A Dawn of Strength (A Shade of Vampire #14)(37)

Everything about Corrine’s expression told me that she was battling with herself to refuse my request. I was now beginning to sorely regret going to warn my father at all. I should have expected him to try to protect me, but I’d just wanted to warn him about the threat so that he at least knew what was coming.

I was relieved when I finally saw a flicker of resignation in Corrine’s eyes.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, her voice trembling.

I paused, biting my lip. The truth was, I had no idea what I was going to do. All I knew was that I was the person who had to do it.

I cleared my throat and looked at her darkly. “I’m going to settle some unfinished business.”

Chapter 31: Caleb

It felt as though the whole island trembled when the deafening roars echoed all around us. I’d been so preoccupied, I hadn’t looked up at the sky to notice the dragons’ approach. But now that I did, they’d already flown within the boundary of the island.

My fear had come to pass. Charis had made it back to his realm and stirred up the fury of his countrymen. The worst part was, this was my fault. I’d had the opportunity to end Charis, but I’d blown it. I’d let him get away.

Everyone on the beach froze as we all stared up at the sky—even our enemies were arrested in their spots. Nobody knew what to do. Did we continue struggling against one another? Did we turn our energies toward the dragons? Or did we attempt to flee?

I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the dragons’ horde. There must have been at least fifty of them. One alone was enough to burn down The Shade within a couple of hours. I shuddered to imagine the destruction that was about to ensue.

We’d needed a distraction for the black witches to prevent them going straight to the mountains.

Well, we’d sure gotten one.

My throat dried out as I looked once again at the long line of paralyzed werewolves and vampires. They’d be the first to feel the dragons’ wrath, and we still had no way of moving them.

I did the only thing I could think to do as the dragons approached: hold up two guns and aim for their eyes and nostrils. I missed. My attempts only served to aggravate them further as they sped up along the final stretch of sky and now appeared directly above us. Hovering in the sky, they formed a circle. It seemed that even the powerful black witches saw the futility of attempting to injure them from this angle—they didn’t even hurl a single curse up at them.

“Foolish people of The Shade,” a gravelly voice boomed out from a particularly massive silver-orange scaled dragon, apparently the leader of the pack. “Give back what is ours. You will all be ashes by the time dawn breaks, but handing the girl over now will at least prolong your lives enough to give you a chance to say your final prayers.”

A stunned silence followed. A silence that was about to cause us all to be torched.

“I’ll take you to her,” I yelled.

All eyes shot toward me—my comrades’, our enemies’ and the dragons’. The leader’s body shook as he chuckled, his sharp blue gaze digging into me. “And lead us on a meandering tour of your island? I’m sure you know where she is, vampire. Go bring her to us. You have exactly ten minutes before our patience runs dry.”

“She’s no longer on the island,” I shot back. “Her parents sent her away to keep her safe.”

This time all the dragons joined in with their leader’s laughter. “Well, if that really is the case, vampire, you’ve just talked your people out of time.” He swooped down, his claws outstretched, and scooped me up in his scaly fingers before climbing back into the sky. “You’ll take us to her after we’ve finished our work here.”

I considered trying to shoot at this dragon from this close angle, but there was no point. The moment I did that, I would surely be scorched by one of his companions, and it would only make them more aggressive in meting out vengeance on The Shade.

I didn’t know what to do. They were bent on ravaging The Shade whether Rose was here or not.

The dragon’s chest heaved as he drew in a monstrous breath. Heat engulfed me as he let loose his first roar of fire. I watched in terror as the flames hurtled toward the beach, narrowly missing people as they leapt out of the way. The dragons surrounding us followed suit and soon I could barely even see the beach any more as it became a sea of smoke and flames. There was no way even a supernatural could have survived that devastation.

I closed my eyes, wincing as I said a prayer for all those who’d just been consumed. Aiden, Micah, Saira and so many more I’d only just recently known, yet come to feel a bond with stronger than others I’d spent decades with.

Moving further inland, the dragons continued to burn everything in sight.

If even a single person survives this night, it will be a miracle.

Chapter 32: Rose

Strangely, accompanying the emergence of my fire powers was speed I’d never had before. I found myself running so fast, I almost smacked right into a tree trunk more than once as I dashed away from Corrine.

I still had no clear plan about what I was going to do. All I knew was that I had to get their attention. I ran straight to the Vale, which was now a ghost town. Reaching the bell tower in the center of the main square, I clambered up the ladder. I didn’t stop when I reached the platform beneath the bell, as I usually did. Instead, gripping hold of the rope dangling from the metal bell, I hauled myself up until I was level with the glassless windows that lined the sides of the structure just beneath the ceiling. I leapt and gripped hold of the ledge of the window nearest to me. Sliding through it, I climbed right out until I was fully outside, clinging to the side of the building with sweaty hands. Slowly and carefully, not daring to look down, I pulled myself up onto the roof and stood up.