“But for how long?”
Her words were like a punch to his gut. Hewasn’t going to leave her, and he needed to make that clear. Butbefore he could respond, a knock rattled the doors.
“Lexi!” Sahira called in a voice tinged withpanic. “Lexi, are you in there?”
“Yes,” she said.
An oof of air escaped him when she plantedher hand on his stomach and pushed herself up.
“Sorry,” she muttered as she scrambled out ofhis lap.
He almost pulled her back as he missedholding her, but she’d already scurried away from him. Cole rose asLexi hastily tugged on her clothes.
He hated this interruption, but he started todress too. Something about Sahira’s tone didn’t sit well with him.He was pulling on his jeans when a thunderous boom shook theearth.
Lexi released a startled cry and staggered tothe side when the boom quaked the house. He caught her hand andsteadied her before she toppled over the chair. Her eyes flew tohis as a growl swelled within him.
He didn’t know what was going on, but hewould destroy it if it threatened her.
He tugged his jeans on but ignored his shirtas he stalked toward the doors. He glanced back to make sure Lexiwas dressed before he unlocked and opened the doors. Sahira took astartled step back as her gaze roamed over his chest.
There was no doubt about what transpiredbetween them inside that room, and he was glad of that. Sahiradidn’t want him to be a part of Lexi’s life, but she didn’t have achoice, and she would learn that.
He turned back to Lexi as she hurried towardthem, straightening her shirt. She kept her eyes averted fromSahira’s as her cheeks burned. He stretched a hand back to her asanother boom quaked the house.
When a sound like the earth being torn apartreverberated through the air, he grabbed Lexi’s arm and pulled heragainst his side. The blush vanished from her face, and her skinpaled when she looked at him.
“What is going on?” he demanded of Sahira ashe embraced Lexi protectively against him.
Sahira’s shocked expression vanished as shegave him a steely look. Beneath her fury, he saw a flash of uneasebefore she covered it up.
“Dragons,” she said.
An uneasy feeling coiled in his stomach asanother boom rattled the windows, and from somewhere in the manor,glass shattered. Sahira turned and strode toward the front door asthe shrieking bellow of a dragon rent the air.
“Shit,” he snarled.
He wanted to push Lexi back into the libraryand shelter her from whatever was happening, but he wouldn’t partfrom her. Instead, he kept her tucked against him as they followedSahira outside.
The sun beat down on them, the sky was acrystalline blue, and the serenity of the day was broken only bythe birds filling the sky. Another bellow drown out the cries ofthose birds.
He didn’t see any of the monstrous creaturesuntil they turned the corner of the manor and one of the beastssoared into view. It swept low over the land with its fifty-footwings spread wide, its head extended, and its tail out behindit.
The sun glinted off its red scales as a plumeof fire erupted from its mouth and it rained destruction on theland. Chunks of earth flew up as it plowed a ditch into thefire-scorched ground. Pieces of wood shot into the air as trees andthe marketplace's ramshackle buildings toppled beneath itsonslaught.
When its fire went out, the dragon soaredhigh into the sky. The sun created a glow around its wings as ithovered in the air.
Then it roared and dove toward the earth.Another wave of fire erupted from it. The marketplace was half amile away, but Cole’s position allowed him to see that nothingremained of it.
“No!” Lexi gasped.
She jerked free of his arms and lungedforward. She ran toward the road as Sahira started after her. Colecaught her before she made it ten feet. He pressed her against hischest as she struggled in his grasp.
“There’s nothing you can do,” he toldher.
“But… but… they didn’t do anything!” sheprotested as tears shone in her eyes. “It’s killing them, and theydidn’t do anything!”
He despised her tears and the heaving breathsshaking her slender frame, but he couldn’t do anything to stopthis. Not yet, anyway. But one day, he would end this.
