“For fuck’s sake, Ahria!” I shout, teeth gritted as another blast hits. “We talked about this!”
Behind me, Lyra freezes, and a barbed, protective instinct catches under my ribs.
I widen my stance, boots grinding into the dirt as I lift my chin toward the massive dark-green dragon before us. Locking my gaze with hers, I let Cal bleed through.
Not fully—but just enough to let her know I’m not fucking around.
Power floods beneath my skin as I meet Ahria’s violet eyes head-on.
She freezes mid-breath, pupils narrowing to slits.
She knows that look.
Knowswhostands behind it.
For a moment, I think she’s going to make me work for it, but then her jaws snap shut, cutting the flames off mid-roar, and the pressure against my shield collapses all at once. Dropping my hands, I let my muscles loosen, but my chest keeps heaving, fast and heavy.
“Tell the human,”Ahria’s voice vibrates through my skull, smoke curling from her nostrils,“I am not her dragon.”
The disdain she packs into her words is thick enough to taste, and through the haze I swear I catch the slow roll of her eyes.
“Oh, come on, you know what she—” I start, but the scent of sulphur and scorched linen slices through my words. Breaking off, I glance down and catch an ember chewing steadily through my sleeve. “Damn it, Ahria.” Cursing under my breath, I slap at the fabric, hands moving fast before the flame can take more.
But it’s enough. The second my focus slips, Cal claws against the edge of my mind, trying to force his way back through the gap.
Jaw locked, I shove him back.
Not now. I can’t deal with two enormous dragons with egos to match rattling around in my head while I’m also trying to keep Lyra from emotionally imploding.
Turning from Ahria, before I say something that will make this worse, I lower my hand to Lyra. She’s folded in on herself, arms over her head like she’s bracing for another strike.
God, please, just let me get through this without giving her any more reasons to hate me.
For a second, she doesn’t move. Then she cautiously glances up, moonlight catching the emerald green of her eyes as they flick to Ahria behind me.
The moment they land, her Threads flare.
The tremor strikes mine like a bow scraping across a string.
Fear.
Lyra’s.
Sharp and climbing.
I move before it can take hold, shifting my rhythm in response, dropping the vibration of my own Threads lower until they settle into one clean, even frequency—like striking a single note.
Then I push that note toward her.
Her wild rhythm connects with mine and skips, like two heartbeats out of sync, but I hold it level until her pitch begins to drop and her shoulders loosen.
“She… she tried to kill me,” Lyra’s voice comes out calm but her eyes stay wide.
“No...” I say, trying to brush it off as her fingers curl into mine and I pull her to her feet. “She’s just being pedantic. She doesn’t like being referred to as anyone’s...” Turning toward the towering dragon, I raise a brow. “Isn’t that right?”
Ahria scoffs, smoke curling around my shoulders.“I don’t like humans, let alone this... replacement.”
“You like me...”My mouth tugs left.
