Dragon's Storm (Legion Of Angels #4)(66)

“Protect them,” I told him.

The explosion had also ignited the Venom inside of me. With every step that I took toward Battlestorm, I was growing stronger. I could feel the dark magic cascading through my body. I drew my guns and fired at him. Leg, arm, wing, stomach. Dark magic ignited on the bullets, tearing through his armor. Dark angels were strong against dark magic, but they were not immune. Nor were they immune to bullets.

I shot him in the wing again because that spot seemed to hurt him the most. He snarled in pain, and his wing went limp. He countered with a psychic blast that knocked me against the wall. My back bounced off the bricks, and my face hit the floor. Woozy, lightheaded, I peeled myself off the ground and shot him again. The dark angel roared in pain, then launched himself into the air, flying away with one crooked wing. The three Dragons covered his ragged retreat with another elemental cocktail. Spells boomed and bellowed across the full spectrum. Light and dark melded together. A storm was building, boosted by the castle’s magic.

“That’s enough,” I growled under my breath. I ran at the three Dragons, taking the brunt of their assault head-on. The wall of magic hit me, and I blacked out.



“Leda.”

Something was tapping against my cheek. I batted it away.

“What were you thinking?” Nero demanded. He sounded upset.

I opened my eyes to stare up into his face. He looked upset too.

“Explain yourself.”

I rubbed my head, wincing when I found a sizable bump there. “I was protecting you from the blast.”

“Excuse me?”

“Of course you’re excused.”

“What?”

“I forgive you.”

His eyebrows drew together. “For what?”

“For wearing yellow socks.”

“She’s delirious,” Harker commented.

I tried to sit up. When that didn’t work, I decided lying on the floor was the next best thing. I began to close my eyes.

Nero shook my shoulders.

“That’s annoying,” I told him.

“You need to stay conscious.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” My eyelids were so heavy.

“Of course I can.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. And the rank on my uniform.”

I squinted up at him. “Then take off your uniform.”

Captain Somerset laughed. “I think she’s hitting on you, Nero. She must be feeling better.”

“Or worse.”

The cold bite in that voice brought my mind back to the interrogation I’d witnessed last week—and the viciously intelligent Interrogator who had manipulated a witch into signing away her life to the Legion. It was like a splash of cold water.

I tried to sit up again. This time, it actually worked. Captain Somerset and Major Singh stood on either side of Nero. Harker stood with Colonel Starborn. We were all still in the Fire Tower. The three Dragons lay dead on the floor.

“How long was I out?” I asked. “What happened?”

“Roughly two minutes, and we killed the corrupted Dragons,” Major Singh told me.

I looked out the window. “If you killed the Dragons, why is the storm raging stronger than ever?”

“We weren’t fast enough,” said Colonel Starborn. “Their spell has reached the edge of the Elemental Expanse. Soon, it will ravage the world, pushing across sky, water, and land. Moving faster than any living thing or machine can go. It will devastate the Earth’s cities and short-circuit the wall protecting civilization from the plains of monsters.”

“How is this possible?” I asked. “They didn’t have a Fire Dragon to help them.”

“They didn’t need one. With their magic doubled, they had more than enough power to cast the storm.”

“So we’re talking about hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and thunderstorms without the volcanic ash and fire falling from the sky?”

“Basically.”

“Splendid,” I said grimly. “How do we stop it?”

“We can’t.”

I rose to my feet. The room shook—and not from the Dragons’ storm. I blinked a few times.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nero demanded.

“Standing. Looking up at all of you is hurting my neck.”

“You have a head injury.”

“I’ll have an even bigger one if the castle falls on my head.”

Nero shook his head slowly, clearly baffled by my superior logic.

“I’ll heal her,” Harker offered.

“No.” Nero moved into his path. “I’ll do it.”

He set his palms on either side of my face. A warmth pulsed out from his hands, and the throbbing ache in my head dulled. I caught Nero as he staggered to the side. My vision once again clear, I noticed how battered he looked—how battered they all looked.

“What happened to you?” I asked them.

“Taking out the Dragons proved to be more difficult than anticipated,” Colonel Starborn told me.

“You all look half-dead.”

“That would be an accurate description of how I feel,” Harker said.

No wonder no one had tried to heal me earlier. They didn’t have much magic left in them. How much had fixing my head just cost Nero? He stood tall and battle-ready beside me. He was putting on a good show. Only the intermittent flicker of pain in his eyes gave him away.