Page 29 of Surge of Storms

Off in the distance, I hear thunder.

Granger?

Not me, he says.

It may be time to head in then.

We all head back to base. To our home. And there’s a strange energy between us. I think so much about being dragons is new and exciting, but the idea of children out there—our children— makes everything feel so much more real.

At the cliff, we land, and I stare around me at my harem of dragons. Granger is huge and black as night. He’s not just bigger than the rest of us, he’s built in a solid way that makes it hard to believe he can actually fly. Evander is gray and equal in size to Aydan’s large golden dragon. Both of them are far bigger than me, but they look tiny next to Granger. And then, there’s Zane. Light blue, smaller, and far more delicate-looking. I know it’s because he’s an ice dragon, but there’s something almost feminine about his softer lines.

Everyone begins to shift back, so I do too, and then we’re standing on the cliff, cool air rushing over us. I close my eyes and lift my head, already missing the sky and the air. Flying is like nothing else on earth.

Someone grabs me around the waist, and my eyes flash open. Evander is looking down at me, a grin on his face, before he leans down and captures my mouth in a kiss that makes me feel like I’m flying all over again. When our lips finally break apart, he holds me closely, breathing in my scent.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Sorry,” I say. “Granger–”

“I know. He needed you.”

And to my relief, he doesn’t sound angry. Just tired.

“Let’s get you out of this cold and into my bed,” Evander tells me, his lips quirking up.

We start heading back to our building. Glancing across the property, I see people milling about the parking lot. But one blond-haired man in a t-shirt and jeans isn’t walking around, he’s just staring, and the way he stares makes my stomach flip.

I turn to ask Evander about him, but when I glance back, he’s gone. Which is weird.

Shaking off the unsettling feeling, I remind myself that not everyone and everything in this new world is dangerous. If I keep up like this, I’ll be jumping at every shadow and every sound, becoming completely useless to the others. Besides, what’s there really to be afraid of?

ELEVEN

Samantha

We’d barely hadtime to shower and eat after our training when we’re called to the lab, which can’t be a good thing. That sinking feeling had come back into my stomach.What’s happening now? And did it have anything to do with Malikay and the other dragons?

The elevator beeps and the guys and I head into the lab. Zane takes my hand, giving me a reassuring smile, and I try to smile back, but I’m pretty sure I fail. Sometimes I wish female dragons were the big, dangerous ones, because I’d go out there and rip those assholes all to pieces.

I can’t have any real peace until they’re gone.

We take our seats, me in Zane’s lap, and stare at Dr. Duncan and Dr. Abigail. Whatever conversation they’d been having when we entered had died on their lips, and now they are staring back at us with looks of worry. Which, again, isn’t a good sign.

“So, here’s the thing,” Dr. Abigail begins, drawing out the words.

“Let’s just show them,” Dr. Duncan says gruffly.

She hesitates, then turns on the video. It’s immediately obvious that the video was filmed by a camera on the ground. It shows a group of soldiers, along with two tanks. All of them are firing at something in the sky.

A shadow passes over the soldiers. Suddenly, the green dragon, Balor, the orange dragon, Mailkay, and the salmon dragon, Kek, are on the ground tearing apart the soldiers. It’s sickening. The men on the ground scream and cry, but the dragons don’t give a damn. I notice that the salmon dragon appears to at least be killing them quickly. The green and orange dragons are playing with them, torturing them before they kill them.

The sick fucks.

A tank fires straight at the orange dragon’s back, at Malikay’s back. It strikes true, and the orange dragon wails before turning and rounding on the tank. Within seconds, all the dragons are ripping the tanks apart until the footage ends.

I swallow around a lump in my throat.What the hell is wrong with these dragons?

Dr. Duncan sighs. “Number one, problems like these are not helping us send a message of peace concerning the dragons. The government has respected the fact that all of you are ‘owned’ by Specter Inc., and not creating problems, but this is not going to offer a lot of protection to newly awakened dragons.”

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