city of dragons 03 - fire magic (31 page)

The dragon was right there.

I roared, blowing out a bit of threatening flame.

The other dragon wasn’t the least bit fazed. She flew straight at me, swiping her claws at my snout in midair.

I evaded her, flapping my wings and moving higher.

She breathed a wall of fire at the hotel.

Bitch. What the fuck was her problem? Who was this person?

I dove into her, grappling with her, digging my claws into her body, my teeth into her scales.

She latched onto me too.

We were eye-to-eye now, and looking at her, I was startled and frightened. There was nothing in her eyes but madness and rage. She was empty in there somehow, like a rabid animal. I had never seen such a lack of intelligence in a dragon’s gaze.

We wrestled in the air, losing height, falling.

We landed in the ocean with a splash.

I sunk under the water, fighting to get back to the surface.

When I did, the other dragon was already in the air again, flying back for my hotel again, breathing more fire.

I rose to the air, going after her.

And then suddenly the other dragon squealed, halting in midair. She flapped her wings a few times in a frenzied attempt to get back up higher. But her attempts failed. She stopped moving. She plummeted, hitting the ground with a thud.

That was when I noticed the arrow in her body.

Shot by a slayer? Where?

I searched the area with my eyes, but it was dark. I didn’t see anyone. I hurled myself through the air for my pool, diving deep into the water to shift back to human form. I couldn’t risk being in dragon form with a slayer around. I had to protect the baby.

When I surfaced, there was a girl standing at the edge of my pool, holding a bow, a quiver of arrows on her back.

Clarke Gannon?

I swam over to her, naked, and treaded water, looking up at her. “You,” I said, venom in my voice.

“You,” she said. She arched an eyebrow. “Still don’t think rogue dragons exist?”

* * *

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