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Puck squawked at Claire, forcing her focus away from her friends. Her Notus dived at a Council guard coming towards Claire, raking his claws across the man’s face and narrowly missing the man’s sword in return. Claire sent a quick magic blast at the man’s chest, knocking him off balance as she got her head back in the battle.
Despite their best efforts, the Council guards kept coming. Puck let out a cry of warning as one of Maxios’ dragons let out a stream of fire towards them. Frederick threw up a barrier of air quickly, sweat streaming down his temples from the exertion. Someone needed to take care of these dragons and quickly.
Just then, a roar sounded in the distance. Claire recognized that sound. Most of the battlefield turned to see a large group of dragons closing the distance fast from the Dragon Mountains. Malcolm was in the lead flanked by dragons that Claire recognized as Roderick and Mara’s. Despite their large forms, they cut through the air like speeding arrows, streaking across the sky in a myriad of colors.
The remaining dragon warriors on Maxios’s side shifted into their dragons and rose to meet the new threat but Claire grinned. Her mates and reinforcements had arrived.
49
With the arrival of Malcolm and Desmond and the other dragons, the other side began fighting harder, desperate to keep their advantage. Malcolm landed twenty yards from Claire with Desmond throwing himself down on the ground as soon as possible. He looked a little green around the edges as he fell to his knees and Claire started towards him.
He got to his feet, dusting himself off and then with a wave of his hand and an air rune, made it to Claire a few moments later.
“Hello, little love. Looks like you started the fun without us,” he said throwing up a shield around them so they weren’t disturbed.
Claire smiled and shrugged. “You two were late so it’s your own fault you missed the fun.”
Desmond’s grin was quick but a little tight as he assessed her for injuries. Once he didn’t find any, his shoulders relaxed slightly. “Here, I brought you a gift. It was meant to be for your birthday but other events have moved up the timeline.”
Malcolm’s dragon roared from a few yards away and Desmond rolled his eyes without turning his back. “Fine,webrought you a gift. The gryphon included.”
He pulled a rolled up bundle from his satchel and unwrapped it, revealing a flat metal disc. Claire realized she was looking at the Stonemont crest with the silhouette of a gryphon coasting through dragonfire with the wind lifting its wings. It was beautiful but Claire wasn’t quite sure what it was.
Her confusion must have shown on her face as Desmond laughed. “Here, let me show you.”
He placed it against her chest, securing the ribbon around her neck. He tapped on the disc three times, muttering a quick spell. Claire stifled her cry of shock as small metal particles poured out of the disc in all directions, covering her body so in a few moments she spotted a comfortable yet durable set of armor. It was a style that looked like a twist between the light armor that the Fae and Elves wore with the metal style of the dragon warriors.
“How…” she muttered.
“Magic.” Desmond wiggled his fingers at her. “You always protect us so fiercely, now this gift will protect you. Now, I think we have a battle to win.”
“Were you able to disable the ward at Maxios’s hoard?”
Desmond looked offended. “Was I able to disable the ward? Who do you take me for?”
Puck divebombed Desmond on his way to land on Claire’s shoulder and Claire hid a grin when Desmond jumped. “Yes, I disabled the ward. I admit, it was a little more difficult than I first assumed. Vanya’s got some juice for sure.”
“I know,” Claire said. “Your dad filled us in. If we can separate him from his raven familiar though we can break his magic source off.” She quickly filled him in on the rest of what Frederick had said as well as the battle plans they had created.
“Noted,” Desmond said, waving his hand towards the battle. “After you, little love.”
He disabled the shield and they jumped back into the battle. With the arrival of Roderick and Mara and their dragons, the rest of Maxios’s dragons shifted and took to the air. Above them, a fierce battle was waged. Witches kept one eye on the sky and one on the battle on the ground, ready to redirect any errant fire stream.
Although they started out next to each other, Desmond and Claire quickly got separated. None of her men were super thrilled about that but they could feel her nearby through the bond like she could so they didn’t worry too much.
Claire crossed her daggers in front of her, catching her opponent’s sword and twisting it away from them. She knocked the man out with a pommel to the head and looked around for her next opponent.
She locked eyes with Henry Storm standing only ten yards away. He broke her gaze as a Fae warrior engaged him. Henry Storm’s movements were unnaturally fast and Claire realized he was still feeling the effects of the Fortis plant he had downed earlier. The Fae warrior was faltering against him and Claire ran in their direction to help.
Before she could reach them though, Henry Storm ducked under the Fae warrior’s blade and swung his sword hard. Claire’s steps faltered as she could only watch in horror as he severed the Fae warrior’s head from his body.
The Fae warrior’s head rolled to a stop near her feet. His eyes were still open and Claire’s throat closed up as she recognized him as one of the commanders that sat at the table with them yesterday. Despair and guilt swirled through her as she lifted her eyes to Henry Storm’s, the man responsible for so much of this bloodshed.
He looked at her with an impassive face, and then turned away looking for his next victim. Claire wasn’t about to let him get away though. No, no more lives would be taken by this man. She would put an end to this. Now.
Resolve mixed with the grief as Claire lifted her hands and called her magic. She sent it shooting out of her center, forming an impenetrable barrier in front of Henry Storm, halting his path. She closed the barrier behind her so it was just the two of them encased in this shimmery white shield. She felt her mates’ anger down their bond. They were pissed she had knowingly placed herself in danger.
Let us in,Desmond half-pleaded half-demanded.
