And then, Tristan’s voice, oddly calm, like he was watching a head-on collision but couldn’t do anything about it. “Oh, shit—”

With a streak of metallic scales, a dragon slammed full speed into the chapel tower with a boom that shook the ground. Wood and plaster flew everywhere, splinters raining to the earth as the steeple wall collapsed with a groan and a snapping of timber.

“Tristan!”

Someone behind me hissed a curse. I ignored him, putting a hand to my helmet as I snarled into the headset: “Longshot Six, come in. Longshot, this is Scorpion. What’s your status?”

Nothing. The buzz of static and the echo of gunfire were the only answers to my repeated calling. Numb, I closed my eyes, fighting the helpless rage within. Dammit, Tristan. You weren’t supposed to die on the front lines. You were the one who was supposed to survive this.

Outside, the fight continued. A gunner frantically tried shooting down three dragons at once, but another swooped in from behind and landed on his back. Narrow jaws snapped, and the soldier slumped lifelessly over the gun. As I watched, a second dragon flew straight into the hail of machine gun fire, didn’t stop and crashed headfirst into the turret, crushing both the gun and the soldier operating it.

“Sir,” one of my men growled. “More dragons incoming.”

I looked up as another wave descended from the clouds and swarmed the armory. Jets of flames erupted from their mouths as they swooped past, strafing it again and again, and I could feel the immense heat even from here.

“Ready to fire, sir,” the soldier said, hefting the weapon. “On your order.”

“Hold,” I snapped, and his jaw tightened. “Not yet,” I told him and the rest of the team. “There are too many dragons in the air. If we move now, we’ll be wasting our shots and giving away our position. Our orders are to wait until we’re sure we can do the most damage possible. Until that time, we stay put.”

Johnson glared at me with suspicion and defiance. “Are you sure we’re holding back because of orders, sir?” he asked, his tone softly dangerous. “And that you’re not feeling sympathy for the lizards?”

Any other time, I might have hit him. Dragons were attacking, the base was being destroyed and I’d just watched my best friend die in front of me. I was not in the mood for insubordination, and laying him flat on his back was a viciously tempting thought.

Instead, I turned and calmly pointed the muzzle of my sidearm in his face. He froze, as did the rest of the squad, and I smiled coldly.

“Not yet,” I said, my voice flat and dangerous. “We hold position until I say it’s time. Is that clear, soldier?”

He glared for a moment, then dropped his gaze. “Yes, sir.”