The ground shook so hard my knees buckled and my legs gave out. My knees hit the cold sand as the world trembled. I threw my arm out and grabbed ahold of Tenn who hadn’t budged a fraction, like the earthquake hadn’t touched him. Michael’s sword blazed like an inferno of white fire in his left hand. His mismatched gaze was locked on the massive ocean-like lake in front of us. The surface of the lake rippled, yet I saw nothing. The sky was a solid wall of blue, not a cloud in sight, which gave us a crystal-clear view of the mountains that surrounded the lake in the distance.

“What the hell is that?” I whispered, still holding on to Tenn because the ground shook too strong for me to catch my balance.

“I’m not sure⁠—”

A wall of water shot straight up to the sky, blocking the view of the lake and mountains. I gasped and leaned back, craning my neck to look up to the top of this wave. I’d never seen water that blue. Time seemed to stop as the wave stretched wide. I wasn’t proud of it, but I definitely leaned behind Tenn’s legs a little bit. Water splashed down onto us, drenching my clothes entirely.

“Ohhh,” Tenn said under his breath, his stance relaxing.

“What—” my words died on my tongue as that royal blue wave landed on the sand in front of us.

Four massive feet sank into the pale-gray sand, talons slicing tracks so deep that water bubbled up over them. My breath left me in a rush. I sank onto my heels and gawked up at the royal blue dragon standing practically on top of us. I’d seen dragons before—hell, this one wasn’t close to as big as Koth or Silas—but there was something about a dragon emerging from the water that I hadn’t prepared for. His wings stretched wide, casting us in its shadow. He snarled and the flames that billowed from his nose were so hot they were white. My clothes dried instantly. The water droplets on my skin evaporated. The water running rivers down the dragon’s scales turned to smoke with a hiss. The dragon stomped its front foot in the sand and growled. Those blue eyes were practically white.

Koth was terrifying for the sheer size of him but also for the power that radiated off of him. Silas was nearly as terrifying because there wasn’t a doubt to be had in those yellow eyes that he was a menace and lethal. But this one . . . this one was unnerving. He felt like a wild card, like I needed to back the fuck up quickly before he ate me or turned me to smoke.