Even Nik was part of it. I didn’t know how the magic that turned him into Mad Dog worked precisely, but there was no way he could be at the center of this maelstrom and not be affected. He certainly looked frenzied, bashing his body against the rising bars like the mad animal he was supposed to be.
“How long until you get here?”
“We just crossed the river,” my mom reported. “ETA is five minutes.”
That was faster than I’d expected, but it still felt like forever. Nik’s cage would be open in the next few seconds, and after that, things were going to get bloody. Whose blood, I didn’t yet know, and I didn’t want to find out.
“Just get here as fast as you can. I’m going to try and stall.”
“Opal, no!” she cried. “It would kill your father if you got hurt! Trust in our dragon. He can handle this!”
Easy for her to say. She didn’t have bloodlust pumping through her skull. But I didn’t have time to explain things to her, and it wouldn’t have done any good if I did, so I cut the call and shoved my phone back into my jeans pocket, turning around to kick the door behind me open as I plunged back into the crowd.
The moment I was back in the arena, the atmosphere hit me like a frying pan to the face. It wasn’t just the noise and the lights. It was everything. The whole throbbing, chaotic mass, and running through it all was the magic.
There was so much power here, I didn’t even have to reach for it. The spinning magic was practically shoving itself inside me, a hateful, screaming power that made me feel disgusted and exhilarated at the same time. It was so intense, I actually forgot what I was doing for a second. The only reason I didn’t get washed away and start cheering like the rest of the frenzied crowd was the fear. Dread sat like an anvil in my stomach, keeping me grounded as I started shoving my way down toward the ring. I’d barely made it five feet before the cage finished opening, and Nik burst free.
There were so many people crammed into the stands, I couldn’t actually see it happen, but I didn’t have to. The second Nik got out, the crowd’s fever pitch jumped to a full-on riot. The magic followed suit, swelling so hard and fast I had to sit down before it knocked me over, which was the only reason I saw what happened next.
My view of the arena was hopelessly blocked by the bodies in front of me, but my goggles were still hooked into the camera feed. I’d pushed them up so I could see while I elbowed my way through the crowd. When I fell, they’d slid back down over my eyes, giving me a beautiful, slow-motion shot of Nik as he lunged for my dad’s throat.
The digital manipulation was the only way I was able to follow it. Nik had always been fast, but I’d never seen a human move like he did now. Even my dad looked surprised, his perfect face going blank in shock as Nik jumped at him like a tiger. But Nik wasn’t the only one who was quick. A heartbeat later, the Great Yong got himself back together, stepping gracefully to the side at the last second to let Nik fly past him.
The Nik I knew would have been prepared for that. He would have landed on his feet and whirled around with some new trick already set to go. But this wasn’t the Nik I knew. This was Mad Dog. He didn’t even bother to check his fall as he soared past, landing face-first in the sand only to throw himself right back up, launching at my father again before Yong could even finish turning his head.
He still managed to dodge—even weakened, dragons were much faster than humans—but it was a closer thing this time. Too close, because Nik wasn’t pulling any punches. I saw now why they’d only given him a suit of crush armor. With wild charges like that, a weapon would have only gotten in his way. He needed his hands free to catch and relaunch himself every time my dad slipped away.
Again, my Nik would have stopped and adjusted his strategy when he saw it wasn’t working. Mad Dog charged ahead blindly, going for Yong’s throat, his chest, his arms, his eyes, anything he could reach. Even with his superior speed, the chaotic assault put enormous pressure on my father, because he was clearly trying his damnedest not to hurt Nik. I wasn’t sure if that was for my sake or if Yong’s famous pride wouldn’t allow him to kill someone who was so clearly not in control of his actions, but I’d never been more grateful to my father in my life.
Also terrified, because refusing to strike back meant that my dad was completely on the defensive, and Nik was showing no sign of tiring out. Quite the opposite. The more the crowd cheered, the harder he went, the curse on his neck burning like black fire as he attacked again and again and again, moving so fast that even the camera drones were struggling to keep up.
Cursing under my breath, I tore my eyes away from the spectacle and started shoving through the crowd more determinedly than ever. With hits like that, it was only a matter of time before my dad slipped up. One mistake, that was all it would take for him to eat one of those full-body punches, and then things would get really bad. Maybe he’d get hurt and start to slow, opening himself up to more attacks. Or maybe Yong would decide enough was enough and start punching back.
Either way, I couldn’t
