The gray must have sensed Sean’s approach, but he turned a moment too late to fend off the mighty red dragon’s attack.
Sean locked onto the gray and began ripping and tearing into him with all his strength. The gray responded with a desperate defense to save his life. The two battered dragons began a slow spiral toward the ground, locked in mortal combat.
Ashling wasn’t aware of Sean’s desperate struggle because she couldn’t take her eyes off of Grainne for a moment. The other gray dragons taking cheap shots at her back, while she’d been forced to fight off the mighty black, had left her weak from pain and blood loss.
Grainne seemed to sense her weakening condition and pressed her attack with new ferocity. She didn’t care if she’d needed the help of her grays to wear Ashling down, as long as she was the one to take her life force. By adding Ashling’s life force to her own, Grainne knew that she would be the undisputed leader of all of the Sidhe.
Ashling managed to break free from the black dragon’s grip one last time. She flew straight up just to put distance between them, while she tried to think of any way to defeat the monster.
When she circled in the air to look down at Grainne, Ashling knew it was hopeless. She was struggling to even stay conscious. Her heart ached with the thought of how her people would survive without her.
As Grainne began to circle up toward Ashling, she appeared supremely confident that she’d won the battle. Ashling knew it was true, but she was going to do as much damage to the evil black dragon as she could before she died.
With Ashling and Grainne locking eyes on each other, neither of them saw the blur of blue streaking across the sky until it smashed into Grainne with incredible force. The great black’s single focus on Ashling had left her wide open to attack.
Momentary confusion and surprise suddenly cleared. The massive blue dragon was her father. Never in her long life was she more grateful for Eamon’s stubbornness. He must have slipped through the portal at the last moment and used his own great powers to keep it open long enough to pass through.
Ashling began to circle down toward Eamon and Grainne, who were locked in a deadly struggle. She lost consciousness for a moment and drifted sideways. The fearsome roar of the black dragon brought her back to the moment, but she’d drifted farther from the battle.
With her last remaining strength, Ashling surged toward the black devil dragon. Grainne had done nothing but cause pain, misery, and fear to her people for centuries. It had to stop now.
While the great black dragon was desperately trying to get her foreclaws onto Eamon’s back, Ashling struck her from the side, ripping deep, massive cuts into her left wing and side.
When Grainne arched up and away from her battle with Eamon, Ashling anticipated the move and hit her hard with a burst of flame. She’d aimed it at her head, but the badly wounded black dragon managed to twist away. The searing fire struck her neck and right shoulder instead.
Ashling knew that the combination of wounds should be deadly, but she never counted Grainne out of any fight. Her caution saved her life.
Grainne managed to twist up and away from Eamon’s deadly rush at her. She soared past Ashling and managed to singe her wing with a smaller but still effective fireball.
With the amount of magical energy she’d expended, Grainne was struggling to evade Eamon and finish off Ashling before she fled the battle. She knew if she didn’t escape very quickly, she would be finished. Her injuries were quickly stealing her strength and powers from her.
While she lined up for one last rush at Ashling, a burst of red-hot flame struck the mighty black dragon’s already injured wing. She knew immediately it was the red dragon.
She let herself fall from the sky, hoping they would think she was about to crash into her ruined compound below.
Eamon followed her down to be sure it was the end of their feared and hated enemy. Sean was about to join him when he saw Ashling transform into her human self and begin falling from the sky.
Sean rushed to a position just under Ashling and allowed her to land on his back. “Hang on!” he shouted and was encouraged to feel her clutch onto his neck.
Eamon looked up to see Sean catch Ashling, as she was falling toward the fiery ruins below. He quickly glanced down to see Grainne disappear into the blazing ruins of her military compound.
Without another thought, he surged upward to fly beside Sean. Together, they landed near the forest where the medics were waiting.
Several medics quickly converged on Ashling and began assessing her many wounds. After a few minutes, the lead medic covered her with a blanket and said, “We’ve got to get her back to Rundimahair quickly. These are life-threatening injuries.”
Eamon nodded gravely and turned to Sean. Without a word, Sean joined Eamon and began pushing open a portal that would take them home.
When the portal was fully opened, Eamon said, “Sean, you take Ashling and I’ll make sure the portal stays open until everyone is safely through.
Sean wanted to stay and help get everyone home safely but his aching desire to help Ashling took precedence. He carefully lifted her into his arms and rushed into the still growing portal. While he streaked through the portal, the sounds of fires raging, massive explosions, and the screams of the injured and dying began to fade away.
Sean prayed for the safety of their warriors and leaders. Most of all he prayed that Ashling would still be alive when he got her back to Rundimahair. They may have won the battle but there would be little joy or elation if it came
