Chapter 124: Chapter Thirty-Four

**Leo**

“Will they come back?” I asked River.

She shrugged.

“It depends on what happens on the other side of the field. Whether or not Enid defeats the beast.”

I glanced down at the young fire witch dead on the ground and a beat of guilt shot through me.

“That old witch, Morga, could’ve helped her. She could’ve stopped me from killing her, but she didn’t. Her own daughter.”

It disturbed me. How could a parent let their child be brought down like that?

“She wasn’t her daughter, not really,” River answered. “She steals them from their parents when they’re babies. Not steals exactly, makes crooked deals with the parents, who don’t know better. This young witch let you beat her not once, but twice, and got her sister hurt in the process. Morga was probably so disgusted with her incompetence that she let you kill her.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling worse for the girl.

“You did what you had to do,” she said, understanding my guilt. “She was too far gone to be saved.”

An enormous roar from across the battlefield sounded, stopping my train of thought and chilling my bones.

*‘Get back! FALL BACK! He’s shifting!’* Gideon screamed through the pack link to everyone.

I heard screams of terror and saw an enormous black dragon rise out of the crowd. He opened his mouth and unleashed an enormous torrent of fire on the battlefield. The screams turned to agony, and we all cringed.

I immediately started running. I had to get over there and help Enid.

I heard Cass yelling behind me and realized too late that he was probably offering me a ride. I looked up as his black shadow crossed over the top of me on the battlefield and watched him circle in the air around the enormous dragon.

I picked up my pace, running full stride because the path was open, like a giant cannon ball had been fired through here or something. A perk of being an Alpha wolf was that people got out of your way, too.

I looked around the battlefield and realized that despite the number difference; the battle had turned in our favor. The three dragons were gone now, making a tremendous impact on the strength of their side.

Hope blossomed in my chest. All she had to do was beat him, and it was over.

**Enid**

Sidious dropped his head level with me and roared wickedly. His breath was hot and smelled like a thousand years of decay.

“You shouldn’t have killed my cat,” I answered darkly.

I knew he heard me because he made a strange snickering sound. I’d never heard a dragon laugh before. I didn’t even know if he completely understood what I was saying. What language did he speak?

I was glad he was in his dragon form. I thought they were easier to fight this way. No matter how fast someone is, when you’re that big, your actions slow down. Plus, if I could get in close, I could use his own enormous body against him. I could hide in places he couldn’t see or access, like the back of his neck.

He made the first move, and I glanced to my right as his massive tail swung around. Anybody who hadn’t gotten out of the way was pummeled and crushed immediately.

I put my hands down and then timed my jump, using air to push me high enough to clear it. After I landed, I took off on a run. I wanted to get to him while he was off balance and readjusting.

To my surprise and dismay, I realized he would not bring his tail back around. Instead, he used it like a shield, wrapping it around himself and completely covering his heart with it.

*‘Well, that complicates things,’* I told Skadi.

She was quiet and thoughtful, trying to figure out a solution.

I ran as fast as I could, using air to push me, and tried to flank him.

An idea occurred to me, something I’d read about in one of the witch books River had given me. I was glad my feet were bare as I searched the earth for water.

Way, way down deep under the soil, I found the water table.

I got around behind the dragon, and before he could move to turn, I placed my hands on the ground. I beckoned the water to come up and moved the earth to make it easier.

The water pooled around my feet and when I felt I had collected enough, I picked it up. The droplets hung in the surrounding air. He started turning as I concentrated on the properties of the water. I broke the molecules apart, turning them to vapor.

I’d created a dense fog and, using air, I pushed it forward around him. When he got partially turned around, he growled in annoyance because he couldn’t see me. He couldn’t see anything underneath him.

I ran beneath him, between his legs. His belly was about two feet above my head, and I could feel the heat from his body. I was taking a gamble because if he laid down, he would crush me with his enormous weight.

I ran the length of his body and ended up right under his chest. He still didn’t see me, as he was turning his head and using one of his front legs to move the fog.

I hissed in frustration, though, because his massive tail hadn’t moved. He was obviously intent on keeping it there, no matter what.

*‘Gideon?’*

*‘I’m here.’*

*‘I need his tail to move, he’s blocking his heart.’*

*‘Okay,’* he sounded thoughtful, and I knew he was forming a plan.

A small roar sounded above us, and I looked up to see Cass circling around the other dragon. Sidious hissed at him and then tried to bite him. Cass was faster and more agile than the other dragons thanks to his size, and he spun away from the attack.

The tail didn’t move, though.

Suddenly, I heard hundreds of small screeches. All around us, the harpies and the sprites moved in. Sidious growled a warning at them and spit fire in a near circle around us. Most of them moved, but a few poor souls were burned to death instantly.

He opened his enormous wings, and I thought maybe he intended to take off, but he just flapped them once, making a giant wave of air that pushed the flight patterns of the harpies and sprites into disarray.

When they’d collected themselves, I heard Wren’s voice above the noise.

“The eyes and the wings! Where he’s sensitive! Let’s tear him apart!”

They converged, the sprites once again surprising me with their ferocity. They ripped at his wings, shredding them. Blood spurted everywhere as they did, and Sidious roared in pain.

He opened his maw to blow fire again, but this time, I was ready. I concentrated on the air around his muzzle. I hardened it into a shield, blocking him. When he opened his maw and released his flame, it all reflected into his face.

Cass landed on his head, ferociously tearing at his eyes. To my surprise, Sidious did something I’d never seen another dragon do. He quickly dropped his head to the ground, forehead down, and pinned Cass underneath it. Sidious lifted his body weight and pushed it down on the smaller dragon, crushing him.

I moved, running to get out of the way as his enormous body shifted. Cass screeched in pain and surprise, but it was cut off as I heard several of his bones breaking under the pressure.

“Cass!” I screamed in horror.

An enormous boulder left over from the destruction of Uluru was near us and I used earth and air to pick it up and hurl it at the side of Sidious’ head, careful with my aim not to hit Cass.

The boulder smacked into his head with a sickening thump and he roared, lifting his head and shaking it in pain.

I looked at the ground and saw my friend’s crushed body.

Oh Goddess, Cass.