have to,” she replied grimly. “Now go!”
The crowd dispersed, though Trinity noticed some dragged their feet, now appearing more curious than afraid. And there were more than a few who had their phones pointed to the sky. They wanted to see the dragons fight, she realized, feeling a little sick at the thought. But who could blame them, really? It was a Michael Bay flick come to life.
Hopefully it would leave less destruction in its wake…
“Emmy? Are you ready for this?”
The dragon gave her a rueful look. As I’ll ever be, I suppose.
“Then let’s do it!”
She leapt onto Emmy, grabbing on tight as the dragon pushed off on her back legs, springing into the sky, her wings beating the air in rapid pulses to gain elevation. As the ground fell away, Trin forced herself not to look down, half wondering if she should have taken cover with the rest of the townspeople and let Emmy go at it solo. But she’d promised the dragon they were a team, and maybe some of her power to push minds could be used on Zavier too.
She closed her eyes and gave it try.
Zavier. You don’t want to do this, Zavier.
Out of nowhere, the dragon rose up before them, popping out from a cloud of lingering black smoke. His eyes locked onto them, and his mouth opened to an angry growl, baring glistening, sharp teeth. Trin sucked in a breath, taking him in. He looked so different now than he had back at the airfield. Sure his scales were still midnight black with the same flecks of gold intermixed. But his eyes had changed. The gentle black eyes had hardened, filled with hatred and rage.
Zavier, please stop this! she tried again with no assurance that he could hear her. I know you’re angry. And you have every right to be. But these people did not kill your sister. They’re innocent.
But Zavier didn’t answer—only opened his mouth and let loose a cannonball of fire straight in their direction.
Emmy! Trin cried, horrified.
Her dragon darted right, narrowly dodging the flames. The fire shot past them, nicking Emmy’s wing before slamming into a church steeple, setting it ablaze. Emmy turned on a dime, diving toward the church and wrapping a wing around the steeple, effectively smothering the fire before it could spread.
The heat was so intense now that Trinity was drenched in sweat, and she was half-afraid her clothes would end up simply disintegrating from her body. Of course, being naked was about the least of her worries at this point.
Come on, Emmy. Stop him!
Emmy turned back to Zavier, her neck jutting out, followed by her body—a dragon-shaped torpedo shooting through the skies. Trin had to hang on for dear life as they cannonballed through the air, Emmy’s claws outstretched and her teeth bared.
The dragons met head-on, claws raking at scales, teeth biting into necks, wrestling through the air, snarling and screaming as they went. Through it all, Trin held on for dear life, pretty sure, at any moment, she would fall and careen to her death. She struggled to take in shaky breaths, repeating her mantra over and over in her head.
She’s not going to let me fall. She’s not going to let me fall.
Emmy roared and attacked again, this time gouging Zavier’s side with her sharp teeth. But he retaliated quickly—slashing at her neck and drawing blood. To a casual observer, they would seem evenly matched—able to fight on and on forever. But as the battle continued, Trinity realized that Emmy was tiring while Zavier didn’t even appear winded.
Come on, Ems, she urged worriedly. Don’t give up now.
To her credit, Emmy kept fighting like a champ, but Trin knew it was only a matter of time. Emmy’s sides were bruised and her mouth bloody. All that time spent in the government lab was catching up to her, and though her will was strong, her body was proving too weak to take the other dragon down. If the fight continued much longer, Trinity was pretty sure they were going to lose. Emmy would fall, and they would both be killed.
But just as Trin was about to give up—to beg Emmy to retreat to live to fight another day—she heard something else in the distance. A strangely familiar sound, permeating the air. Her eyes bulged from her head as she recognized it.
A Hunter’s song. Could it really be?
For a moment, both dragons froze, hovering motionless in the air, caught by the song’s powerful spell. Trinity waited, hardly able