Moving briskly down the corridor, Ravi tried to keep Nikki behind him so he could protect the young mage should they encounter any Jaeggi. Free of the manacles, he could technically shift now, but with the low ceiling and narrow hallway it would have been difficult to move quickly.
“The moment we get outside, I want you to stay close. I’m going to shift into my dragon form.”
At least as a dragon, he’d be in a better position to fight back. He glanced over his shoulder to see excitement shining on Nikki’s face rather than fear.
“Will I get to see you fly?”
Ravi grinned. “You’re going to fly with me. I need to keep you away from the Jaeggi.”
Nikki put their fist into the air and started moving a little faster.
Another right turn and they reached a parking area filled with cars and frantically running Jaeggi. Not one paid any attention to him and Nikki. They were all looking to escape. He would deal with them later. First, he needed to find Sora, to let his family know he was safe.
At the far end of a parking area, the road sloped upward and sunlight poured down. The wind gusted through the parking area and danced around Ravi as if it was glad to see him. Ravi breathed it in, ignoring the hints of smoke and gasoline fumes. Hitching his pants up higher, he pulled Nikki along the outskirts of the parking garage, steering clear of the Jaeggi. They flitted from one car to the next, using them for cover as they moved. That worked until they reached the gangway. With no cover to be had, they went with the only option left.
They ran for it.
The second Ravi stepped clear of the underground bunker, he stopped worrying about the borrowed pants falling down around his ankles. In fact, all worries left him, along with the power of speech. He was faced with absolute chaos, dragon-style.
The sky was filled with dragons. Brilliant deep-red fire dragons soared, directing geysers of flames. A pair of deep blues streaked by, blasting gusts of wind strong enough to knock fleeing Jaeggi mages off their feet. A few ice dragons sparkled white like newly fallen snow, sending down solid spikes of ice like spears.
In the middle of the field, spells were being thrown back and forth like colorful bursts from Roman candles. The smoke was getting thick, but Ravi thought he saw a mix of green and grey dragons surrounding a red dragon.
Alric.
His king was there in his dragon form, fighting for him.
He needed to get into the air. It was the only way to reach his people, to get a clear view of what was happening. And, most importantly, the fastest way to locate Sora.
He didn’t even need to reach for his dragon. Barely thought it and he was changing, so fast his muscles screamed in protest. Didn’t matter. He turned and found Nikki staring at him with their mouth hanging open.
“Whoa…”
“Yep. Let’s go for a ride. Hold on.” Ravi snatched the mage up in one hand and leapt into the air, flapping his wings as fast as he could to gain altitude. He called on the wind, lifting him higher into the air.
The chaos looked even worse from the air, but it gave him the most glorious sight in the world. Sora, his mate, was aglow with magic, his dark hair whipping around him like it was a living creature snapping Sora’s rage. Sora was here. Sora was here. Oh, yes, his mate was here!
Tucking Nikki tight against his body, Ravi folded in his wings and dove toward the gathering of mages and dragons. Sora was fighting back the Jaeggi with Cameron and Tori, while Alric glowered behind them, roaring and spewing fire at anyone who dared to look in the direction of his mages.
Baldewin, Warin, and Gunter were circling close overhead, while the kings of the Earth and Metal Dragons were protecting Alric’s flank with their own mage mates.
“Sora!” Ravi bellowed, and his mage stopped mid-spell and looked up. An expression of pure joy lit his face, and Ravi nearly spiraled in his joy. Luckily, he remembered the squeaking and squealing mage in his arms. Not a good time for acrobatics.
“Don’t set me down! Not with the mages! Don’t set me down!” Nikki suddenly started shouting. Their fingers tightened and they started to shift against Ravi like they were trying to climb onto his back.
Ravi couldn’t blame Nikki for their distrust of mages, considering their dark history, but now was not the best time. Clenching his teeth, Ravi quickly scanned the area for another option. He almost laughed when he found it.
Changing directions, he shot across the sky until he came up alongside a familiar red dragon who was wearing a grumpy expression.
“Hey, Gunter!” he called out.
“Ravi! Where have you been?” Gunter tilted and stretched out his neck so he could sweetly bump his snout against the side of Ravi’s head.
“Sorry I missed all the fun. I need to see Alric and Sora. I also need you to protect them,” he finished, shoving Nikki at Gunter.
The dragon squawked, a little like a dragon-shaped chicken, which was the strangest sound Ravi had ever heard Gunter make. But he accepted Nikki, tucking them close like the precious bundle they were.
“Ravi?”
“Nikki is a mage. Saved my life!” That was all Gunter needed to know.
Ravi wheeled around and dove back for his mate. Nikki would explain the need to stay away from other mages, and, well, Gunter was a dragon. For now, that was enough to make Nikki feel safe.
Against his dragon’s wishes, Ravi shifted when he was within a few feet of Sora and fell the rest of the way to earth. He couldn’t waste time with a proper landing. And if he was a dragon, he couldn’t possibly hold Sora tight enough.
The second Ravi’s feet touched the ground, he was tackled. He blinked and found himself looking skyward with Sora on top of him. Rough kisses peppered his face before their lips finally met in a long, brutal kiss that was more teeth than tenderness. Didn’t matter. He had his mate back. It was such a fucking relief after everything that had happened, Ravi almost shuddered. A tangle of joy, need, and a little worry about still being on a battlefield crashed through him, but it was lost under the sensation of that greedy mouth taking his own without mercy.
“Missed you,” Ravi blissfully murmured when Sora finally lifted his mouth from Ravi’s.
“You are never, ever leaving my sight again,” Sora growled.
“I am totally fine with that.” He pulled Sora in for a slower, gentler kiss. One that could finally say all the things he needed to—thank you, I love you, never let me go.
Almost reluctantly, the kiss ended, and Sora smiled. His eyes remained red-rimmed, and smears of tears streaked his cheeks, but Ravi swore he’d make that pain a distant memory when they were home again.
“I think we need to tell King Alric you’re okay.” Sora pushed to his feet and extended a hand to Ravi, helping him up.
They’d just started back toward where the other mages and Alric were fighting the Jaeggi when a pained roar went up. They jerked around to see one of the metal dragons encased in a cage that glistened with a multitude of colors like stained glass. He was one of the Rocas’ bodyguards. The dragon thrashed against the cage, causing even more damage to his thick hide and wringing sounds of both pain and anger from his throat.
Ravi opened his mouth to shout, preparing to call on his dragon, but Sora beat him to it.
“I’ve got him!” he called out, already reaching into the bag hanging off his shoulder. He pulled out two elements, but Ravi couldn’t tell what they were as Sora ran back to where he’d been standing next to Cameron. His mate looked over his shoulder and smiled.