I drew in a quiet breath, wondering if all dragons felt this exhilaration. I’d gone surfing with Ember before, had felt that addictive rush of excitement and adrenaline while coursing down a huge wave.

It was nothing compared to this.

On impulse, I glanced behind me, at the compound I was leaving behind, and my blood chilled. Headlights speared the darkness from several vehicles, following us across the open desert. I counted three SUVs and at least one Jeep with a spotlight fixed to the roof, all straining to close the distance. There was no place to hide out here. If those vehicles got much closer they would start shooting, and we wouldn’t stand a chance.

“There’s the van!”

I looked at the blue dragon, then at the ground, where a large white van was speeding across the flat plain, trailing a billow of dust. Instantly, the blue dragon folded his wings and dropped from the sky, plunging toward the ground. I felt the subtle shift of muscles beneath me as Ember did the same, though a ragged shudder went through her as she glided after the blue. She was panting hard, sides heaving, and I hoped carrying me away from the base hadn’t put too much of a strain on her.

The blue dragon plunged low to skim the ground, then wheeled hard so that he passed in front of the van, in full view of the driver. Instantly, the van slammed on its brakes, coming to a skidding halt in a writhing cloud of dust. As the blue dragon landed, the front door opened and a human jumped out, wild haired and skinny, shouting something at the dragon as he hurried forward.

I realized with a start that Ember had dropped low to the ground and was gliding toward the van at top speed. Alarmed, I tensed, wondering when she would slow, but another shudder went through her, and she abruptly dropped from the air like a stone.

At the last second, she flapped her wings and pulled up enough to slow her momentum, before we crashed headfirst into the ground. I was thrown clear, striking the earth and rolling several yards, the world spinning around me, before I finally came to a halt several yards from where Ember had fallen.

Wincing, I staggered upright. My head throbbed, my arms were bloody and the world was still spinning, but nothing seemed broken. I ignored the stab of pain from a bruised or cracked rib and stumbled toward the dragon.

“Ember…”

My stomach twisted. She lay on her side a few yards away, heaving in great, shuddering gasps. One wing was crumpled beneath her, the other lay limp on the ground. Her legs moved feebly, clawing at the loose sand and rock, and her tail twitched a weak rhythm in the dirt. But in the time it took me to reach her, she slumped and went motionless. Her wing gave one final spasm and was still.

“Ember!”

A dark-haired, naked human raced up to her, dropping to his knees beside the scaly neck. “Ember,” Riley said again, putting a hand on her side. “Can you hear me? What happened? Are you—?”

He stopped, his face going pale. I limped up beside him just as he pulled his hand back, the palm and fingers covered in red, and my heart stood still.

“Oh, no.” His voice was a whisper, and he surged to his feet, glaring back at the van. “Wes!” he yelled. “Ember’s been shot. Help me get her in the van before St. George catches up.”

“Bloody hell.” The shaggy-haired human raced around the van, pausing to throw open the back doors. “I knew this was a bad idea, Riley. I knew the stubborn brat was going to get us all killed.”

“Shut up and help before I rip off your legs and leave you for St. George.”

“I’ll help,” I broke in, and he turned to glare daggers at me. Without waiting for an answer, I stepped around the unconscious dragon and knelt beside her, sliding my arm beneath a scaly foreleg. Ember stirred weakly, her claws raking the sand once, but she didn’t wake up. Riley hesitated, then crouched on the opposite side, taking her leg.

“Wes!” he spat as we braced ourselves to lift the dragon off the ground. “Get over here. You’re going to have to help, too.”

“On three,” I said as the other human dropped beside me, muttering curses the whole time. Over Ember’s back and wings, Riley gave me a last baleful glare, but then his attention shifted to the dragon between us. “One…two…three!”

We lifted. Ember sagged, wings and tail dragging along the ground, her neck dangling awkwardly. She wasn’t as heavy as I’d expected, considering this was a very large, armored reptile who was complete dead weight at the moment. Somehow, the three of us manhandled the dragon over the ground and into the back of the vehicle, grunting as we pushed and pulled her inside. She barely fit; her wings were crumpled against the sides, her neck bent at an awkward angle, and we had to loop her tail over her back. I ended up pressed against the front seat with her neck draped over my lap, curved talons pricking my leg through my jeans. Riley glared at me over Ember’s motionless body, obviously hating how close I was, but there was no room to move. Nor was there room for the both of us to be back here, with an unconscious red dragon sprawled across the floor.

“Riley!” Wes snapped as the other hesitated, reluctant to leave me alone with Ember, I guessed. “St. George is coming! Bloody hell, put some pants on, would you? Let’s go!”

Riley cursed and backed away, reaching out to close the back doors. His eyes glowed yellow in the shadows of the van as he stared at me. “If she dies,” he said softly, “I’m going to kill you.” It was not an idle threat.

The roar of a distant engine, not our own, echoed over the hill behind us, getting steadily closer, and my stomach lurched. St. George was not about to let us go. Wes shrieked at Riley again, and the doors slammed, cutting off my view of the outside world. Ember groaned and stirred, wings fluttering, but she didn’t awaken. I swallowed hard and scooted aside so that the narrow, horned skull was pillowed against my legs. Her breath was shallow and hot against my skin, and I put one tentative hand on her scaly neck, trying to ignore the rows of fangs hovering over my leg, the claws that scraped close to my body.