The dragon pulled Kane through collapsing archways, his small hand impossibly strong around Kane's wrist.
Jade bridges shattered beneath them, spilling into the void. Kane leaped across gaps that widened with each heartbeat, following the boy's sure-footed path through devastation.
Around them, the war played out in brutal detail.
A phoenix crashed through a crystalline tower, wings ablaze with orange fire. Snake spirits coiled around crumbling pillars, crushing the stone as they fell. Wolf packs tore through fleeing civilians, blood painting marble streets.
Kane's chest constricted.
He'd lived this. Survived it. Crawled through these same burning streets as a terrified kit.
A group of fox spirits scattered past them, tails streaming silver.
One stumbled—a child no older than Kane had been. A wolf caught her, jaws closing around fragile bones.
Her scream cut off abruptly.
