The man who’d made his life a nightmare was dead before he hit the ground. In a flash, he was turning, the guns directed toward the fighters circling him, just waiting for those fuckers to breathe wrong and he would happily send them along the same path.
The Takahashi stood frozen for a second, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Their leader was dead. One by one, they threw down their weapons and fell to their knees, their hands threaded on top of their heads in surrender.
Holy shit, the Takahashi were beaten.
Almost. He had to find Shinobu. This wouldn’t be finished if his brother were left alive to carry on in Masaru’s place. His brother was even more insane and cruel than Masaru.
Grabbing the nearest Omari fighter, he pointed at the Takahashi who’d already surrendered. “Take their weapons and spread the word, Masaru is dead!”
He left the stunned dragon and ran to the steps where he’d left Caelan and Nori. The clan leader just had to be okay. At least he was in good hands. If anyone could heal him, it was Caelan.
Behind him, a bell was ringing and shouts were going out. Masaru was dead. The Takahashi were surrendering in the front of the compound.
“Drayce!” Caelan shouted. His hands were bloody and more was smeared across his cheek, but he seemed okay. He was pushing to his feet from where he’d been kneeling next to his grandfather. The old dragon was pale but was sitting up with a relieved expression on his face. On the opposite side of him was Haru, holding his arm, looking both frightened and dangerous.
“Masaru is dead!” he announced as he reached them.
Caelan flew off the steps and crashed into him, nearly knocking the air out of his lungs. “You fucking idiot! You scared me to death,” Caelan grumbled, his face pressed into Drayce’s throat. Drayce wrapped his arms around Caelan and squeezed him as tightly as he dared. He was safe. His king was safe.
“Are you okay?” Caelan said, his voice muffled against him.
“I’m good. You?”
“Good. Pissed. But good.”
Yeah, that was to be expected, but Caelan would unruffle soon enough.
“Drayce?” Nori’s ragged voice had Drayce’s head jerking up. That’s right! He was in the middle of important shit.
With some reluctance, he released Caelan and ran the last few feet to the stairs where Haru was helping Nori to sit up a little further. “Are you okay?”
Nori was already waving off his question before he could finish speaking. “I’m fine. Caelan healed me. Nothing to worry about.”
Caelan stepped around Drayce and moved back up the stairs next to Nori. “You could still use more healing and rest. We should move you inside. Let us finish the cleanup.”
“Is it true? The Takahashi clan leader is dead?” Haru demanded.
Drayce nodded, trying not to think about the fact that he didn’t feel an ounce of remorse or sadness about killing Masaru. “He’s dead and the members of the clan have already started surrendering, but we need to locate Shinobu. We need to capture him or kill him. This will never stop if he’s left to take over the clan. We have to check the rookery. If he wasn’t at Masaru’s side, he was sent to the rookery.”
Haru shook his head. “I just came from the rookery. He wasn’t there. Megumi has the rookery well protected with dragons and your companions. I haven’t seen Shinobu at all during the battle.”
That meant Masaru left him behind to protect the manor in the event things went poorly at the Omari.
“I have to finish this. He needs to be stopped or the Omari will continue to suffer,” Drayce declared.
He started to turn away, but Caelan bounded off the stairs again, grabbing his arm. “What? You can’t go!”
“I have to. This is to protect my clan.”
“Caelan,” Nori said evenly. They both turned to see Nori’s hand extended to his grandson. “Let him go. He needs to do this.”
“Alone?”
“The Omari are never alone.” Nori tilted his head toward his nephew. “Haru will accompany him.”
“Gladly,” Haru purred as he bounced to his feet. He carefully handed care of Nori over to Caelan and threw his arm across Drayce’s shoulders. “Shall we?”
Drayce nodded and turned his gaze to Caelan’s silent and worried one. “I’ll be back soon, and you can kick my ass.”
“I’m counting on it,” Caelan agreed.
Haru shifted first, launching himself into the air, while Drayce was barely a step behind. He didn’t let himself glance over his shoulder as they rose and turned in the direction of the Takahashi grounds. He didn’t want to question his decision. This wasn’t about revenge. Okay, this wasn’t entirely about revenge. It was also about protecting Clan Omari. Shinobu was a threat to all of them, especially after the death of Masaru.
The flight across the island was short and all too soon, Drayce found his feet hitting the ground. Muscles stretched. Bones and flames dissolved down to his human form. He hesitated outside the large gates, his heart pounding and his stomach growing queasier with every passing second. The last time he’d been here, his wings had been cut from his body. The pain had been excruciating, but it almost paled in comparison to the shame.