Page 63 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

“What about your Fire?” Sebastian asked.

Ronan glanced at the very flammable trees and buildings all around them. “It’s an option, but a dangerous one. Especially since the beast can send fire of its own right back. I can smother the flames, but who knows how much damage they’ll cause in the meantime?”

“What if I can keep it distracted?” Shadow asked, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the trees.

“Distracted how?”

“Leave that to me.”

“Shadow, wait—Fuck!”

She was already off and running, shimming up the nearest tree and climbing its branches with a skill that spoke of a lifetime living among them. She reminded him so much of the woman he’d first met in that moment that his breath stuttered. She wasn’t just a child of the forest; she was a protector of the wild things that lived alongside her.

Their queen, first and always.

There was a split second of confusion when she grasped the topmost branch and lifted her leg, curling it up and over, then repeating the move with her other until she was seated on the bough. That’s when he understood her intention and knew Bast was to blame for the heroic—albeit idiotic—act.

After her earlier confession and his well-meaning admonishment, Shadow now felt as though she had something to prove. And it just might be the death of her.

But even if Ronan wanted to intervene, it was too late. Everything happened so fast, he was helpless to do anything but react. When she stood on the branch and launched herself at the creature, her name was torn from his throat.

“Shadow!”

“What the fuck is she doing?” Jagger snapped.

“Nereus save us,” Calypso breathed, hand pressed to her chest as she stared at the other woman.

Ronan had never known terror like he did in that suspended moment when Shadow’s body arced through the air with nothing to catch her. When she finally hit the nightmare’s back, his breath left him in a whoosh, only to lodge itself in his throat when she immediately began to slide off. The hitherto stealthy and silent predator let out a roar that shook the very earth, jerking its body to and fro in its attempt to rid itself of the unwanted rider.

“Mother fuck—”

“Ronan, do something,” Bast cried.

What could he do? With all the gifts at his disposal, he was utterly useless in that moment, and it shredded him. He did not come this far, only to lose everything now.

But neither did she.

Shadow adjusted her grip, wrapping an arm around the drake’s neck and using the leverage to better seat herself on its back. Then in a display of dexterity and speed that should have been impossible, she freed her daggers from the sheath hidden at her back and drove them into the creature’s eyes, blinding it.

“Does the woman have a death wish?” Bronn shouted, face pale, when the beast bellowed in pain and released a jet of molten flame that came straight for them.

The five of them still on the ground scattered, each diving in an opposite direction as they tried to escape the torrent of fire. Ronan tucked, somersaulting and springing back to his feet a few yards away.

“Ronan, now!” she screamed.

Not requiring any further prompting, Ronan summoned his magic. Using a combination of Air and Fire, he took control of the wild flames, corralling them and sending them spiraling back toward the nightdrake, as he decided to call it. While impressive to look at, the ball of flame didn’t do more than explode harmlessly across the beast’s chest. He’d been afraid of that. The fire-breathing creature was immune to the element. So much for his magic being the answer.

He prayed Shadow knew what she was doing because he sure fucking didn’t.

Then she pulled one of the blades free and twisted to the side so she could tear into the membranous flesh of the creature’s wing, and he understood her plan. Her goal was to debilitate its wings so it fell to the ground where the rest of them could hopefully make short work of it.

It was a brilliant, if not short-sighted, plan. What the hell did she think was going to happen to her when it fell from the sky?

“Get ready,” he called to the others. “We’re only getting one shot at this once the beast falls.”

Already the nightdrake was listing to the side, shooting off more jets of flame in various directions as it struggled to combat the pest seated between its shoulder blades. He was so caught up in banking the errant fire and keeping an eye on what Shadow was doing that he barely had time to warn Bast about the fireball heading his way.

Rather than leave it to fate, Ronan raced forward, bodily shoving the other man out of the way and helping him narrowly avoid the deadly spray. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as lucky. Nor was he impervious to fire—despite his ability to wield it.

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