Peter and Knox were looking at him expectantly now, so Weston took a deep breath and spoke his mind.
“Saul has been building up his army. You can see from the surveillance that’s been done that the numbers are growing by the day. We don’t have enough soldiers here to take on all of his guards, let alone to fight off all the bat shifters that he’s cloning. If those bats have already been trained to fight, then we’re screwed. I can’t in good conscience sit here and recommend that we send our people in to certain death.”
“It’s not certain death!” Violet exclaimed. “I’ll admit, it’s dangerous, but waiting is also dangerous. We have to strike now while we still can. The longer we wait, the stronger Saul gets and the more likely we are to lose our surprise advantage. It’s now or never, Weston. No matter when we attack we’re going to lose soldiers. That’s the way war works. It sucks, but no one joins the army thinking their life is perfectly safe.”
Weston turned so that he was standing directly in front of Violet. She was tall, but he still towered over her. He looked down at her and put his hands on his hips. “Violet, you know I’m the first one to rush into battle. I love a good fight. But you’re not asking for a good fight, you’re asking to wipe out all of our forces here. There’s no way it’ll work.”
She glared up at him, her hands on her hips as well. Her face was flushed red with fury, and her violet eyes, for which she’d been named, were blazing like a purple fire. And in that moment, despite the fact that he was more annoyed with her than he’d ever been before, he could not help but notice how beautiful she was.
She was always beautiful, but there was something about passion, about anger, that made her even lovelier than normal. Her skin glowed, and almost didn’t seem human. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t fully human. She was a wizard after all, magical. And perfect, despite her faults.
Weston felt his stomach flip-flopping with pleasure. His heart rate was rising, and a telltale stiffening began between his legs. He turned away from Violet quickly. He could not allow himself to be turned on by her. Not here, not now. Not in front of everyone like this. He hated to lose the little staring contest he’d just started with her, but it was either that or risk a full blown erection. She was fired up, and she was hot.
Weston turned his attention back toward Peter and Knox, desperately trying to regain control of his emotions and think of words to say that would convince them that his view of the situation was the right one. Violet had the same idea, and they both started talking at once. But it didn’t matter much what they were saying, because in that moment another voice suddenly joined the noise in the room. The door flew open and Nick stormed into the room, breathless and pale faced.
“Guys, we have a problem!” he said, and all eyes in the room turned to him.
Chapter Four
Violet’s face felt hot, and she could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. She wasn’t sure if her heart was beating so fast because of anger, or fear—or perhaps a mixture of both—but Nick’s news had left her more convinced than ever that they needed to attack Saul, and quickly.
Weston, however, remained maddeningly unconvinced. “We don’t have any solid information,” he said. “We still need to use caution.”
Violet gaped at him. “No solid information?” she asked. “Did you not hear anything Nick just said? We need to move, now!”
Nick, for his part, shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another as he looked back and forth between Violet and Weston. The boy was a dragon shifter, and was damn good at sneaking around thanks to the ability to completely mask his scent. But he was still a boy, and he didn’t seem to know how to handle the fact that the two adults standing in front of him were on the verge of a full blown argument.
“I…I think the information is pretty solid, actually,” Nick said timidly. Weston glared at him and he shrank back, but Violet looked around the room with a victorious expression on her face.
“You see?” she said. “Nick is sure of what he saw, and I can’t imagine anyone denying that we’re running out of time after hearing his report.”
Unfortunately, Peter and Knox seemed less convinced than Violet that Nick’s report necessitated an immediate offensive against Saul.
“Weston, Violet, sit down in your damn chairs!” Knox said. “I can’t think over your noisy squabbling.”
The tone in Knox’s voice left no room for argument. Reluctantly, Violet sat down, but she made sure to shoot daggers at Weston with her eyes as she did. He glared right back, and she realized with a start how handsome he looked right now. His mouth was set in a firm line, accentuating his chiseled face and the hint of stubble that was visible on his cheek. Usually, he kept up a clean shaven look, but with last night’s adventure and today’s early wake up call, he’d let shaving slide for the day. Violet rather liked the stubble. It made him look even more masculine than he already did, which was saying something because he always looked like a man’s man. It was hard not to, with a body as tall and muscular as his. Violet looked away quickly, frustrated with herself for thinking such vain thoughts. She was supposed to be angry with him right now, not pondering what a sexy body he had. Thankfully, Knox was speaking again, giving her something else to think about.
“Nick, slow down and start over. I had a hard time understanding you over your panting and Weston and Violet’s interruptions.”
Violet winced internally. Knox was pissed off at her and Weston, but what was she supposed to do? Sit there and let Weston make light of everything Nick had just said? The situation was anything but trivial.
Nick, still looking uncertain, took a long shuddering breath before starting to speak again. “I was doing some more surveillance this morning. Just very basic stuff, mind you. My mom doesn’t want me to get too close to any of Saul’s guards, and lately the guards seem to be multiplying like rabbits. I was actually pretty far away from the main area of headquarters, and didn’t expect to see much of anything. Which is why I was so surprised when two shifters suddenly came around the corner. I had to scramble like mad to get out of the way. In fact, I’m lucky they were so deep in conversation. If they hadn’t been so distracted, they probably would have seen me.”
“Nick, you need to pay better attention,” Holden said, interrupting. “You’re mom will kill me if someone from Saul’s army catches you running around out there.”
Violet saw Nick’s face turn even paler. He nodded at Holden, looking remorseful. Holden had started dating Nick’s mother not long after Nick first discovered that he was a dragon shifter. Nick’s mother was a full human, and had been relatively calm at the sudden discovery that shifters and wizards existed. The woman was still, however, quite overprotective of her son. Not that Violet blamed her. It was a dangerous world out there right now, with Saul’s army growing by the day. If Violet had a son she probably would have wanted to keep him locked up safe at home, too.
“Anyway,” Nick said, turning his gaze back toward Peter and Knox. “I hid out of sight and eavesdropped on what they were saying, and it doesn’t sound like it’s good for us. They were talking about how two wizard spies have gone missing, and Saul is really angry about it. Saul is suspicious that there might be Falcon Cross wizards around, and, of course, he’s right. The guards I was listening to didn’t seem to know exactly what Saul was planning, but it sounded like he was going to try to launch some sort of attack on Blackstone. Maybe he’s going to try to send more spies and find us or something. I don’t know. But it sounds like we aren’t going to be able to keep ourselves secret from him for very much longer.”
Violet was tempted to stand up again and start ranting about how the situation was urgent, but she forced herself to stay in her seat. She could tell by the expressions on Peter’s and Knox’s faces that the two men were not in the mood for any more dramatic arguments right now. Peter was stroking his long beard thoughtfully, as he always did when he wasn’t quite sure what course of action to take. Knox was staring up at th
e map on the projector screen, as though the answer might suddenly appear there. And Weston was glaring at both of them with his arms crossed over his chest, looking admittedly quite handsome. Violet couldn’t decide whether she wanted to yell at him or kiss him right now. Quickly, she looked away and stared at the map on the screen, just as Knox had been doing.
“I think Knox and I need to discuss things in private,” Peter finally said. “Why don’t you all take a break? Grab some food and stretch your legs, and meet back in this room in an hour.”
Violet let out a small sigh, and started to stand. She wanted to scream at Peter and Knox that there was nothing to discuss. Saul was probably already putting a plan of attack in place, and the longer everyone sat around discussing things the more likely it was that he was going to strike first. But Violet had already said her piece, and she knew better than to try to push Peter and Knox too far. Acting hysterical would only make them more likely to listen to Weston instead of to her.
Violet did her best to avoid eye contact with Weston as she left the room. She rushed quickly through the main area of the house and toward the front door, intending to go as far away from here as she dared during their hour break. But she’d barely made it outside before she felt a strong hand on her upper arm.
“Violet, wait.”
She tried to wriggle free from Weston’s grip, but he held her firmly. Finally, she gave up and turned to face him.
“Let me go,” she demanded, her eyes flashing.
“I will in a second, but first, listen to me,” he said.
Violet narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t have to listen to you,” she said. “You’re wrong. I know you think you’re protecting everyone by moving slowly, but you’re wrong.”
“Violet, we can’t rush into things. These are people’s lives we’re talking about.”
“I know!” Violet hissed. “You think I don’t realize that we’re talking about people’s lives? That’s exactly why we have to move quickly. If we don’t, people are going to die because of it.”
“Violet,” Weston said again. But he stopped before saying anything else. His eyes widened, and then he was grabbing her even firmer than before, pushing her back toward the house.
“Weston, what in the world? Let go of me!”
“Get in the house, V! Get in there and tell Peter and Knox that we’ve got trouble!”
Confused, Violet turned to look behind her, following Weston’s gaze. Her heart sank all the way to her toes when she saw what had troubled him. A giant black cloud was heading rapidly toward Blackstone. But the cloud wasn’t your normal cloud. It was alive, and full of hundreds of flapping wings.
“Bats!” Violet yelped.
“Stop staring and go warn Peter and Knox!” Weston yelled. His voice snapped Violet into action. She turned back toward the front door of the house and started running. But before she could reach the front door, she was stopped by Weston’s grip once more. She turned, eyes wide and questioning to see what he could possibly want now.
As she turned, he pulled her close against him into a strong, warm embrace. He kissed the top of her head, and then, with a voice muffled by her thick hair, he spoke words that sent a rush of heat through her whole being.
“No matter what happens, V, I love you. Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
And then, he released her and started running across the front yard of the house. His clothes were already tearing to shreds as he ran, thanks to the fact that he was shifting into dragon form. Violet knew she needed to run inside to alert the others, but it took her a few seconds to tear her eyes away from Weston. She hoped with everything in her that this would not be the last time she ever saw him alive, but the dark cloud in the sky was growing ever closer, and things did not look promising.
Why did you wait until death was imminent to finally tell me you love me? she thought, tears pricking at her eyelids. She didn’t have the luxury of indulging in a good cry right now, though. The attack she’d feared was now coming even sooner than she herself had predicted. She took one last, longing look at Weston’s dragon, and then ran into the house.
Chapter Five
Weston could hardly tell which way was up or down anymore. He was completely surrounded by enemy bats, making the air around him so black that it might as well have been night. He’d lost count of how many battles he’d been in over the course of this war, but this one was by far the worst. He was beginning to fear that it might be his last. Occasionally, he would see an enemy wizard darting in and out of the sea of bats, shooting off attack spells with gusto. He guessed that they were attacking some of his fellow soldiers, although he couldn’t see any familiar faces through the thickness of the bats. His heart was pumping hard with adrenaline, and he tried to focus all of his energy on attacking the bats around him. He tried not to think about Violet. Whenever her face appeared in his mind’s eye, it filled him with a deep sense of worry. He could fight battles all day long and not fear for himself, but just the thought of losing Violet made it hard to breathe.
Weston darted in and out of the bats, breathing fire in every direction, taking down dozens of bats with each breath. He must have killed hundreds of the pesky bat shifters by now, but they still kept coming. They weren’t very strong, and, on their own they almost wouldn’t have been worth the effort to kill. But together, the multitudes of bats were overwhelming. Weston was beginning to feel as though he could hardly breathe. He kept fighting though, doing his best to hold them at bay and to keep his mind off of Violet.
He felt a deep sense of remorse when he realized how right Violet had been. She’d seen this coming, but he’d been too blind to acknowledge the writing on the wall. His heart had been in the right place. He’d merely wanted to keep his soldiers out of a battle that promised to be a massacre. But they were involved in a massacre now whether they wanted to be or not. Weston could only hope that Violet had warned everyone with enough time for them to not be taken completely by surprise.
As soon as Weston had seen the bats heading toward Blackstone, he’d shifted into dragon form and launched himself into the sky with a giant roar. He’d wanted to draw the army away from the city as best he could, so he’d been loud and obvious and obnoxious. He’d thought that this move was likely to result in his death, but he hadn’t hesitated. He’d wanted to give his soldiers every chance to rally, and he’d wanted to keep the unsuspecting human citizens of Blackstone from getting caught in a wizard-shifter battle. He had no idea at the moment whether either goal had actually been accomplished, but he was pleasantly surprised to find himself still very much alive.
The bats had turned out to be easier to handle than he’d thought. At first, he’d been heartened by how quickly they fell from the sky. Now, however, he was starting to tire. Even the weak bats were soon going to be too much to handle. He could only hold off a sea of them for so long.
Weston told himself not to dwell on the morbid possibility of his own death. All he could do right now was to continue to fight and hope for the best. He continued to flap his wings with as much energy as he could muster, breathing stream after stream of fire into the air and thinking that, at the very least, each bat he took down was one less bat that his fellow soldiers would have to fight.
He continued this way for what felt like hours, telling himself to just continue on fighting the next bat and the next. In reality, it was probably only fifteen minutes of fighting like this, but time in the middle of a battle doesn’t feel like normal time. Weston did the best he could on his own, and then, suddenly, he wasn’t on his own any longer.
He heard them before he saw them. The dull drone of flapping bat wings was suddenly punctuated by the sharp hissing of magic attacks coming from wizard rings. For a moment, Weston worried that enemy wizards had found him. He knew he was too weak at this point to hold up very long against the attacks of dark wizards. Dark magic spells were significantly harder to deflect than weak bat bites. But before his heart could sink too much, he caught a glim
pse of a familiar face to his right. One of the Falcon Cross wizards had flown up right beside him on her broomstick, and was sweeping her magic ring left and right with gusto, bringing down bats with every swipe of her hand.
After another few seconds had passed, Weston suddenly found himself completely surrounded by Falcon Cross wizards. A group of them had found him, and had flown into a circle formation around him, protecting him on all sides. The sight of his fellow soldiers, alive and well, gave him fresh hope and a fresh burst of energy. He let out a roar, and began attacking with renewed determination. The bats still came in thick droves, but he was no longer alone, and that made all the difference. And then, another very familiar face flew up beside him, and he felt his heart leap with relief.
Violet.
She was swerving left and right as she hovered in mid air, expertly avoiding the flurry of bats that tried to attack her. She maneuvered herself right up next to him, and gave him an encouraging smile. Weston thought his heart was going to melt right in his chest when he saw that smile. He didn’t know how she felt about the fact that he’d said he loved her. He didn’t know whether she was going to be raging mad at him later for trying to keep the Falcon Cross soldiers from fighting. But he did know one thing: right then, in that moment, they were one. They were together, on the same team, and fighting the same enemy. He’d worry later about the fallout from their argument. Now, they fought together. They’d always been an amazing team in the sky, and today would be no different.
Fury and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 8) Page 3
