With a deafening roar and a crack of thunder, a forty-foot Eastern dragon soared overhead in the direction of the armory. Cries of awe and alarm rang out as Jade swooped in and began snatching clones from the air, crushing them in her powerful jaws and flinging them aside. The vessels tried to swarm her, raking her with teeth and claws, but they were no match for the immensely powerful Adult and were smashed out of the air one by one.

The soldier blinked, watching the Eastern dragon wreak havoc overhead, a grim smile crossing his face. “I see Jade got my message,” he said in a voice of dark satisfaction. “Is Riley here, as well?”

I nodded again, following his gaze. “And Mist, too. Somewhere. It was a fight, but everyone decided to come in the end.” Lowering my head, I met his gaze and bared my teeth in a savage grin. “I told you I’d come back. Though you started the battle without me, I see.”

He stepped forward and briefly touched his forehead to mine. I felt the heat of his skin against my scales, and a rush of fire spread through my veins. “You’re incredible, Ember,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

I swallowed. “I told you, soldier boy. We end this together.”

“Yes.” Stepping back, he raised his gun, eyes hard. “Let’s go,” he told me, starting forward. “While they’re distracted. Let’s finish this.”

We sprang back into the fray. Clones and hatchlings battled each other on the ground and in the air, streaks of color and shadow all around us. Fires blazed, men shouted and gunfire chattered from all directions. Dragons, both friend and foe, swooped from the sky or bounded through the flames, dark blurs against the hellish light. I saw dragons locked in battle with other dragons, wings and tails thrashing as they clawed and tore at each other. I saw a few soldiers of St. George firing on their quick-moving targets and desperately hoped they could tell the difference between a savage clone dragon and Riley’s hatchlings. A vessel leaped at us, snarling; Garret’s M-4 chattered, and the thing crashed to the ground. Another streaked overhead, breathing fire into a cluster of hatchlings; I sprang into the air with a snarl, colliding with the scaly body and bringing it down with me. Claws slashed at me as we landed, tearing through scales and raking gouges of pain down my shoulder. My vision went red; with a roar, I pinned my rival to the ground, clamped my jaws around that long snaking neck and jerked up as hard as I could.