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“I take it none of you knew your friend was a… whatever that is,” Casimir said carefully behind me.
Everyone’s silence was answer enough. Even Ozias radiated shock, and I got the feeling that, whether or not he’d suspected something was different about Roan, he definitely had never imagined this.
The dragon’s movements began to slow, turning sluggish and fitful. Its wings flapped erratically, fighting to keep it aloft, but it was losing height fast and Roan never let up.
“Watch out!” Dex shouted as it careened through the sky, tumbling straight toward us.
At the last moment, Roan slammed into its side again, propelling it past us.
The earth shook as the dragon crashed down onto the gardens. Dozens of gashes leaked blood all across its emerald scales. Its neck and head sprawled across the rubble of a house, while its body crushed the fallow plots of garden land. In fits and starts, its sides jerked as if the creature was fighting to breathe.
A twist of black smoke rushed out of its side where no fire should be.
I tensed. The Voidborn.
Roan dove toward it, and a strangled sound of shocked protest left Niko, as if he couldn’t believe Roan would try attacking that thing too. But before Roan could reach it, the Voidborn took off, racing into the city like it was fleeing for its life.
Groaning, the dragon sagged to the ground.
I didn’t move. I’d forgotten to breathe an untold amount of time ago, and I couldn’t hear a sound from any of my men either.
His wings beating steadily, Roan hovered above the fallen dragon for a moment, surveying it like a knight observing a vanquished foe. The creature was still breathing—barely—but it made no attempt to attack or defend itself.
With a contemptuous jerk of his head, Roan left the fallen dragon behind and flew toward us.
I couldn’t find words. But then, what was I supposed to say? Thanks for saving me? Us? Yes, of course, that much was obvious.
What wasn’t obvious was whether I was still talking to the man I knew.
Gracefully, he descended to the ground only a few yards ahead of me, landing so easily it was like he’d been flying forever. But his gaze never touched the others. It was as if they didn’t exist at all.
He only looked at me.
Shivers coursed through me out of nowhere. There was something so hungry in that gaze. So wild.
Not to mention it was rather obvious he was getting hard.
Swallowing dryly, I stayed where I was, unsure what the hell I should do. The air stirred as Ozias stepped closer to me, his footsteps utterly silent. Caution radiated through my connection to him, and from the corner of my eye, I could see his gaze locked on the winged creature that was hopefully still his friend.
But I remembered how Roan had acted right before he transformed. How scared he’d been. How he’d begged me to run. Even if he hadn’t been taken over by a Voidborn, whatever the hell lived inside him clearly wasn’t something he trusted.
His fiery eyes darted to Ozias as my mate’s hand landed on my shoulder. This close, I could see they weren’t just made of fire but had a black center like the depths of night, with only a few flecks of light where an iris would have been, glinting like stars struggling not to die in the dark.
Studying Ozias, Roan’s head twisted to one side as if he was considering unleashing the fire again.
“Don’t,” I said.
His gaze snapped back to me for a heartbeat, and then it flashed over to Casimir as the vampire came up to my other side, Ruhl pacing along with him in wolf form.
At the sight of the wolf, Roan’s lips pulled back. It was a grin, but gods, it looked threatening with all those pointed teeth.
But there was a certain odd familiarity in his fiery eyes too. Like whatever he was now recognized something about the shadow wolf.
“Is that you, Roan?” I asked carefully.
His gaze returned to me. Cold hunger glinted in his eyes. “No.” His grin spread, taking on an edge like a predator looking at prey. “Mine.”
Before I could say a word, he lunged. I recoiled in shock, but Ozias and Casimir didn’t hesitate, moving immediately to intercept him.
