No.
Not wind.
Wings.
THUMP.
The earth buckles beneath me and the impact shudders up my legs, into my teeth.
I spin toward the sound.
THUMP.
The second dragon lands.
Larger than the first.
Stumbling back a step, my foot catches against one of the stones as my head tilts up, eyes widening to take them both in.
They’re looming across the clearing near the tree-line in their full, monstrous size. Even in the low light, the red glow from the moon glistens across their scales and the wet edges of their teeth as their lips peel back and a low snarl rumbles across the short space between us.
Feeling drains from my limbs, and my heart pounds so hard I can feel each beat against the skin of my neck.
Oh fuck.
The others aren’t even awake yet.
None of them are moving.
No.
No, no, no.
It’s only me.
The thought drops through me, and I swear the floor disappears as my knees threaten to give.
The dragons are here forme.
Thump.
One of them steps forward.
My hands lift before I can think, palms out, shaking like flesh and fear might be enough to hold them back.
Thump.
Another step.
Another pulse of panic tears through me as their bright emerald eyes lock on me.
Locking every muscle, I reach for my Threads, but only a faint spark answers at my fingertips, my magic weak and distant, still recovering from whatever I just drank.
Shit, shit, shit.
But they’re already at the edge of the circle now, their shadows swallowing the stones at my feet. So close I can feel the heat rolling off them, thick with the smell of sulphur and smoke, wrapping around me until every short inhale burns the back of my tongue.
Move. Think. Do something.
