She steeled herself and stopped paying attention to her dear friend. Just as the day she fought on Connor's back to kill Stacia, Tressa needed every ounce of concentration she could muster. Tressa's back stiffened, ready to face whatever fate had in store for her that day.
The Black horde screeched through the sky, flying faster and nimbler than the Red horde. Dragons clashed. Talons grabbed hold of limbs, tearing skin. Blood fell from the clouds like rain.
Fi darted to the left and Tressa hung on with all of her might. A maroon dragon fell from above, careening past them to the ground with a loud thump, one wing broken and folded under itself. Tressa didn't stop to see if it moved. Didn't matter. The dragon couldn't fly now.
Then it hit her. They didn't need to kill the dragons. They only needed to maim as many wings as they could. She shared her idea with Fi, whose head bobbed in agreement.
Fi weaved in and out of the fray as Tressa sliced at the wings of the Red dragons. One by one, the other Black dragons saw what they were doing and joined in.
A screech rang out behind them. Fi banked sharply to the left. Before Tressa could grip her scales, she slipped off Fi's back and fell through the air.
Fi! she screamed, her arms flailing.
Where are you? Fi yelled.
Before Tressa could respond, she landed with a thump. Her stomach sank to her feet as the dragon underneath her ascended. A tap on her shoulder forced her to turn around. A man grinned, a sword in his hand.
Tressa looked down. Sunlight bathed the dragon, illuminating its red scales.
"Gods!" she screamed, reaching for her sword. This was not part of the plan.
She gripped the dragon with her thighs, balancing with her core while swinging with all her might at the warrior behind her. He ducked, surprised at her quick attack and slid off the dragon, falling just as Tressa had—only no one caught him. His body landed on the ground with a thud. The dragon screamed, whipping its head around, snapping at Tressa, teeth dripping with saliva. She scooted up closer to the neck. The dragon couldn't reach her, coming too close to biting itself. Its neck snapped forward, and it tried a new tactic, gyrating back and forth with its whole body and erratically flapping its wings.
Tressa managed to sheath her sword and hung on as tightly as she could with both arms. Her muscles were quickly tiring. She wouldn't be able to hang on for long. The dragon was infinitely more powerful than she was. They both knew it.
Fi! she screamed again in her head.
I can't get to you. The Red army has blocked us. No one can get to you, Tressa. You're on your own. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
Fear bubbled in Tressa's chest. Wind whipped at her face, scratching with clawed gusts. Tears streamed down her cheeks. This was it. She'd tire out long before the dragon. Soon she'd be joining the dead man on the ground, her fate tied to his for eternity.
Her nails dug into the scales. But the dragon’s momentum tore a nail from her finger, causing searing pain unlike anything she'd ever felt. She fumbled, her hands grasping for anything, but her muscles unable to comply. Tressa flopped backward, only the grip of her legs keeping her from death.
With one more calculated snap of the dragon's torso, Tressa's legs finally lost their grasp. The dragon tossed her into the open air. Her arms and legs splayed wide as she fell. There was no one to save her this time. No warrior. No dragon. Nothing.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the ground to break her back. An image of Jarrett flashed in her mind. He traced her cheekbone with his thumb and his lips fell on hers. Her friends. Bastian. Connor. The people of Hutton’s Bridge she’d fought so hard to save. It couldn’t end like this. Not now!
Tressa gasped. "No!" she screamed, letting the word stretch on forever.
Until her arms and legs jerked. Her body ripped in two. Fire shot out her mouth. She soared in the sky, waiting for the ground to kill her...until she realized the ground wasn't coming any closer. Her arms and legs had changed. She whipped her neck around, and realizing she was no longer human. She was like the others in the sky.
A dragon!
Going on instinct, Tressa flapped her wings, the wind bending to her will. She rose higher and higher, coming up behind the dragons that believed she'd fallen to her death. She opened her mouth, reached inside herself for the anger she felt toward these Red dragons, and let loose a blast of fire, roasting the backsides of every dragon within her reach.
Confusion reigned. Screaming, the dragons spun around to attack Tressa. She flew higher until she was above all of them, then darted as quickly as possible to her own Black horde. The dragons clashed again underneath her, the Black fighting with a renewed vigor.
Tressa flew to the back of her horde. Exhausted. Exhilarated. A million feelings swept over her.