The breath squeezed out of Aaron, and spots of red swam at the edge of his consciousness. He felt Hope's dragon convulse in distress, felt her life beginning to ebb away.
"No, stop." Fear left an acrid taste in his mouth. Aaron rushed toward Tibor, only to slam into an invisible barrier.
It sent him flying back to hit the hard floor.
Aaron's head cracked against the floor, even as the pressure on his chest increased. Leaping back on his feet, pushing past the force holding him down, he managed to break free long enough to throw himself at the barrier, and again, trying to break through.
Each time he hit the wall, it shuddered but didn't give way.
Each time the telekinetic power of the barrier smashed into him, it broke a rib. Blood dribbled from his mouth. Still, he didn't stop.
The third time he rammed into the barrier, it flung him off. Aaron's body arced through the air before hitting the hard ground with such force that white pain slashed through him. A groan tore out of him as he lay there.
Above him, the skies were blue, the sunlight bleaching everything white…except for a speck in the sky which grew darker and bigger. It was heading for them.
A harsh cry echoed around the space, and then a dragon's shadow swirled over him. A gust of wind lifted the hair on his head. The dragon tucked her wings back and flew straight at them.
44
Hope
The unmistakable purple and gold of the dragon's feathers told Hope who it was. "Eve.”
Her sister was here. Her alpha was strong enough to defeat the Elysian.
Once more, Hope’s dragon tried to break free, to soar up and greet her alpha. But the Elysian's force was back, pushing her down, forcing her to double up in pain.
Another screech from above. The dragon opened her mouth, and fire poured out.
Tibor jerked, his attention fixed on the dragon.
Hope sensed the Elysian raise his arm.
The air around her grew thin as his telekinetic power gathered. He pulled it all in to bring it to focus and shoved the telekinetic power at the dragon.
The dragon screamed in pain. Her body shook. She spiraled out of control. Plummeting toward the oil rig, she crashed into a raised tower at the far end.
The force of the impact had the tower breaking off and tumbling toward the water.
The dragon plowed onto the platform, her body coming to rest at the very edge.
The entire rig vibrated, pieces of rubble breaking free and plunging into the sea below.
No! Fear twisted Hope’s heart.
Tibor shouldn't be able to take down a dragon in one stroke, not like that. Not unless his telekinetic powers were stronger than he'd been letting on. That, along with the fact that Tibor could penetrate dragon shields, made him very dangerous.
She strained against the hold Tibor had on her, sweat running down her spine.
Teeth gritted, Hope pushed through the grasp of his telekinetic force and broke free.
Eve had distracted Tibor enough for her to move.
Her lungs constricted making it difficult to breathe. Her stomach heaved. Hope's strength was ebbing. She couldn't take Tibor down on her own.
There was only one way out.
Closing her eyes, Hope reached for Aaron on the psychic plane.
45
Aaron
Aaron recognized Eve from the colors of her scales and knew the alpha was going straight for the Elysian.
When the dragon had screamed and spiraled toward the ground, fear shuddered down his spine.
Not even Eve was strong enough to survive a crash from that height. While Eve was not his alpha, he had come to respect her leadership and knew she'd make for a valuable ally.
If Eve herself was no match for the Elysian, then none of them stood a chance. But Aaron was not giving up.
He was not letting them die at the hands of an Elysian.
Anger thrummed through his blood, breath coming in short gasps. Aaron curled his fingers into fists. He had to help Hope.
Gritting his teeth, he fought to get back to his feet. Pain racked his side. Darkness closed in on the edges of his consciousness, and yet he kept going.
Reaching inside, into the psychic web he shared with the Ascendants, he drew on the energy pulsing there, letting it fill him and push away the pain, helping him focus. Riding the momentum, he smashed against the invisible barrier…and broke Tibor's hold.
Eve had distracted the Elysian enough to weaken his hold, enough to give Aaron a small window in which to try to overpower Tibor. But he couldn't do it alone. Not even the combined strength of the Ascendants was enough to overcome this Elysian.
The thought ran through his mind just as a feeling of overpowering want poured through the mating bond. He knew it was Hope. He could sense her. Not just her dragon, but he felt the woman—her essence. Her soul reached out to him.
Something knotted inside him dissolved, and with it, the control he'd held over his psychic senses.
Aaron opened his heart. Hope's dragon bled into him. The mating bond snapped into place, and the green and gold of her spirit poured into him.
He was filled with such peace, a sense of such rightness. He felt invincible.
Nothing could to take Hope away from him. Not when they were one. He'd just found her, and he wasn't going to lose her. No Elysian, however strong, was going to hurt her.
That feeling evaporated into a churning rage.
Adrenaline jumped through his system, propelling him to his feet. Reaching toward the bond, he let the power of Hope's dragon rip through him.
The green-gold of his dragoness twined with the cobalt blue of his immortal spirit and gushed through his veins, pushing him to his feet.
There was no more Aaron.
No more Hope.
There was just the two of them moving in sync.
46
Hope
The cobalt blue of Aaron's spirit wrapped itself around the green-gold of her dragon fire on the psychic plane. It felt so right, like she'd been waiting for this her entire life.
She wondered how she had ever doubted their union. She knew she would never be alone again.
Her rational mind told her she shouldn't have been able to break the hold of the Elysian. But her heart knew she was stronger, more powerful. That the mating bond had already changed something in her. The adrenaline charged through her.
Her eyes snapped open, and then she was moving toward her mate.
Aaron met her halfway, his hand reaching for hers. Desire and want and the need to protect streaked through him and into her. And above all was the need to protect what was theirs.
As one, they turned to Tibor.
Hope's dragon surged out of her, but she didn't transform.
Her energy flowed through the mating bond and into Aaron, sparking the connections that joined him to the other Ascendants.
It was as if the psychic web the Ascendants shared had amplified their joint energy then thrown it back at them. It was a surge of such magnitude that it lifted Hope off her feet.
She reached for Aaron, threading her fingers through his.
Their joined fist lashed out at Tibor, connecting with his face.
An echo of silence thumped through her ears.
Tibor's body flew through the air. He hit the ground next to Freya and didn't move.