Page 111 of His Curse

“I must go in.” Zan straightens up, the majority of his weight on his less injured leg. “I have to go in there. My entire world just ran into a burning room and—oh, thank gods.”

Ronny, in his human form, leaps over the busted door and runs into the hall, Frankie held tightly in his arms. “Run,” he grunts. “We have to gonow. There are tanks of oxygen in there and—”

“Does she breathe!” The demon demands as he tries to lunge over theother. “Does my matebreathe!”

Frankie coughs as she rolls her head away from Ronny’s chest, giving all of us visual confirmation that she is in fact still alive, and when she does, my eyes instantly fill with tears.

A baby.

Frankie is cradling a baby to her chest, a tiny little thing that is…

My eyes snap to hers and she shakes her head. “They’re gone, sweetheart.”

No.

“No!” I cry out becauseI failed. “Chumani and Hotah…gods,no.” My friends, the people I vowed to come back for, the people I swore to set free. They’re gone and it is all my fault.

“We have to go.” Ronny repositions Frankie in his arms, holding her tighter as smoke billows from the room behind him. “Now!”

Another explosion comes from the hospital and that is enough to have all of us heading toward the nearest exit.

Zan leans against theotheras we follow Ronny, all of us moving as quickly as we can, and by some sort of miracle, we enter the yard only a few minutes later. And find it nearly obliterated.

Black and gold flames dance around the perimeter, smoldering bodies scattered in the center of the buildings, and proudly standing amidst it all waiting for us to join him, is the biggest creature I have ever seen in my entire life.

A mighty pitch black dragon—Andrej—lets out a roar that shakes the burning structures to the ground before he lumbers toward us. He shakes then nods his head in our direction before he dips down and extends his wing.

“Let’s go.” Ronny runs up the shiny black wing without hesitating, positions Frankie and the pup close to Andrej’s neck before he comes back for Zan. “Luna,” my nephew says as he reaches for me. “I mean no disrespect but we have to get the hell out of here and I’m assuming you’re riding that evil monstrosity out of necessity.”

I nod as he begins to lift me then growl as theothersnaps his teeth at the young wolf. “Leave him be. He’s helping me. You follow on foot and meet us at the beginning of the tunnel. No stops, no ducking around. I want my mate back soon so you better be there when we land.”

Theotherchuffs but almost nods as Ronny pulls me from his back he takes off toward the gates, howling and growling, grabbing the occasional dead body in his jaws before tossing it aside as he does. And once we’re secure, once all of us are safe on top of the dragon, his enormous wings begin to flap as he slowly takes flight.

I watch as we get further away, as Andrej flies high above the facility, and I keep watching as he turns, aiming his snout at the at the hell on earth I was trapped inside for forty-five years, opens his massive jaw, and incinerates all five building in one forceful release of his destructive black and gold fire.

And as Andrej begins to soar higher in the sky, breathing his carnage wherever it needs to be, a single tear rolls down my cheek.

So much loss.

So much pain and devastation.

I couldn’t stop it, couldn’t prevent this terrible night from happening but I know this is only the beginning.

My clan, my mate, none of us will stop fighting, not until we bring Kentworth down and when we do, I can only hope that insane motherfucker is ready.

This is only the beginning and I will not stop until I have that sick bastard’s head on a pike.

This is the beginning of the end for Ishmael Kentworth, and I’m going to be the one to take him down.

And you can bet your ass I’ll make good on that promise if it’s the last thing I do.

The End… for now…

* * *