Oh, how the humans droned on. “Of course, if we enter into any kind of agreement, we’ll be needing your full support. As the new war master, do you now have the power to command the entirety of the Preor Third Fleet?”
“Hmm…” Radoo closed his eyes for a moment as he swayed to the music. He held a champagne flute lightly between his fingers and focused on the sounds coming from the stage. He was in a comfortable pavilion some distance from the performers, wedged between government officials and wealthy heads of business.
“Ahem,” Choler cleared his throat and jostled Radoo’s arm.
Radoo gripped his champagne to stop it from splashing all over his katoth pants and focused on the fat businessman beside him. The guy was not trustworthy, in Radoo’s opinion, his eyes shifting around constantly like a snake’s. He had no idea what the male had been trying to convince him of, but he was happy he had not been paying attention.
“I’ll certainly consider your proposal.” Radoo smiled politely, having no idea what he was supposed to think about—and not caring. “I must move on now, but I can speak with you later. Perhaps at the ball?” He threw out the words and then moved on quickly before the man could catch him in another conversation.
Radoo didn’t actually have anywhere to be, but he made a good show of striding determinedly to the other side of the pavilion. He joined a few politicians who waved him over, and they instantly launched into talks about using the Preor for personal security or special military operations.
If I were not so on edge, I would think this was boring, he thought. He still had that feeling that today was the day something would happen—something that had the power to change everything.
Across the park, a sudden boom sent shudders racing through the ground and Radoo swung his head toward the sound where he spied a streak of red fire and a pillar of smoke rising from the spot. His fingers gripped the cold glass as he took a single step forward, only to be halted by Choler.
“Radoo,” Choler placed a hand on his arm. “You can’t. You’re war master now. You have to—”
All Radoo heard was the smash of fine crystal as he dropped his glass and raced toward the boom. Everyone ran in the opposite direction and it was almost impossible to head toward the blast.
Then another bomb went off, several feet away from the first. He changed direction, but so did the crowd. People literally crawled over each other to get out of the way. He watched as human military and police moved through the crowd, calling for calm, but no one listened to their words.
Wide shadows patterned the ground as Preor filled the sky above the park and he heard comms going off in every direction as ambulances and armed guards were being dispatched. A horrible tightness consumed his chest and he knew he had to move… now.
He kicked up into the sky, lifting himself with one flap of his powerful wings so he had room to shift right above the ground and the terrified humans. He launched into the sky, and with one turn, he was above the park.
The two bombed sites were blackened pits, and he surmised the bombs must have been powerful because nothing was left at the site where they had detonated. Injured were scattered all over the ground, but he saw no motionless bodies. Thank the skies. Though the fact that people were injured while under his protection made him angrier than he had ever been. He had always been mild-mannered—and so had his dragon—but at that moment, the full force of his primal, feral power flooded him.
Who would do this? Who would harm so many innocent people? Is this freedom? Is this what they desire?
He roared into the wind as he circled the park, sun glinting off his maroon scales and making his wings appear blood red in the light. As he curved above the park, wondering if more was to come, he watched as a woman ran quickly through the crowd.
She was easy to notice because she raced the wrong way. Everyone hurled themselves toward the exits, yet this one female sprinted toward the array of tents like they were salvation.
Near the tent he saw frightened children hugging their parents, some of them on ponies while others had half-painted faces to look like Preor. Both children and parents looked about, not having the faintest clue which way to turn to find safety from the chaos.
He focused on the woman again. Her speed and stamina impressed him as she raced, going faster and faster without a hitch in her step. She shouted something and he cocked his head, tilting his massive ears against the slipstream to catch her words.
“… Down… The truck… Get down!”
The truck. She was pointing at the giant tanker truck parked right behind the tent where the children gathered.
Damn, Syh! It’s full of gasoline!
He slapped his wings against his body and changed direction, arrowing for the ground, nose first. He screamed toward the earth, focused on the patch of grass between the children and the truck.
I will not make it!
I must!
As he got closer, he suddenly threw his feet down and reared his head back, snapping like a mouse trap. He extended his wings and roared at the force of the air as it hit the flat membranes and halted his descent in one sharp movement. As his claws hit the ground, he crouched and opened his wings as far as possible.
The boom was so deafening, it left his ears ringing. He was distantly aware of being blown forward in a giant lurch of pressure. When he opened his eyes and found himself almost pressed flat to the grass, he was shocked by the force that had hurled a dragon of his size toward the ground. He blinked and looked up, watching as parents gathered their young ones and ran. The tent itself remained intact and he sighed in relief. He had saved them. He should be utterly content at his actions, but horrible anxiety stirred deep in his chest.
I saved them! What are my instincts attempting to tell me now?
He knew he was hurt. The explosion had been big enough to cause him injury, but it shouldn’t have been enough to cause him to feel this dizzy and ill, though. He shook his massive head, growling so loudly the ground trembled under his massive claws.
Desert, sand, guns. Smiling mother, proud father. Running, running, guns and pack on my back, I’ll be strong, I’ll be a soldier—
Senior prom. Why did I wear a dress? It doesn’t suit me I’m—
Why, why, why, I trusted them. I trusted them—
Radoo grabbed his head with his foreclaws and moaned. He was aware on some level that a dragon having a mental meltdown near an explosion was terribly bad for publicity, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
What is wrong with me?
He leaned down, looking into the crowd that lingered. He found Sasha fearlessly nearby with her crew, zooming in for a closeup of him with his wings outstretched.
“Another display of bravery from the Preor! As usual, the ‘invaders’ save us from our own kind!”
He turned his head, weakness making him shaky and sick. They would soon see a dragon vomit if he could not get ahold of himself.
He blinked, attempting to see through the smoke that continued to cloud the air. A light wind fluttered around him and he was aware of another explosion going off, not too far away. The smoke billowed and swept aside like a curtain, and then there was the woman with long blonde hair who had snared his attention before.
She truly saved everyone.
His guts twisted as another wave of emotion struck him hard and he was shocked to realize they were not his emotions. He was truly not having a mental breakdown of any kind.
This is—it’s—
His stomach heaved as he saw tears streaming down the woman’s face. She helped children get away and got people to their feet, checking them for injuries. Every time she sobbed, he felt the tightness and pain constrict in his chest.
The rest of the world seemed to melt away as she turned to face him fully. Through the smoke and chaos, their eyes met and there was nothing else in the world but the two of them and the magic that was already binding them mind, body, and soul…
The Knowing!