Page 72 of The Dragons’ Eternal Mate

Byron hurried up, lashing out with his own tail as he moved around on the ground. I jumped, flapping my wings hard to boost the leap. The swipe missed me, and I hovered for a moment, a deep rumbling in my throat.

I wanted to use my fire, but there were too many people nearby. That was the thing with challenges. You couldn’t win with a quick blast of fire, because you’d risk injuring the crowd, and that was a huge no-no.

Unless you took to the air, but that would present a whole other host of issues.

If possible, I wanted to avoid using dragon fire. Yes, it was my best weapon, but I didn’t want Rowan to see that.

Instead, I pushed myself through the air, getting to Byron’s other side. I touched down behind him, slicing across his back leg with my claws. He bellowed. I internally celebrated, all too pleased with the sight of blood this early in the fight. Unfortunately, that celebration went on for a hair too long, and I couldn’t dodge as Byron spun around, purposefully going low.

He snapped at my leg, his teeth clamping down on the scales. They protected me somewhat, the pain a dull ache in my lower limb, but Byron held on, and I looked down to see his throat glowing slightly as he summoned up dragon fire, ready to unleash it right into me.

He was going to risk hitting anyone behind me to ensure he landed a death blow. I couldn’t get out of his hold without tearing a chunk of my leg out of his teeth. Rowan and the others were behind Byron, visible over his back, and my stare landed right on my mate, our eyes locking onto each other. If I hit him with my own blast, I could catch Rowan in the perimeter. I wouldn’t do that.

Well, shit.

Orsen

The rumble in Byron’s throat thundered, the noise taking on a warped sound as the air funneled into his throat while he conjured his dragon fire. I still couldn’t use mine, and I stared into Rowan’s eyes as the seconds stretched long. I’d promised her I’d walk out of here. I intended to keep that promise.

I needed distance. I needed Byron off me. If I was going to land a blow that I knew wouldn’t risk Rowan or my clanmates, I had to be in a better position. Angling the attack meant separating Byron’s mouth from my goddamn leg, and my time was running out.

I had two choices: get burned, possibly to death, or do something a bit stupid.

Well, here goes nothing.

I sunk my claws into Byron’s back, which didn’t stop him in the slightest. I secured a good hold and then pushed forward… farther into his mouth. Byron’s teeth made it past the protection of my scales, finding the flesh underneath, and I roared as the first real pain sank in. One inch and then two, which would have been a huge problem if I weren’t in dragon form. As it was, my dragon demanded I stop, but I needed to get just a bit closer.

Come on, you fucker. Let… go! This is for our mate.

Holding Byron so he couldn’t get away, I snapped at his neck, sinking my teeth into him right where the glow of his dragon fire swelled in his throat. The rising rumble of the inferno abruptly cut off. I clenched my jaw tighter, my strength greater than the aging dragon’s scaled armor.

Byron’s hold on my leg was gone, and he bellowed loud enough to fill the clearing. My leg was free, and I wasted no time grasping Byron’s neck tighter.

The asshole was going for a ride.

Not letting go of Byron, even as he scratched at my face, I scooped him over me in a massive arc, throwing the Alpha over my shoulder like he was nothing more than a rag doll. The ground boomed as his enormous body hit it, shaking the earth and knocking several people off their feet, which I spotted as I turned around to face him, hunkering down as I growled.

The crowd cheered behind me, the hoots of my clanmates louder than anyone else, and I let it bolster me, helping to push aside the burn in my leg from Byron’s teeth.

We protect our mate!

My dragon’s thoughts flickered between protecting Rowan and brutal homicide, it seemed.

I could feel the trickle of warmth between my scales as the punctures bled, but I’d saved myself from much worse damage.

Maybe my injury would be a good excuse for Rowan to fuss over me.

With another roar, I forced my wings down, launching me into the air. I hovered above Byron, ready to crash down on top of him. A moment later, his head was up, however. It wobbled as he glared at me furiously. His throat poured blood, littering the ground beneath him. He wasn’t going to last much longer, no matter what, but it only made him more reckless, firing a blast of dragon fire into the air.

I narrowly missed the attack, dodging with a roll in the sky as I pulled my wings around me. I knew my mates would be protecting Rowan from any stray dragon fire—I just needed to focus on killing this asshat. The heat of the flames flared past the protective cage I had formed around me, and my heartbeat stuttered before rushing into the stratosphere, along with my body. That’d been damn close.

Thank fuck he shot upward.

Too many people sat on the sidelines, vulnerable to his flames, but Byron didn’t give a shit. I prayed it was a telling move, allowing the hordes to see what kind of man they’d been following and who we’d been up against. The reason we refused to turn Allison over to him.

Wild, feral eyes glowered up at me, and Byron forced himself into the air, barreling toward me like a bullet. I barely caught him, the impact solid against my ribs as it sent me backward, and I had to flap my wings twice as hard to steady myself. With my claws, I threw him off me, watching him reel in the sky as he struggled to stay aloft.

His throat began to glow once more, and I had mere seconds before he’d try to toss another blast my way. Byron was being reckless, though. Conjuring up dragon fire repeatedly like that was draining, and he was already losing blood. As I soared higher, I angled myself over him, just out of range as he breathed out a pitiful excuse for flame.