We landed next to Koth just as he shifted into his human form. And then it was panic as everyone raced toward the giant eagle still lying on top of Everest and Saber. The dragons shifted without slowing down, sprinting for him with fear in their eyes. They were all shouting in a language I didn’t know.

“ELAN!” Koth shouted so loud the ground trembled.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

FRANKIE

“ELAN!”

“Who’s Elan?” I heard myself ask as I watched everyone else scramble for him.

“Their shaman,” Tenn answered softly as he sat me on my feet. “Their Bentley.”

“Oh.”

Koth reached forward but Everest held his hand up. “Wait. Back up. Tegan.”

Tegan slid in front of us to lean over Elan’s eagle chest where smoke billowed in the air from his body. She held her pale hands over him, right over thick black sludge and ash clung to his feathers. Rainbow glitter sprinkled onto his chest and the smoke stopped lifting into the air but clung around Elan’s body.

“Tenn,” Tegan said without looking back at him or moving her hands. “Babe, slowly lift Elan off them and sit him on the ground but don’t move him far. Everyone else back up and no one touch him. Everest⁠—”

“Just get him off of me first,” Everest grumbled. Then he lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. “I’ve called for Thorne. Go ahead, Tenn.”

“Dragons, please back up.” Tegan turned to Koth. “Please, tell them⁠—”

“Back up,” Koth growled. He’d already taken a few steps back, but the others hadn’t. “Now.”

Tenn waited until the other dragon guys had backed away then he used his magic to carefully and slowly lift Elan’s giant eagle body off of Everest and Saber and set him back down on the hardwood floor beside them.

Everest was already on his knees at Elan’s side, his pale hands hovering an inch above his feathers. Elan’s eyes were closed but he seemed to be breathing. Thorne emerged from a black hole right beside me. He frowned and then spotted the eagle and dove for him. Him and Everest were speaking Seelie to each other, I didn’t know the language, but I recognized it now. They held their hands over the eagle’s chest and did something yet I hadn’t a clue what was happening. The tones in their voices were sharp and worried.

The dragon guys watched intently, their legs bouncing and twitching to go to him.

Saber tried to rush over but Bentley held her back. Interesting.

Everest and Thorne dropped their hands. Everest turned to Koth. “Force his shift, slowly?”