Faye's grip on her dagger tightened as the sky darkened with wings.
The Blood Moon Pact had arrived.
Not just one. Not just two.
A full squadron of dragon riders, their crimson-cloaked figures barely visible against the storm.
Talis growled, his icy breath misty in the freezing air.
Faye's pulse hammered. They were outnumbered.
"We need to move."
But the golden-eyed rider wasn't letting them go.
Despite his dragon's half-frozen wing, he didn't fall back.
No.
He laughed.
A low, dark sound, nearly swallowed by the wind.
"You're persistent." Faye spat, shifting in the saddle.
"And you're reckless." His voice was calm, too calm. He wasn't afraid.
Then—he raised a hand.
And the Blood Moon Pact riders descended.
The Storm Breaks
Arrows rained down.
Talis dove, wings snapping back, weaving through the onslaught. Faye gritted her teeth, twisting in the saddle to avoid a bolt aimed straight for her chest.
But this wasn't just an ambush.
It was a hunt.
The Blood Moon Pact riders moved with deadly precision, closing in from all sides.
No escape.
One rider—clad in red and black armor—drove his dragon forward, its fangs bared in a hiss.
Talis struck first.
He twisted midair—his tail whipping out.
The impact sent the enemy dragon spiraling away, its rider barely holding on.
"Keep moving!" Faye called, urging Talis higher.
But the enemy was adapting.
A second rider veered toward them—a woman with twin swords strapped to her back, her silver dragon weaving through the chaos with unsettling ease.
Faye barely had time to react before she saw it—
A second whip.
Dark steel, aimed for Talis' throat.
Faye lunged.
Metal met metal.
She slashed midair, knocking the strike aside. Sparks flew—but the force nearly unseated her.
Her opponent was fast. Too fast.
And she wasn't alone.
Another rider came from behind, spear raised—aimed for her heart.
Faye twisted, barely avoiding the thrust—but pain lanced across her ribs.
She felt the warmth of blood.
Talis roared—his fury fueling her own.
And then the frost came.
A shockwave of ice exploded from his body, freezing the air itself.
The closest riders reeled back, their dragons shrieking as frost coated their scales.
A moment of chaos.
A single opening.
"Now, Talis!"
He moved.
A burst of speed.
A sharp dive.
They slipped through the cracks of the ambush, plunging toward the storm clouds below.
But the golden-eyed rider was still following.
Faye glanced back, breath ragged.
The enemy rider's dragon—**still wounded, still slowed—**was keeping up.
Why?
Then she saw it.
A faint, pulsing glow on his dragon's chest.
Not natural.
Not normal.
Magic.
"Shit."
She had seconds to act.
If she hesitated—they'd be dead.
She did not hesitate.
"Talis—turn."
He obeyed instantly.
A full 180-degree spin.
Straight into the enemy's path.
Faye didn't wait.
She leaped from the saddle.
The golden-eyed rider's expression finally changed.
From calm confidence—
To shock.
Faye landed on his dragon.
Their battle had just began