But that was all Braeden needed.
He grabbed Alyx, waiting just long enough for her to scramble onto his back before he raced through the opening he'd made.
Now, at last, he didn't need to hide his powers anymore. The flame inside him sprang into fiery life at this threat to his mate.
Where he'd stood a moment before, a wall of white-hot flames rushed up, burning so high and bright that they touched the ceiling. Even as he rushed through the corridor now with Alyx holding on for dear life, he kept a part of his mind focused on that fire.
Steele was trying to cross it to come after them. Braeden could feel it, the moment Steele threw his own powers against Braeden's fire wall. There was a dark, distinct sensation that overwhelmed his senses: a feeling of shadow and the acrid taste of smoke on his tongue.
For a moment, th
e fire wall flickered, darkness threatening to extinguish the flames.
Braeden pushed back with his own powers, feeding the flames until they burned brightly again. And then he withdrew.
The wall of fire would give at Steele's next attack. Using fire against a fire dragon wasn't very effective, after all.
Still, he'd gotten what he wanted. The precious seconds he'd needed to get through the corridor with his mate on his back.
Before them loomed the opening they'd come in from. Braeden could already see the shine of the fake dragon fire sun burning in the vast cave beyond.
And he could also see the dark silhouette of more guards blocking their escape.
Braeden didn’t even stop. He opened his jaws and breathed a huge ball of fire at them. The large projectile hurtled towards them so fast that they couldn't get their defenses up in time. A heartbeat later, the fireball hit them like a bowling ball.
The dragons were pushed out of the opening, surrounded by flames that would do them no great harm. Still, the way was free now, and that was all that mattered.
Without a second of hesitation, Braeden flung himself into the huge cave beyond, spreading his wings to break his fall. Behind him, he could hear an enraged roar, and then the sound of claws on stone.
Steele had broken through his flame barrier, just as he'd known he would.
But before Braeden, the vast cave spread with its pale trees and mushroom fields. There were dragons on the ground, alarmed by the fireballs that had singed the tunnel guards.
Braeden paid them no mind, because there, on the other side of the cave, was the exit.
It was still guarded—and the dragons stationed there must have been warned by Steele. There were ten dragons instead of two, and they were all facing in his direction.
Can't take them by surprise.
There was no time left for anything but brute force now anyway.
Behind him, a loud and extremely angry roar echoed through the cave. Steele had made it out of the narrow tunnel.
But Braeden had always known his distraction wouldn't give him more than a few seconds. And a few seconds could be enough—if he could make it past the ten guards.
Again Braeden inhaled.
He was close enough now that he could see the dragons guarding the exit roaring in alarm. Behind him, there was an answering, enraged roar.
But he couldn't turn and face Steele, not yet, as much as he wanted to end the reign of the dragon who'd dishonored the eternal flame in Braeden’s heart.
The guards opened their jaws. Flames flickered within. Then they exhaled.
Braeden didn't even flinch. Instead, he kept flying straight into the fire breathed his way.
And then, at the very last moment, he called up a shield of fire. It surrounded him like a red-hot ball, blazing a hundred times brighter than the fire breathed at them.
Like a cannonball of pure lava, he barreled straight into them.