Ears ringing, Aiden pushed himself to his knees and summoned a shield. Almost directly ahead of him, Morgan stood with his hands on his hips. Aiden’s blood ran cold, lungs tightening until he could barely breathe.
Something bumped into him, and he yelped before he realized it was Tiago. Aiden grabbed his boyfriend, making sure he was behind the shield.
Morgan grinned. “Light fae. I must say I’m surprised you would make such dangerous allies. You must truly be desperate.” His gaze focused on Aiden. “Hello again, Aiden. I was hoping to meet you here.”
The dark fae took a step toward him, and Aiden tensed. His shield spell was stronger now, but would it be able to stop Morgan?
The street lit with multiple colors as spells streaked toward Morgan and the other dark fae. Most of the spells dissolved against barriers, but two of the dark fae were knocked back. Morgan snarled. “Hold them here.” He disappeared.
The dark fae counterattacked, but the combined shielding of the light fae held. Aiden turned to check on Tiago. “Are you okay?” He looked him over, face heating at the sight of Tiago’s naked body. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.
“Yeah. You?” Tiago struggled to get up, and Aiden stood to help him to his feet.
Aiden’s body ached in several places from being thrown to the ground, but he needed to be tough. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” Tiago rubbed at his shoulder. His boyfriend looked terrible, covered in blood, deep cuts, and bruises. Tiago hadn’t had time to explain what happened beyond saying he’d gotten in a fight with his parents. Aiden didn’t think he should be here at all, much less at the front of the battle.
“You should go back with—”
“He’s starting the ritual!” Mr. Johnson yelled.
The dark fae and the magic blocked most of Aiden’s view, but he caught a glimpse of a glowing blue circle and a figure standing in the center of it. Morgan was going to bring more allies from Faery.
“Can you get us through?” Mr. Johnson asked Nuala.
“I can,” Bryn said. “Give me room.”
Aiden started to move, expecting her to throw a powerful spell at the dark fae, but she ran the opposite way. She made it to an empty space behind the defenders and spun around. Magic shimmered around her for a heartbeat or two, the sensation of lizard skin and heated rocks overpowering all the other magic in the area. Then she was a huge red dragon, as tall as the three-story buildings. With a mighty sweep of her wings, she was airborne.
She flew overhead, kicking up smoke and debris. The dark fae threw spells at her, and Aiden tensed. Could she fly and shield at the same time? Bryn moved higher and dodged. Most of the spells missed, but a few hit her and she staggered. Righting herself, she opened her mouth, and a huge gout of flame shot toward the dark fae.
They scattered. The flames also poured out toward Aiden and the light fae, but the barriers protected them. Aiden’s face stung at the searing heat just a handful of feet ahead of him. Someone used a water spell to douse the worst of the fire, and they charged.
Bryn went on ahead, and Aiden’s heart lifted. She could stop Morgan, and then all this would be over and they could go home…
Something flickered through the clouds—Clouds? The sky had been clear just a few minutes before—and a purple-tinged bolt of lightning streaked downward. A massive crack of thunder echoed through the sky, stealing Aiden’s breath. Blinking away the bright afterimages, Aiden watched in horror as Bryn fell.
The way she hit the ground in a boneless heap made Aiden’s stomach lurch, and he turned away with a hand to his mouth. She can’t be dead. Oh God, please!
“Holy shit.” Tiago sounded as shocked as Aiden felt.
“Mom!” Dylan came running, shoving people out of his way.
Aiden tried to grab for him. “Dylan, wait!” He wanted to check on Bryn too, but there were almost a dozen dark fae and who knew how many extremists standing between them.
A ball of fire formed around Dylan, both shield and weapon. He was almost across the space Bryn had cleared with her attack. Aiden couldn’t let him charge out there alone. Heart pounding, Aiden ran after him. Distantly, he heard Mr. Johnson yelling at both of them.
It took a moment for Aiden to realize Tiago was running beside him in jaguar form, blood standing out against his golden hide. He moved with a slight limp. Aiden was about to tell him to go back when the extremists came at them.
* * *
Tears blurred Dylan’s vision. She can’t be dead. She can’t be.
Through the flames swirling around his body, Dylan saw the bright flashes of spells streaking toward him. He dodged two; a third sizzled against the barrier. Dylan kept running, gaze fixed on the spot where Mom had fallen. Her dragon form had disappeared, which was bad. It meant she was unconscious or…
No.
A dark fae stepped into his path. Not Morgan, but her blue-black skin was the same shade as Morgan’s. Morgan. He was the one who’d shot Mom out of the sky. Dylan didn’t care how powerful Morgan was, he was going to kill that son of a bitch.
Anger fueled Dylan, but exhaustion hovered just behind it, waiting to take Dylan down. He had to do this quick. Check on Mom first, then take out Morgan.
Dylan drew on his power and sent out a huge gout of flame. It curved as it hit the dark fae’s shield and flowed around it. For a second he considered another attack. The rage surrounding him whispered that it would feel so good to hurt her. But Mom was the priority, so Dylan went around the dark fae.
A little shiver of fear went up his spine. As upset as he was, he still recognized it was stupid to turn his back to the dark fae. Maybe she’d blast him and he’d be knocked out or dead before he reached Mom. Dylan poured more magic into his shield and charged ahead.
It was darker here, away from the burning buildings, and at first Dylan couldn’t see anything. What if Morgan had grabbed his mom? Then Dylan spotted a figure crumpled on the ground.
“Mom!”
The fire around him went out as he sprinted the last few steps. Dropping to his knees, he formed a barrier around them both. The street was wet with melted snow, but he barely felt the water soaking into his pants. Mom lay partly on her side, covered in blood, the scent of it sharp. She also smelled of ozone and burnt cloth, smoke rising off her in fitful wisps. She wasn’t moving.
“Mom.” He grabbed her shoulder, desperate to wake her, but froze. What if shaking her made her injuries worse? Was she even breathing? He slid his hand up to press against her neck.
“Dylan!”
Aiden skidded to a stop, the air around him shimmering as he summoned a shield. A jaguar stood next to him—Tiago.
“She’s hurt,” Dylan said dumbly. Of course Aiden knew that.
Other people came running toward them. Dylan tensed for a fight. Then he recognized Sakura and Izume and… Aiden’s fae mom.
“It was foolish to charge the enemy like that. We must rejoin the others,” Nuala said.
“Bryn needs help.” Aiden’s voice shook.
Nuala looked at Aiden, then down at Dylan and his mom. Lifting her hands, she formed a shield around all of them. “Drop your barrier, dragonkin. I will examine your mother.”
As soon as the spell disappeared, Nuala knelt next to Mom. “Is she—?” Dylan couldn’t choke out the rest.
“The dragonkin yet lives, but she is badly injured. I cannot protect us all and heal her at the same time. Aiden, you must take over.”
Aiden and the others had moved in closer, staring down at Dylan’s mom with concern. “I don’t know if I can—” Aiden started.
“You can.” Nuala’s tone was firm.
Aiden licked his lips. “Okay.” He closed his eyes, and the barrier flickered. “I got it!”
Nuala put her hands over Dylan’s mom, fingers barely touching her body. A faint blue light formed over his mom. She looked so terrible. Helpless. He’d never seen her like that.
Sakura sat next to him without a word and wrapped an arm around him.
“How bad?” Dylan asked, throat tight.
“I will not let her die.” Nuala looked down at his mom with a frown of concentration.
That should have been comforting, but all he could think of was the possibility that she could die.
“What the hell?” Izume said.
Dylan looked up to see a purple glow shimmering above them, a little like the lights in the sky from last year. Were the extremists trying to destroy the wards again?
Nuala glanced around and tensed. “This is a trap.”
“Oh God,” Aiden said, his voice panicked.
Dylan turned to find Morgan walking toward them. “Hello, young ones.” He grinned wide. “Now we can begin.”