A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

Nyfain’s dragon stepped in and swung, his tail taking out four demons and barely missing the wolf and us. His aim and control were absolutely incredible after so many years spent fighting on the ground.

I can’t let that big sonuvabitch show me up, my dragon thought.

Same team!

It might be the same team, but I want to be the most valuable player.

Watch, folks, I thought miserably, as the big, dumb dragon goes beyond her abilities and gets us killed.

I got this, she thought back, and it really seemed like she believed it. Dipshit.

She raced beyond Nyfain to where several demons were closing in on Weston. There were too many, and Weston’s wolves were too few to protect him. My dragon roared even as she bore down on the enemy, summoning our people to help. To land and fight with teeth, claws, and tails rather than take missing shots from the air.

She went after the demons like a wild thing, not nearly as graceful or controlled as Nyfain but making up for her deficits with a viciousness that made demons and wolves alike pause for a moment, staring in shock or horror. She took the hesitation to her advantage, ripping into them savagely and huffing and snorting for the wolves to fall in.

Tamara and Jade landed not far away, with Lucille and a couple of others following suit. They echoed our roars before awkwardly fighting anything in their path. Their size—all of our sizes—worked against us, only Nyfain able to turn and stomp and bite seemingly all at the same time to catch the much smaller bodies darting in and scratching and cleaving. But the wolves quickly fell into a rhythm with us, letting the dragons scatter the enemy and kill what we could and seamlessly taking out the rest.

A mighty roar beat down on us from above, and then another, before Micah and his dragons touched down. Trees cracked; branches fell like rain. Fire coated the ground, not burning the demons but blinding them, suffocating them. Our teeth and claws ended them. Wolves from the villages came in next, not as practiced as Weston’s wolves but following his unspoken commands all the same. They stayed to the outside by Micah’s dragons, finishing off what the dragons started. And then other creatures came, big cats and one honey badger so insane it had three demons give up the fight and start running blindly.

Creatures wailed, and I couldn’t tell if the cries were coming from our side or the enemy’s but didn’t stop to check. I could cure our people when this was done. When the demons were gone.

Nyfain let out a frustrated roar, and I belatedly saw what the problem was.

No, not what. Who.

There he is, my dragon thought, taking a shallow sword strike to the chest as she followed Nyfain’s dragon through the melee. Dolion!

Not letting the pain register, she knocked aside two demons as she burst between a couple of burning trees. The fire didn’t bother our scales, but Weston hung back and tried to work his way around it. A wall of demons blocked him, trying to crowd us in, and he darted back toward us. My dragon, realizing what he meant to do, slowed and veered, scraping first one tree with her side and then the other, snuffing out the fire around us. She widened her legs and slowed more, allowing him to dart under her and run out the other side. Four more wolves did the same maneuver before she followed them, watching them span out around Nyfain again.

Nyfain crashed through the demons with the wolves at his side, their attacks perfectly synchronized, Weston allowing him to take the lead. Emotion grabbed hold of me. It was a fucking beautiful sight.

This is no time to get sappy, my dragon said as she again rushed into the fray.

I can do what I want. I don’t have fuck all to do but sit here and watch you flailing around like a gobshite.

How about you get mad, Miss Useless? I’m getting tired. I don’t have as much stamina as that big fucker. I need power.

There was going to be one helluva battle for dominance between true mates when this was all over. I doubted either dragon liked to be shown up, even by the other. Idiots.

I can hear your thoughts, asshole, my dragon thought as she came up behind the others. Weston pushed to the side to make room, the wolves reconfiguring to put Nyfain and me at the front.

Well, maybe try to work with him instead of outdoing him.

I can’t. He keeps trying to protect me and cut me out of the action.

Yeah, I should’ve expected that. He wouldn’t want us getting hurt. How annoying.

See? my dragon thought as she caught sight of Dolion again, back behind the line of his demons, staring at Nyfain with frustration and hate etched into his features. But guess what? I’m not ground-bound.