“Hopefully, they were able to find something.” Felicity hugged her clipboard to her chest and frowned.
Or this might all be a failure.
Ryker heard the undercurrent in the First Lieutenant’s words even though she didn’t say them out loud.
No one wanted to fail, especially now that Chancellor Rose had gotten involved.
Failure on a regular day in the Republic of Balance meant embarrassment or, potentially, a mark against your record. That was bad enough. But failure when the Chancellor was closely monitoring the situation? This was the type of thing that could irrevocably ruin careers.
Ryker needed his job not to be affected by this. It was the one thing that had kept him stable in the years after the Incident, and now, it was the reason he was able to keep Brynleigh out of prison.
They needed to find something about the rebels—anything to show that these days in the desert had been worth it.
Grunting, Ryker trained his eyes on the sky. Grey clouds swirled in the distance, darkening the horizon and promising sweet relief from the punishing heat in a few hours.
Extending his fae senses, Ryker listened to the wind. He might not have been a vampire, but his hearing was far better than that of a human.
Beneath the whisper of the breeze, the rustling of leaves, and murmurs of conversations came a steadythump, thump, thump.
Ryker couldn’t help but smile.
The sound grew louder with each passing moment. The windwas the symphony, and the thumping was a drum announcing the impending arrival of the creatures of fire, ash, and death.
“They’re coming,” he breathed.
The words rippled around him. Variations of the same phrase rose over the field. Conversations dropped off. Gazes lifted. Anticipation swirled in the air.
Thump, thump, thump.
Ryker’s magic whirled, and his heart thundered as true alpha predators drew near.
All creatures in the Republic of Balance, even powerful fae, recognized the strength of the dragon. The land itself seemed to tremble in eager expectation.
And then he saw them.
Breaking through the dark clouds, their wings outstretched, and fire ripping from their maws were ten dragons. They fanned out in a V formation, their wings flapping in perfect synchrony. They were so high that they were little more than specks against the sky, but they drew everyone’s attention.
Thump, thump, thump.
As one, they beat their wings.
As one, they slowly descended.
Nothing in this world was more powerful than them.
Soon, they were close enough to the ground that Ryker could make out the beasts’ individual features.
At the tip of the formation, in the position of leadership, was a black dragon twice the size of the others. Onyx horns rose above his head, spikes ran along his back, and his tail was barbed.
Flurries of excitement rose. Even the sternest soldiers couldn’t help but get caught up in it. The Carinoc Division was well-known, and their existence was legendary throughout the entire Republic. After all, dragon shifters were a rare breed.
Long ago, the Crimson King had attempted to wipe all dragons from the continent. He’d failed, but they were still few and far between. Even rarer were dragon shifters willing to enter the Republic’s army.
Ryker remembered the first time he saw the fire-breathing creatures.
The summer Ryker turned nine, his mother had been overwhelmed with work, so Cyrus took him to their country home in the Western Region. They were fishing at the lake when that samethump, thump, thumpfilled the air.
Ryker had dropped his pole, the fishing implement promptly sinking to the bottom of the lake. He gazed skyward in wonderment as a trio of dragons flew overhead.