Kalai whipped around in search of Falka, but the general was gone.
Leyra shifted backward, swiping her powerful tail at the guards crowding in around her. On her back, Tauran helped Emilian and Catria up behind him. Sparrow had vanished in the chaos.
“Head for the Solar Tower!” Kalai shouted, nearly blowing out his voice in an attempt to be heard over the shots going off around them. Arrow shrieked when a bullet pierced the membrane of his wing, and Kalai let him twist around, rising higher, escaping the guards’ line of sight. Kalai turned in the saddle, eyes peeled on Leyra’s form below, slower to ascend, her wings raised to protect the people on her back.
A large form whipped past Kalai, and he gasped at Arrow’s sudden evasive twist, shifting his weight in the stirrups. All around them, the wild dragons filled the air and crowded Leyra, snapping their teeth at the guards. Leyra took flight, the sheer pressure of air from her wings sending both guards and dragons around her tumbling. Her eyes locked on Arrow and Kalai whistled, then turned toward the tower. Below, Excellor released a roar of frustration, watching the wild dragons claim the sky. He stayed where he was.
Obu appeared on Arrow’s left. From over his shoulder, a flushed and wide-eyed Jinhai peered. “I’m sorry! I couldn’t stop them!”
“It’s okay.” Kalai glanced over his shoulder to make sure Leyra was keeping up. “Head for the tower!”
* * *
The Sunrise Tower was no shelter.
Tauran stood in the center of the cavernous room, watching the wild dragons filter in. The two most solid floors were barely in any shape to keep the elements out. Outside, Jinhai and Obu tried to guide the dragons carrying eggs inside first. There were so many dragons and not enough space. The dragons that didn’t fit inside, crowded on the broken roof and what remained of the upper and lower levels, exposed to the elements.
Tauran didn’t notice he was shivering until Kalai’s warm hand folded around his shoulder. Their eyes met, Kalai’s full of concern. He and Arrow had been first inside the tower, taking on the task of guiding the wild dragons inside. Now, he cupped Tauran’s bloodied, aching face with a tenderness that made Tauran’s throat tighten. “What’s happening?”
“Volcanoes everywhere are erupting in a chain reaction,” Kalai said. “Pushing toxic particles into the air. That’s why I came. I have all the wild dragons with me.”
Tauran’s eyes widened. He looked around, careful not to dislodge Kalai’s hands from his face. “All of them?”
Kalai nodded. “We retrieved their eggs when the Kel Visal volcano erupted.”
Tauran blew out a breath. Kalai had managed a near impossible task in the span of only days. As with all things, he made it look easy. While he’d been sulking and feeling sorry for himself in the jail cell, Kalai had been fighting to save half a hundred lives. Pride swelled in him, mixing with worry. “The smoke will get in here,” Tauran said, glancing at the balcony doors, wide-open to let the dragons in. “This place isn’t safe.”
“I know. But I don’t know what else to do.” Raw fatigue colored Kalai’s words.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Tauran’s voice broke. He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. For breaking his promise to Kalai, for getting Ibi-shao killed, for not being there to help when Kalai needed him most. He screwed his eyes shut against the tears rising in them. “I’m sorry.”
“Shhh.” Kalai’s arms were warm and tight around him, filling Tauran with comfort he hadn’t earned. “Tell me where you’re hurt.”
Tauran swallowed the stubborn lump in his throat and straightened from where he’d curled into Kalai. This wasn’t the time to wallow in his stupid guilt-trip. Kalai needed him, too. “It’s not too bad,” he said, prodding carefully at his sore ribs. One of them sent a pang of sharp pain through his side and he winced. Likely broken. But he’d live. “I don’t go down easily.”
“Oh, I know,” Kalai said. He smiled, the expression weak and flimsy, but Tauran latched onto it all the same. Drank it up.
Tauran cupped Kalai’s face, brushing strands of tousled hair from his brow. “We’ll do this together.”
“What’s the plan?” Catria’s voice made Kalai turn. For a moment, Tauran mourned his gentle touch, then shook himself out of it. There would be time to hold each other close and tune the rest of the world out once they were all safe.
“We need to move the dragons somewhere safer than this,” Kalai