Page 128 of Fire to the Stars

“No!” I shout.

Claire bucks and screeches. Gods, she sounds just like Micah. Thankfully, the sword shakes loose, the puncture shallow. But it still affected Micah’s mind when he changed back. Seeing the sheer amount of blood, learning what happened to him—

She won’t remember. She won’t remember. She won’t remember.

I leap over her sweeping tail, draw my own sword, and drive it into the fallen Immortal’s chest. With a bellow, I push it to the hilt until the blade is lodged deep in the ground. I leave him there. His allies won’t help him. Next to a raging dragon, they have bigger priorities.

With my good arm, I gather his abandoned sword. As if on cue, Claire’s dilated pupil locks onto me. She flicks her wing andstrikes me flat in the chest. The impact knocks me into a tree, snapping my head back. Madame Afi’s trademark padded lining in Micah’s skull takes most of the impact, but air bursts from my lungs.

“Abel, catch!” Marshal Payen throws a dragon-scale shield at my feet, but I can’t move. I can’tinhale. Claire knocked the wind out of me.

And she’s turned around, both eyes narrowed on me.

An orange glow rises at the back of her throat. Time rushes forward—

“Lucy!” I gasp.

True to her training, Lucy dashes in front of me. Her teeth gnash frantically at the incoming flames. Tinderfox versus dragon. Her own touch of Diu’s domain absorbs the initial rush and buys me the split second I need to drag the shield in front of me.

“Away!” I command before her coat fully turns gold. I need to preserve her capacity to eat more. But the fire comes too fast. She’s nearly full by the time she abandons the stream of flames. Just then, Claire stomps forward, narrowly missing crushing her.

Another breath of fire. Heat singes my eyebrows as I brace the shield firmly against the ground and duck behind it. The blast hits hard—so hard, it feels like a punch to my injured shoulder. I shout in pain.Damn it.In my haste, I slipped my dominant arm through the shield’s leather straps instead of the one that can afford to take the hit.

The flames keep coming. They slip past the shield and glance off my dragon-scale uniform. Sweat slides down my skin beneath my clothing. Finally, the stream of fire vanishes—with me on the brink of blacking out from the heatandpain.

I can’t take much more.

I roll aside, but Lucy is there. “Away!” I rasp, my boots slipping in the slush. Claire lunges. Her fangs snap through the empty space we just occupied, but a silverwolf bites her haunches. She whirls around and lunges for the closer target. It scuttles away, fur changing from white to stone gray.

Third rule of dragon hunting: Anticipate the target’s patterns and counter accordingly.

Claire is too distracted to follow the instincts Diu gave her. She’ll never enter the cave at this rate. I need to change the pattern.

First rule of dragon hunting: Consider the bait.

“Over here!” I shout, banging my sword against my shield.

She whirls on me and roars, spittle flying so close I can feel it, but I have her attention. I can lead her inside. I turn to run. “Follow—”

Crack.

A blow to the back of Micah’s skull throws me face-first into the snow. Lucy skids to a stop, next to the bolt that struck me. She whines with warning at the heavy stomps that come up behind me.

“Inside!” I command Lucy. She obeys, thankfully. I pray she finds a safe place to hide among the stalagmites.

I glance left. The Immortal with the crossbow reaches into his quiver for another bolt, no gendarme to protect me in sight. Another Immortal with a sickle waits at his side, content to act as his guard. A third one tosses fresh equipment to the one I left to burn against the tree.

He shouts into the forest, “Gardez la caverne!”Guard the cavern.

They’re starting to free each other. We’re losing. In moments this will end.

The Immortal with the crossbow switches aim to Claire.

I push to my feet. One option left—which is beyond risky. It is reckless and impatient, but I don’t have time to consider alternatives. The only way to throw off that crossbow’s aim is if Claire switches targets—to me.

“Here!” I shout.

She lunges, maw open. I sidestepintorange and shove my shield between her razor-sharp teeth. As they snap shut, thick wood splinters puncture her tongue and gums.