better than the rest of us. It’s time for us to catch up. Don’t worry. The Society has protected Kichona for a millennium. You don’t get that far without adapting and learning new tricks.”
“I was naive to think we could beat the Dragon Prince that easily,” Sora said.
“No,” Daemon said. “You weren’t naive. You were optimistic and daring, and that’s exactly what the Society needed. Without you, we’d all be conscripted to Prince Gin’s army already.”
“But instead, you’re a magic wolf,” she said glumly.
Daemon laughed, though, and it shook his shoulders and almost knocked Sora off his back. She had to grab a handful of fur so she didn’t slide off. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I’d like to figure out sooner rather than later how to change back into human form, but I’m not all that upset.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I’ve finally got magic now.”
That made Sora smile. A little.
Meanwhile, Renegade turned to the taigas behind them and shouted, “Retreat!”
The army turned and began marching. They would have to leave the Imperial City. Until they came up with a stronger plan, it wouldn’t be safe to stay so close to Prince Gin and his ryuu.
Not all the taigas retreated, though. From the far end of the army, Fairy and Broomstick pushed their way up the road to Sora and Daemon.
“Spirit, are you okay?” Fairy asked, shoving aside the last of the taigas, despite their appalled scowls that she would blatantly ignore the councilmembers’ orders to retreat. “We thought you were going to die when you and Virtuoso fell off the Citadel’s wall. And, Wolf, you’re . . . a wolf.”
Daemon laughed so deeply, it vibrated through his body and through Sora’s. She held more tightly to his fur.
“What, exactly, happened?” Broomstick asked.
“I think he’s the missing wolf from the sky,” Sora said.
Fairy ran her fingers through the fur behind Daemon’s ears. “A demigod, huh? Sexy.”
He leaned into her touch and growled in a content, low rumble.
Sora flinched. But then she reminded herself that she didn’t have a claim on Daemon, not like that. And she never would. They were geminas.
Because of that, she tried to act like everything between them was the same as it had always been, though it felt like wading upriver in a storm. “Wow,” Sora said, rolling her eyes affectionately at Fairy. “You’re still a flirt, even in the middle of a war.”
“It’s evidence of good character that I’m consistent,” she said.
Daemon nudged Fairy playfully with his nose.
Sora looked away. She had to think about something else. “Come on, we should probably catch up with the rest of the taigas.”
But then a voice boomed from the top of the hill. “Did you think it would be that easy to walk away from me?”
“Prince Gin.” Sora paled.
Suddenly, the road beneath them roiled and broke open. It roared as more spears of bloodstone shot out of the ground, like thousands of dragon talons. One of the claws knocked Daemon into the air. Sora screamed and clung to his back.
He righted himself before they hit the ground, and they darted into the sky.
Beneath them, the path that had once led to Rose Palace continued to rip itself asunder. More talons pierced through the earth. Some speared straight through unfortunate taigas. Others closed around them and lifted them ten stories off the ground, trapping the soldiers in prisons of stone dragon claws. Those who were trapped tried fruitlessly to smash the claws or pry them apart as the talons curled together, the spaces between narrowing to close the prisoners in.
“Wolf! Help!” Fairy teetered at the top of one of the talons. She held Broomstick by the back of his tunic, but the fabric was slipping. If she lost her grip, he would fall into the stone claws’ clutches.
“Hang on,” Daemon shouted.
Sora pressed herself flat onto his neck and clamped her legs to his sides. They dove straight down. Blue light streaked behind them. The wind shrieked in Sora’s ears.
As they descended, new claws shot out of the ground and tried to snatch them from the air. Daemon swerved.
“Crow’s eye!” Sora clung to his fur as they dodged in and out.
“I can’t hold Broomstick much longer!” Fairy shouted. The talon she perched on began to close toward the others, threatening to impale her on another claw.
“Go now!” Sora yelled into Daemon’s ear.
He darted out of reach of another stone claw and streaked toward Fairy and Broomstick again.
Sora held out her hand.
Broomstick reached.
Their fingers met and locked. “Let go!” Sora said to