“I could kill you both, you know. Right now. Then you couldn’t tell her anything.”
Hazel narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“You’re right, but, Hazel, how can I agree to that? They’re killing people. Thousands of them. I can’t let the dragons go.”
“Only two groups of dragons are doing the killing. Believe it or not, the rest of the dragons are trying to stop them as well, but because you insist on killing all of the dragons, they now have two wars they’re fighting. They can’t win both.”
“You’re overestimating the strength of the dragons. We outnumber them by a long shot. Just let us do our job. Trust me, when this is all over, everyone will be grateful the dragons are gone.”
Skye’s blood ran cold. They were with their enemies.
Hazel, what have you done?
I’ve no idea. This didn’t go down as I planned. Now all we can do is try to make sure no one gets hurt at the base.
Skye stared out the window. She wasn’t sure what on earth they’d gotten involved with. She was upset that they had to kill humans to take out the weapons, but she didn’t want to put her own people at risk.
Skye let out a breath. This was going to be harder than she’d anticipated, but if this meant less loss of life, she was certainly down for it. Paul’s hands were tight on his steering wheel. He probably wasn’t sure what he’d gotten involved with either. At least they were all in the same boat.
The facility where the weapons were being kept was indeed well guarded. Skye didn’t see all the planes though. She wondered why. After what happened in Colorado, she thought for sure the area would be protected with all the force the military could muster. Perhaps it was because this wasn’t the original location. There were troops everywhere though. Paul got them inside easily by flashing his badge. After he pulled up to the building, he looked at Hazel and Skye. “Stay here.”
Hazel laughed. “Yeah, right.” She grabbed for the door handle and Paul took her hand.
“If the dragons are coming, it won’t be safe for you out there. You need to stay here. This car is built with the strongest materials and should be able to withstand dragon fire. Stay here.”
Skye snorted. Paul had no idea what would withstand dragon fire. The humans didn’t have a material strong enough.
He still had his hand over Hazel’s. She gazed deep into his eyes. “Will you please stay put? I need you safe,” Paul said.
The familiar red dragons came over the hill.
Hazel pulled Paul’s face to hers and kissed him. Skye was floored. She had no idea what Hazel was doing, but this was betrayal of the deepest kind. He returned the kiss eagerly, pulling her toward him. She wove her hands into his hair.
Suddenly his radio blared to life. “We’ve got incoming dragons.”
Paul broke away. “Dammit. You were trying to distract me. You stay here.”
He jumped out of the car and ran for the building shouting commands to those standing outside. The dragons descended.
“Do you see Val?” Hazel asked.
“Yeah, there,” Skye pointed. “What the hell was that, by the way?”
“I don’t want him to die. I love Val with every fiber of my being, but if that is what it takes to keep Paul safe, I’ll do it.”
Hazel climbed out of the car, and Skye followed. They watched as the dragons flew in. Paul stood in front of the building yelling at those inside. They were flooding out with armfuls of weapons and ammunition. When the fire dragons were in range, they let out flames at the building. Within seconds the entire thing was incinerated. As fast as the dragons had come in, they were gone. Paul ran back to Hazel and grabbed her. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“No. I’m fine.”
He pulled her close to him and kissed her again. Skye looked over Hazel’s shoulder and saw Val hovering just beyond the hill. Hazel would have a lot of explaining to do. Val turned and flew away.
“Now tell me something. How did you know about this location? It was changed at the last second, and no one knew. Also, how did you know about the dragons?” Paul asked.
“How many of your men died?” Hazel asked.
“None. We were able to get everyone out before they torched the building. We even managed to save a handful of weapons.”
“Then you’re welcome. Take us back to Gardiner please.”
Paul glared at her. “Get in the car.”
She and Skye climbed in while he spoke with his team.
“They still have a few of the weapons,” Skye said.
Hazel grinned at Skye. “I know. That was part of the plan.”
Skye creased her eyebrows. “How? I thought there was no plan.” But then Paul opened the hatch, dumped a handful of weapons in, and climbed into the driver’s seat. He was quiet as they drove out of the parking lot. When they turned on the freeway, he spoke.
“We didn’t lose anyone but those in Kentucky and Colorado weren’t as lucky. Everyone inside both facilities died instantly. You knew about those as well, didn’t you?”
She shrugged. Skye still couldn’t figure out what was going on. Hazel was border lining on becoming a traitor.
“How could you let innocent people die?” His voice dripped with disgust.
“A lot more innocent people would die if we didn’t take out the weapons.”
“We? You talk like you are one of them.”
Hazel didn’t say anything. How far would she go?
“You’re involved somehow, aren’t you? I’m in the car with an enemy. I should kill you.”
“But you won’t?” Hazel’s voice had gone up a couple of notches. She gripped the edge of her seat.
He shook his head. “I won’t. How’s she connected?” He jerked his thumb back at Skye.
“How I’m connected is none of your business.” Hazel might’ve been scared, but Skye wasn’t. Paul was a puny human.
Paul shrugged. “Well, I’m not taking you home.”
Hazel crossed her arms. “So. Let us out of the car. We can get home well enough.”
He frowned and pulled the car over and looked at both of them. He locked the doors. “You owe me an explanation.”
Skye snorted and fumbled with the door. “We owe you nothing. We saved the lives of your entire team. Now let us out.”
“No.”
Hazel put her hand on the handle. “Where are we?”
“Just outside Chico.”
“Okay. See you when this is over. I hope you make it.”
He put his hand over hers again, and Hazel screwed up her face. Then he pointed out her window. “Look.”
A wave of white and orange dragons flew over the mountain. Skye’s stomach fell. They’d pretty much neutralized the human threat, but there were over a couple thousand canyon and arctic dragons. Skye didn’t even realize there were that many canyon dragons. They flew over a mountain to the east of them.
Skye let out a curse and pulled out her phone. She sent a text to Aspen.
Canyon and arctic dragons camped outside of Chico. Way more than we have.
Hazel spun in her seat. “Do you trust me?”
Skye cocked her head. “Right now. No. You seem pretty cozy with Paul.”
“Will you? Please. Did you see how many dragons they have? I have a plan. Please. Can you trust me?”
Skye didn’t know what else to say. Hazel was the one who told her to man up, and made sure she and Rowan stayed safe. Maybe she should trust her.
After a moment, Skye nodded.
Hazel let out a breath. “Okay. Paul, I’m going to tell you everything.”
“The arctic dragons are on a mission to kill not only all the humans but any dragon race that won’t align with them. They quickly gained the allegiance of the canyon dragons, and then they slaughtered al
l of the woodland dragons and about two-thirds of the fire dragons,” Hazel said.
Paul nodded. “Good and now we’ll kill the rest of them.”
“Paul, do you love me?” Hazel asked.
“I always have, Hazel, you know that.”
Skye sank back into her seat. She felt like she was listening to something she shouldn’t be.
“Okay then. I’m about to tell you something unbelievable, and I’m going to need you to believe me.”
He shrugged. “We’ll see. I already know you talk to dragons, so I suppose nothing else could surprise me that much.”
Oh, he had no idea. Skye might have to transform just to prove things to him.
“You remember seeing the black dragon tear off the head of that gold dragon?”
Paul let out a low chuckle. “That was the goriest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, that black dragon was Val.”
Paul paused for a beat and burst out laughing. “Okay, now it’s time to tell the truth.”
Hazel sighed. “It is true. He’s one of three dragon kings. I’m his queen. He’s a shifter. I’m human.”
Paul creased his eyebrows. “You’re being serious, aren’t you?”
“I am. Skye’s actually a dragon.”
Paul looked at her.
“Truth,” Skye said.
“Prove it.”
“You’ll have to let me out if you want proof otherwise I’ll ruin your pretty truck.” Skye was irritated he didn’t believe her.
He let out a breath. “Okay.” He unlocked the truck, and Skye climbed out. She debated on what she would do after this. She should fly home and tell Sid and Val everything, but she wanted to see what Hazel had planned.
She transformed, and Paul fell to his knees. She didn’t stay a dragon long. She didn’t trust Paul not to grab one of those weapons and take her head off. She shrank back into a human.
Paul still gaped at her. Hazel grabbed his hand. “I’ll be out there fighting with them. If you are against us, either you or I are going to die.”
Paul frowned. “Do I know any others?”
“Other what?”
“Dragon shifters?”
“Sid.”
“Wait. Didn’t you say you were Rowan’s girlfriend?” Paul asked Skye.
Skye nodded.
“So Rowan’s in love with a dragon?”
“Yeah.”
Paul ran his hand over his face. “I don’t see how this changes anything.”
“Paul, they’re humanlike. Look at Skye. They have feelings and emotions. You can’t slaughter them,” Hazel said.
“Do you expect me to ignore my orders?” Paul asked.
“No. But I’m asking you be, uh, selective in which dragons you hunt. You have a limited number of weapons and ammo, right? Use them on the orange and white dragons.”
Skye finally understood, and she nearly squealed. Hazel was a freaking genius.
Paul raised an eyebrow at Hazel. “And what happens when we create more weapons?”
“Doesn’t matter. Right now, all we need to do is buy some time to figure out how to handle the humans. This war won’t last long. If you help us with the canyon and arctic dragons, it could be over by the weekend. Then Sid, Val, and Skye can work with the president to come up with a peaceful solution. Please,” Hazel said.
Skye stood back and let Hazel work her magic. This was incredible.
There was a long pause. “You picked a dragon shifter over me?”
Hazel shrugged. “It just sort of happened.”
Okay, now things were getting uncomfortable again. Skye wondered if they would even notice if she ran back to the car.
Paul sighed. “You have my word that we’ll focus on… what did you call them?”
“The white and orange dragons,” Hazel said.
“Fine. No promises after that though. Tell your friends to stay away because I’m not going to convince the army to only shoot at certain colors. As long as the white and orange ones are the only ones in town, we’ll only go after them. I’m going to make a call. You girls look cold. Why don’t you wait in the car.”
Both Skye and Hazel went back into the Humvee.
“I need to call Aspen. Tell her what’s going on so she knows,” Skye said.
The phone rang only once before Aspen answered. “Where the hell are you? We know where the white witch is. It’s time to move. Is Val with you?” She sounded slightly pissed.
“No. I’ve no idea where he is. What do you mean you found the white witch?” Skye had no idea why Aspen would think Val was with her.
“Yeah, Freddie and Rowan found her in a cave not far from here. At least we’re pretty sure she’s in there. Most of the dragons are outside of Chico like you said, but there is one in a cave. It makes sense that it is her. She wouldn’t fight in the battles herself. It would be too risky.”
“Okay. Then as soon as this fight is over, we’ll head home and go to the witch.”
“What fight?” Aspen asked.
“Hazel and I are with Paul.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Aspen let out a stream of curses. Skye let her rant.
“Calm down. He still has some of those weapons that can kill dragons. We’ve got him convinced to use his ammo only on the arctic and canyon dragons, but no one else should show up.”
“Oh my word. That’s awesome. Let me tell Sid. He’ll send out a team. With any luck this will be over before it even begins.”
“You can’t send anyone out. They will attack any dragons in the vicinity. We’re going to stay here and make sure Paul follows through. He could totally betray us.”
“I still think Sid should send in dragons to finish off anyone the humans miss. I’ll tell Sid to make sure they don’t intervene until the humans leave. Get back here as soon as you can. We all need to go to the white witch together. Ask Hazel if she knows where Val is.”
Skye was about to ask. Then she remembered Hazel kissing Paul. She covered up the phone. “Aspen wants to know if you know where Val is.”
Hazel shook her head. Skye leaned forward. “I forgot to tell you. He saw you kissing Paul.”
Hazel’s eyes widened. She took a couple of deep breaths. “Okay, let me talk to Aspen.”
Skye handed her the phone.
“Aspen, can you send out a couple of dragons to see if they can find Val. Warn them that he might be angry.” There was a pause. “I don’t want to talk about that, but find him before he does something stupid.” Hazel hung up and handed Skye the phone. Skye didn’t envy Hazel having to explain things to not only Val but Aspen too.
Paul climbed back into the car. “I’ve got men coming. We’re going to take out as many of those dragons as we can, and then we’re going to bail.”
Skye hoped he was being honest because otherwise more people and dragons would die. The humans could take care of the majority of the canyon and arctic dragons, and the royal, sea, and fire could finish them off.
Then all they had to do was beat the witch.
They all sat in silence while they waited.
“What happens when this is all done?” Paul finally asked.
Hazel shook her head. “I don’t know. Once we win the war, we’ll have to deal with the humans, and then who knows. One thing is for sure, the world will never be the same.”
After the havoc the arctic and canyon dragons wreaked upon the humans, peace looked impossible. The dragons might not even be able to live near the humans anymore. As a sea dragon, she could hide in the ocean. Well, not anymore. Now she had Rowan to worry about, but they could live as humans. Not everyone had that luxury.
Paul chuckled. “Can I ask a weird question?”
“Sure.”
“How’d you react when you found out Val was a dragon?”
Hazel turned around and stared at Skye. “We’re tight now, right? You won’t tell Val any of this?”
Skye had a lot of respect for Hazel. She had a hard time believing Hazel would do something that would jeopardize her and Val’s relationship.
“Secret’s safe with me.”
Hazel turned back to Paul. “Do you remember the last time I kissed you?”
“Uh, yeah.” He squirmed in his seat. “Do you mean before today?”
Hazel’s face colored. “Yeah, before today. That was right after I found out about Val. I was trying so hard to forget about it. I wanted nothing more than to have a normal relationship with someone that didn’t involve any supernatural creatures.”
Skye snorted. She could totally relate. There was a time she felt the same way about Sid.
“I wish I could’ve been the one for you,” Paul said.
She gripped his hand. “Me too.”
“Hazel. If I don’t survive this, know that I loved you more than anyone.”
“I know.”
Skye wanted to plug up her ears and sing at the top of her lungs so she didn’t have to hear this. It was too much. She heard a loud whoosh-whoosh-whoosh, and she looked up to the sky. A couple dozen helicopters descended.
“How many are there?” Hazel asked.
“Twenty. Three soldiers per copter. Each one has one weapon with twenty bullets. When they’re gone, we’re gone.”
That was twelve hundred rounds of ammo. That could take out the majority of the canyon and arctic dragons. This was a good plan.
Hazel nodded. “Yeah. Okay. We’re coming with you.”
He snorted. “No, you’re not.”
“Yeah. I am. I told you about them. You’re not leaving me behind. And Skye’s a dragon. We deserve to be in those helicopters with you.”
Paul frowned. “We’re wasting time. If we want the element of surprise, we need to go.”
Skye agreed with Hazel. They needed to witness what happened.
The sixty troops gathered around Paul, and he took command easily. “We’ll only get one shot at this. Once you run out of ammo, get the hell out of there. We’re hoping the dragons will be so busy trying to fight off active shooters they won’t follow those retreating. Be careful. Now let’s go kick some dragon ass.”
The Kings: The Dragon Kings Book 5 Page 13
