here to be entertained. Fear crept in, overshadowing Kalai’s anger. To think he’d found himself at home here, once. Happy. He looked up, and this time, Tauran met his eyes. Tauran’s expression radiated true, raw terror.
The echoing roar of a titan made Kalai flinch. But it didn’t come from beyond the council building. It came from behind him. And what Kalai first thought an echo was no echo at all, but the voices of dozens of dragons roaring together.
He looked up. Arrow stretched his neck and barked a call.
The gasps of shock rolling through the crowd turned to screams as the people suddenly moved like a tidal wave toward the council building and the streets leading away from the square. One by one, dragons landed on the roofs and cleared pavement around Kalai. A larger shadow fell over them, Leyra’s familiar cry drowning out the screams before she landed beside the fountain. She bared her teeth and snarled. Bullets bounced off her scales before a sharp command from Falka gave them pause.
Falka whistled.
Excellor’s shriek chilled Kalai’s blood.
The massive titan leaped clear of the council building and landed between the fountain and the platform, obscuring Kalai’s view of both Falka and Tauran. Excellor’s dark scales were torn and scratched by claws so large they could have only belonged to Ibi-shao, dried blood staining his chest and legs. His drawn breath sounded like a hurricane, and the roar he released shook Arrow’s resolve. Arrow jumped backward off the fountain and landed beside Leyra.
Kalai worked his jaw, Excellor’s roar temporarily deafening.
Excellor shook himself out, his swinging tail swiping civilians off their feet who were too slow to flee the square. Around them, the wild dragons gathered closer at Leyra’s command.
Kalai looked at her. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown to almost hide the gold. Her wings were raised and her teeth bared. She looked formidable, but she was still only half Excellor’s size.
A moment later, Excellor’s call was answered.
Valeron descended from the sky with Commander Landa astride him, trailed by a dozen more dragons strapped in harsh leather and each with a rider on its back. The Sky Guard recruits. Only, they weren’t recruits any longer. A few of the wild dragons shrieked and snapped their jaws, turning to face the new opponents.
Kalai’s heart clenched.
This was exactly what they had wanted to avoid. A repeat of the Battle of the Broken Wings. A fight the dragons would always lose.
How far was Kalai willing to go to save Tauran?
He looked at Leyra. At the fire in her eyes. She’d die for Tauran. Kalai would, too. But the rest of them…
Another roar, deeper and louder. The hair on Kalai’s body rose, and he gripped Arrow’s neck strap tighter. Ibi-shao? Was she alive after all? A thrill of excitement rolled through him to Arrow, who yipped and shifted.
An explosion rolled through the air, making them all cower. Excellor retreated to the council building despite Falka’s barked commands to stay. Leyra whimpered and Kalai’s excitement turned to dread. It wasn’t Ibi-shao.
“The volcano! Mount Lihia isn’t a mountain, it’s a volcano,” he shouted, forcing Arrow forward. The guards surrounding the platform aimed their weapons at him, but Kalai’s eyes were trained on Falka. “It’s erupting. The fumes are dangerous, you need to get people and dragons inside.”
Falka’s gaze was hard. “No more delays. Execute the traitors, now!”
“No! Listen to me!” Kalai shouted. Arrow snapped his jaws at a nearby guard inching too close.
“Look!” someone shouted.
From the north rose a thick column of ash and smoke. Some of the guards nervously turned their rifles toward the smoke instead, as if their weapons could protect them.
“I’m not lying!” Kalai insisted. The ground trembled under Arrow’s feet.
For the first time, Falka’s resolve wavered. No one moved.
In the moment of silence, Leyra leaped over the guards, so fast they didn’t have time to aim, and landed on the platform. She was too large to fit, back feet on the ground as she spread her wings and hid the four people from the view of the guards, the wood cracking and groaning under her weight.
In the corner of Kalai’s eye, Falka moved, reaching for his weapon.
Kalai urged Arrow forward. With a roar, Arrow took flight, claws extended toward Falka. The sound of shots rang in Kalai’s ear, the shine of a rifle to his right announcing a path of burning pain along the outside of his arm. Arrow twisted sideways, shielding Kalai from the attacker.
“Tauran!” Kalai shouted. Arrow hovered above the platform and