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With renewed effort, I charged at my father again.

The battle was a revelation. Every slice between the creature’s diamond hard scales and into its flesh seemed to heal almost instantly. It was exhausting and demoralizing to realize how little damage I could do in my current form.

We’d killed one easily. My uncle Villi. It hadn’t fazed me then just how weakened he’d been before we even entered the fight. It did now. My father was much stronger than Villi and even with Christian hanging on to him and piercing him on the back with his slayer blade, he was hardly weakened.

Dom was fighting beside me, his claws raking between the scales, pulling out handfuls of flesh at a time and even that was healing.

And then we had a break in the case. The other team arrived and joined the fray.

Fucking finally.

We didn’t ask questions and neither did they, just tore into the beast with relish.

It felt like we were making progress. My father was screaming in agony, and at least three of the slayer weapons were digging deeper into him slowly but inexorably.

The day was cloudless and bright but just then a shadow fell over us like an ominous raincloud and I looked up. A large green dragon had arrived.

Everyone else misread it.

“Fucking finally,” Christian yelled.

“About damn time,” Cam growled.

The monster swooped low and everyone just stared at it.

“That’s not Sven!” I screamed. “Take cover! That’s Ragnar!”

The creature lit the world up around us as it swept past, but the slayers and I stayed put as the rest took cover. Christian had dropped down to his belly now and had teamed up with Hamish to start digging straight for his heart. I thought they were close.

So did my father, apparently. Without further ado, he pushed off hard from the ground and took flight.

This time there was no determined Christian holding onto him. Gods dammit, he was going to escape.

As though they’d coordinated it, Ragnar landed right as my father was leaving and before we had a chance to brace for him.

He landed right on top of one of the bear druids, crushing him with a splat into the ground.

“Fuck!” Cam shouted.

Without word, without having to so much as think about it, we fell on the green dragon hacking, hammering, slashing at it.

This one was smaller and dumber. Instead of defending himself right away, he shifted off the body he’d just crushed, picked it up, and ate it with a loud chomp.

That only served to piss us all off even more.

As though the first, stronger dragon had just been practice, Christian and Hamish, now joined by Harvey, started digging into a spot in its belly with coordinated effort. Soon Helen caught on and joined them.

I could tell right away they’d make better progress this time if we could just keep the dragon from realizing what they were doing.

I moved to its face where Dom, a step ahead of me, was already taunting it.

I was a better target though as the dragon focused on me as soon as I was in view.

It was still chewing on the dead druid as it glared at me.

I glared back, crouching, axe ready. “Come closer, you coward!” I screamed at it and the motherfucker fell for it, lowering its head, still chomping away. When it was close enough, eyes glued to me, I leapt, burying Torst in its eye.

It screeched, a terrible noise, and shook me off. I fell away, but Torst stayed, sinking deeper into the eyeball and holding on as though it was in love.