I fling my weight against the door, slamming it shut.

The guard bellows in pain, and I can hear the crunch of bones as his hand gets caught in the doorjamb. The gun clatters to the floor, and I snatch it up, scrambling back a few feet.

The other guard whips around, gun in hand, and we have a standoff. I’m pointing my gun at him, and he’s pointing his gun at me. My eyes are wide and I’m full of panic, but I can do this. They need me alive. “Drop your weapon,” I tell him, my voice trembling.

“Fuck that,” he tells me, incredulous. “You drop your weapon!”

“Umm, no.” I keep my hands on it, and my finger itches near the trigger. “I’ll shoot you if I have to. Azar’s not going to care if you’re alive, but he’s sure going to be pissed if you kill me, because that tanks his plans.”

He continues to stare at me, but he’s not moving. I can see hesitation on his face.

At his side, Emma gets to her feet and puts her hands in the air. When I give her a confused look, she winks at me. “Please don’t shoot,” she begs, sounding pathetic. She turns to the guard. “She made me work with her! She said she was going to have her dragon eat me if I didn’t do what she said.”

Need some fire and scary dragon action right about now, babe, I call out.

The building shakes with a blood-curdling roar, and fire crackles along the windows. Oh, wow, he’s really close. Time to use that. “I’m going to have him kill all of you if you don’t listen up,” I say firmly. “Drop. Your. Weapon.” I point my gun at the man in the hall, who’s cradling his busted wrist, and gesture. “You. Join them.”

He moves over to the others.

The guard with the gun hesitates and then lowers the muzzle.

“You,” I say to Emma. “Bring that to me.”

She grabs it out of the guard’s hands and moves to my side, handing it over.

“Both of you, into the bathroom,” I say, nodding at the small room off to the side. “Go.” I glance over at Emma. “You’re going to be my hostage.”

“Please don’t take me,” she begs, sounding tearful enough that I almost second-guess myself.

“Go lock them in,” I command her. Heck, I sound pretty boss even to my own ears.

She jumps to do my bidding and locks the two men into the bathroom, securing the door behind her. The moment she turns around, she gives me a silent thumbs up, mouthing “Yessss!” She races to my side, and I hand her the second gun, and then we head out of the room. Emma pauses to lock the hotel room door, latching it on this side. “That should slow them down for a few. That was awesome, Sasha. Good job!”

“Let’s not celebrate yet,” I tell her warily. “How do we get to the roof?”

“This way,” she tells me, pointing down the hall.

We race to the stairwell, and outside it sounds like chaos. I can hear the crackle of flame, can hear the sound of guns firing and things crashing to the ground. Dakh roars over and over again, and I can hear another roar in the distance.

“Hurry,” Emma pants as we race up two flights of stairs, and then I pause, breathing heavy. I’m still dragging from the stuff they gave me to knock me out, and hauling up the stairs feels like trying to run through water. But I nod at her and plod forward. I’m close to Dakh. Close to my love.

I am waiting for you, he tells me. His thoughts are triumphant, a mixture of rage and anger and joy. Come to me!

On my way, I tell him, clinging to the railing as I try to make my legs move faster. Don’t leave me!

Never. Never never. I will burn this world to the ground before I would let you go.

Is it weird that such a violent statement makes me want to weep with joy? Because it does. I can’t wait to see him and then this awful nightmare will be over. I drag myself up another few steps, panting.

You are close, he soothes me. You can do this. I wait for you.

“Here! We’re at the top!” Emma cries as she heads up the next landing. “Come on!”

Finally. I’ve never missed elevators so much. I use every last bit of my strength and push forward while she waves me on.

When I make it to the landing next to her, she grabs the door handle. It clicks. “Oh no,” she breathes, and then jerks on the handle again. “It’s fucking locked! They locked it! No!” She bangs on the door, frustrated. “We’re so close!”

Bullshit it’s locked. I’m not about to let a door stop me from getting to my dragon. “Step back,” I tell her, lifting my gun.

“No, Sasha, don’t! It’ll ricochet—”

“You got a better idea?” I ask her.

Her eyes widen, and she stares at me, then races down a few steps. “I’m taking cover!”

“You do that.” I wait for her to get a safe distance away, then close my eyes and pray I don’t make a huge mistake. I open them again, find the trigger, and let loose.

It’s like the bullets leap from the gun. It fires off several rounds before I even realize it, and they slam into the metal, gouging holes where the door handle used to be. I drop the gun and then grab the door handle, pulling on it. Something snaps, and then it creaks open.

Wind rushes inside, along with cool night air.

We’ve made it to the roof. “Come on,” I call to Emma.

“Coming,” she yells back, and joins me at my side a moment later. She grabs my hand, and we race out onto the roof together.

49

SASHA

I gaze out at the night. Flames seem to be dancing everywhere, the skies lit up as the buildings nearby burn. Somewhere in the distance, a gun fires with a rat-tat-tat-tat, but it sounds distant. There’s no sign of Azar or his people. Either they’re still waiting for their trap or they’re retreating. I hope it’s the latter.

I come, my dragon tells me, and I tilt my head back, gazing up.

A moment later, the wind whips my hair about my face as enormous wings beat heavily, and Dakh lands on the roof beside me.

“Dakh!” I cry out, racing to his side. I put my hands on his muzzle and press my cheek to his snout. “Oh my God, I love you so much. You’re not hurt, are you, baby?”

No. Quickly, get on your saddle, he tells me. I want to get you out of here.

I look at his back, and sure enough, my saddle’s there. “How did you—”