was persistent, every stab of his horn driving deeper than before until blood was staining the Dragon's scales and he was forced to defend himself.

Three Dragons made it to me with fire spewing from their lips and I ducked low, my spined tail whipping up hard and smashing into the chest of the red beast in the centre of their line.

Electricity blasted along the length of my tail and my opponent bellowed in agony, blood showering down on me before I flew up beyond him, twisting around mid-air and descending on him from behind. He was too slow to react, though the other two blasted fire at me as I caught his neck between my jaws, my teeth slicing in and cracking his scales like eggshells. The fire scored over my skin, but I dug my claws into the red Dragon, refusing to let go.

His wings stopped beating and suddenly we were plummeting from the sky, the weight of him too much to carry as I worked to kill him.

He thrashed wildly, trying to wrench his head from my grip as we tumbled through the thick grey clouds, water droplets clinging to my flesh and soothing the wounds laid there by so many beasts.

We broke through the cloud line, and I took in the war-torn campus below. The flood of Nymphs sweeping across the land, the shadowy form of Lavinia in the distance above the lake. But the fall grew more volatile, and we spun in circles, my wings beating to try and steady us. The Dragon's tail twisted around mine and the barbed spike along it sliced into my skin, hooking in and latching us together.

I sank my teeth in deeper, savagely ripping my head sideways to finish him, but the ground was coming up on us fast.

The Dragon finally fell limp, its dead weight falling from my claws as I released it, but as I turned to climb skyward once more, the barbs in my flesh yanked tight. Our tails were locked and a roar of terror left me as the full weight of the beast dragged me towards my end.

I beat my wings with furious desperation, my heart thumping wildly, and adrenaline bursting through my veins. There was a boom of thunder above as if the storm was calling to me in my final moments, and I bellowed my reply.

A flash of dark wings made my head whip sideways, the ground just twenty feet below as Gabriel swept up with a black sword in his grip, swinging it with a menacing look on his face. The blade cut through the tail of the red Dragon like it was made of paper and I caught myself on outstretched wings, watching as the full bulk of the beast hit the ground with a crash that rocked the earth.

Gabriel swept over me, landing on my shoulders and leaning forward to speak with me. "Close call, Dante. Taken out by your own kill, what would the Oscura Wolves think of that?"

I snapped at his leg playfully, climbing higher towards the clouds, the clash of battle calling to me from the sky. I could hear the bloodthirsty howling of my pack as they ran with Rosalie at their head, a glimpse of them in the distance offering me strength to fight on.

I kept the electrical charge on my body from hurting Gabriel, embracing the touch of my friend. I was far unlike the other Dragons in many ways, allowing those I deemed worthy to ride me when the occasion called for it. And that always included my winged friend Falco.

"Everyone is well," he told me, steadying my heart. "But Luca is missing. I cannot see him. The Nymphs are clouding everything. All I know is that he is with Seth Capella somewhere on campus."

I grunted my acknowledgment of that. I'd placed him with the lupo bianco myself, having had no other choice but to lead a hoard of raging Dragons away from them. My faith in Wolves ran deep, and I had seen enough of his actions to trust him. But I still feared greatly for them both. If they could stay well hidden in the amplifying chamber for the duration of the fight, then they would have a good chance.

"Stay alive," Gabriel growled, standing on my back as he prepared to leave. "I'll see you again, brother."

The weight of his words told me there was a chance that that meeting might just come beyond The Veil, but there was always a chance of death weighted upon us these days.

I knew the risk I took as Gabriel leapt from my back and sailed away on dark wings while I chased my own fight into the sky.

Death might come for each of us yet. But when it took me, it had better do so in blood and glory, for I was the Dragon of Storms. And all would quake in the might of my final tempest.