“Let’s get some sleep. I’m worried we’re going to need it.”
FORTY-EIGHT
Finley
Loud pounding sounded from the door. A shout rang through the room, a woman’s voice, but I couldn’t make out whose.
Nyfain threw the sheets away from him, swinging his legs over the mattress. The frantic pounding stopped only to be replaced by a loud crash. Wood groaned. Again, like someone was trying to bust down the door with their shoulder.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Nyfain yelled, jogging.
I pulled the sheets away, shaking off my dreams and pushing up from the bed. Light flickered outside the windows along the far wall. I hurried over, and my breath caught for a long moment.
Bodies washed over the grass toward the castle. Demons. Moonlight shone down on them carrying swords or torches or larger weapons. Demonic creatures ran within them, their hideous faces screwed up in rage or their snouts or maws open, exposing glistening teeth and stringy drool.
More shouts rang out from behind me.
“Finley, hurry,” Nyfain yelled from near the door. “The castle is under attack. You need to get to safety with your family.”
“Fat fucking chance,” I said as I spun toward him. “I can blow fire now. I can help.”
Amazingly, he didn’t argue.
“We need to get to Starvos.” He waited for me with an outstretched hand.
I didn’t bother with a cover-up and ran past him and to the hall. Weston waited for us with shining eyes and a composed face.
“There are wolves running through the castle,” he said as we jogged past him. He kept pace. “Red Lupine. From what I gather, they’re trying to keep the kingdoms opposing them separated.”
That confirmed it. They truly were working with the demons. Well, they’d regret it.
“Sire,” Micah said, waiting for us on the right with all the army dragons lined up behind him. Tamara stood on the other side, my guard stretched out along the wall behind her. Beyond them, crowded around the entrance of the wing, waited Weston’s wolves.
Every door in the hall was open, the rooms housing those who couldn’t fit in the hallway, the demons, and other staff members.
“Put my family and the staff in the dragon rooms,” I said as we slowed to get organized. “I doubt anyone will go looking for dragons.”
“What about the demons?” Tamara asked.
Govam stepped out of the room two doors down on my left, turning sideways to get between the dragons. He watched us without expression, awaiting orders.
“Keep them to the rooms,” Nyfain answered. “Let them guard the family and staff for now. Their value is in the knowledge they have, not on the battlefield. I don’t want them to get confused with the enemy and accidentally killed.” Nyfain stared at Govam for an intense beat. “We have no reason to confuse you with the enemy, correct?”
“For us, there is no fate imaginable worse than being captured by him. Our survival is in your hands.”
Nyfain nodded. “Then guard the innocent.” He turned back to Weston. “What of the enemy wolves? How big of a threat are they?”
Weston’s smile was wicked. “They should’ve known better than to shift. I need the dragon portion of the pack to create a big distraction. Once the enemy wolves are fully in battle mode, they’ll be mine.”
Nyfain looked at Micah as Leala came running down the hall in a leather bustier, a leather thong, and shiny black-heeled boots. She had her whip in hand and speckles and dots of something all over her chest and neck.
“My love, don’t you ever take a break from information gathering?” Hadriel asked her quietly as she slowed in the center of the dragon column, everyone suddenly falling silent in her presence.
“Why take a break when I can get orgasms at the same time as information?” she murmured, catching my eye. It wasn’t hard, given I was staring. “Milady, we’ve got trouble.”
“We know, dove,” Hadriel said. “We’re literally getting ready to confront it, or didn’t you notice all the naked people?”
“Is that…candle wax all over her?” someone asked.
Leala licked her lips. “No, I mean, they are targeting you, milady. I tied up and pleasure-tortured one of the staff members who services the demon quarters. It took a minute, but I finally got good information out of him. He overheard the demon king telling one of the others to take you out. He thinks you’re the key to the golden dragon’s destruction. If you hide, they will search you out.”
Rage ballooned within the bond as Nyfain turned to me. Down the way, Arleth and Delaney stepped out of their suite, having clearly heard Leala’s warning. They wanted to know what we’d do, and to me it was a no-brainer.
“If he wants to target me, he might as well go after my dragon,” I said, feeling the fire of battle. “In the air would be the safest.”
Frustration and regret washed through the bond but didn’t show on Nyfain’s face. “You stay near me. Understand?”