way to the surface.
"Well, fuck," Jessa snorted, "looks like they're about to dragon out on us."
She knew us well enough to see what was happening, before there was any physical sign. As predicted, with a wash of power, the four of us shifted into a hybrid dragon form.
Our heights shot up, scales across our arms and foreheads, advanced senses, and an increase in power that would be dangerous in any other hands.
"Well, well, well," Justice said, eyes roving across me as desire drenched her voice. "I have to say, this is a change I can get behind."
Grace barked out a laugh from beside her. "Girl, me too. I'm never going to complain when our mates get even hotter."
"I'm into the dragon man vibe," Jessa added.
"Oh yeah," Grace agreed, watching her mate with hungry eyes.
"No time for that," Louis chimed in with a chuckle of his own. "We have a world to save, and time is running out."
He opened a step-through, and when it flared to life I released my hold on my brothers. The bond that had sprung up didn't fade, our dragons remaining in control as the power of eight cemented between us.
I’d grown used to the power of four; this new surge of energy in our eight was enough to have my teeth aching.
Justice remained close beside me as we followed Braxton and Jessa through the step-through—each looked back for a second before they crossed, and I wondered if they were thinking of their children. All of us worried about our young and if we’d make it back, but it was so much worse for their parents. Maximus and Mischa too.
This shit had to fucking stop.
We’ll see them again, Braxton growled in my head, and I nodded.
Yes, brother. You will.
Jessa's wolf added her growl through our bond, words seemingly beyond her. Her message was clear though: momma wolf was making it back to her babies.
We crossed the step-through without an issue, and I had no idea why I expected our destination to be the White House, but I was surprised to see we’d landed in the desert. It looked a lot like Arizona: red rock, cactus, arid soil, and strong waves of heat. I hadn't been to this specific place before, but there was something familiar in the scents around me.
“What the fuck?” Jessa snapped. “It’s just flying out there in the open, where any human could see it?”
She was talking about the winged beast, visible in the distance, circling above some craggy rocks.
"Zero fucks given about hiding itself," Tee said, her face one of exasperation and annoyance. "And the asshole is strong."
Louis looked grim. "He's channeling the original ley lines. Taking the power as he works to destroy it. Only a dragon could achieve this through their connection to original magic and the shining ones.”
"And he got the initial power he needed from murdering supes?" I asked, needing this confirmed.
"Not just supes," Justice replied suddenly, horror filling her voice.
We all turned to where she was facing, a little west of the dragon.
"Motherfucker!" Jessa snarled.
Strung up in a line, right across the horizon, was a massacre. Way more than the fifty supes that had been part of the joint treaty. Even from the distance, I could tell that some of the men who had been part of the president's guard were there.
A glimpse of red hair caught my eyes, and a large prickly plant nearby exploded in a ball of flames. My power was so much stronger now that I barely even had to think before it responded.
"It's Bryce, isn't it?" Justice choked out.
I nodded. He was a good man. He didn't deserve to end up like this.
"I can't smell the death," Braxton rumbled, words barely audible over the dragon in his voice. "Why can't I smell the death?"
Louis was still staring at the bodies high in the sky, their heads drooped forward, leaving them prone and broken. They were far away, but we still should have been able to smell that much death.
“It's a spell,” the sorcerer finally said. “The spell they used to set this entire thing in motion is still progressing, and it has a barrier around it that’s blocking our senses. When the barrier falls, it’ll be too late to stop the dragon.” That set him into motion. “We need to move,” he shouted as he started running.
We took off after him, right toward the line of death, and the dragon that hovered above its kills.
34
Justice Winter
Dragon probably tasted delicious. I legitimately wondered how