Chapter 85

Iflew above Dante Oscura, Dragon of Storms and Alpha of the Oscura Clan, as electricity tore from his scales and blasted the enemies at his back. A stream of Phoenix fire blazed from me, the flames and lightning twisting into a deadly spiral of carnage as it took down one of Lionel's Bonded Dragons and the beast went crashing out of the sky.

Sofia and Tyler were fighting with two enemy Griffins ahead, but a dark purple Dragon was descending from above with my friends locked in its sights, jaws wide with fire brewing in its throat.

A snarl left me and I flew faster, engaging the beast before it could attack and locking its jaw shut with a stream of vines so it choked on the fire it had been about to spew. I pressed my advantage, freezing the Dragon's wings so it started to fall, struggling to break my fortified ice. There was no escape, no path of fate that led to this beast escaping me.

I willed my magic deeper, seeking the hot, pumping blood in his veins and freezing that too. The Dragon's eyes met mine as he realised he was done for, seeing his death in me.

With a malicious blast of water magic, I froze his heart and the Dragon fell limp, tumbling away towards the battle below. I barely had a second to register my win before a Harpy slammed into me from the right, shrieking as she slashed a blade down my arm.

I cursed, blasting her away with air magic and tightening a shield around me to ensure she didn't get that close twice. Flames of red and blue danced in my hand, and I sent the vortex of Phoenix fire her way, making it hunt her like a hawk after a finch. She dodged left and right, speeding away from me with shrieks as the fire licked her armoured skin, but she was headed right for Dante.

I drove her that way, building a wall of fire around her that forced her to keep fleeing, and she was so focused on escaping me that she didn't see the open jaws of the Storm Dragon coming.

He snatched her between his teeth, her death delivered fast before he tossed her dead body away from him without care. He roared to me and I nodded to my friend before flying lower, taking in the battle for a moment, trying to catch sight of anyone I loved out there. But the fray was too thick and the rows of dead were piling so damn high. It suffocated me to think of my friends lying among those heaps of death, but I couldn't let that fear draw my focus.

A group of the ally Nymphs were being led by Miguel beneath me, their rattles immobilising the Fae ahead of them while a group of our Elementals came rushing forward to finish them, the tactic perfect. But were all of our plots and schemes enough to win this? No matter how hard we were fighting, Lionel's sea of warriors never seemed to end.

I turned back to the sky, finding Dante colliding with an enemy Dragon, their claws tearing into each other, scoring great gouges into their scales. Lightning bloomed along Dante's skin and his enemy roared in agony, fighting to get the upper hand. But Dante was too powerful, his lightning daggering through his opponent's chest and stopping his heart, sending another Bonded tumbling out of the sky.

A shriek down in the battle drew my attention once again and my gaze locked on Lavinia in the western flank causing untold destruction, a snarl rising in my throat as her shadows speared through several legions of our army. She would die this day; I'd make damn sure of it. But as more of Lionel's Dragons joined the fight in the sky, and belches of flames warmed the air, I knew my place was here for now. I'd bring every one of Lionel's Bonded to their knees, then I'd chase the shadow bitch into the battle and secure her end in a reign of blood and hellfire.