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like that. But they weren’t lumbering fools. They were smart, coordinated, and fast,” Ondrej said.
    “Okay, so maybe Fabian comes with me.” She shrugged. “I know I can’t do it all.”
    “You got it.” Fabian hopped to his feet.
    She rummaged around in her bedroll. “Damn it. I should’ve brought a flamethrower.”
    Fabian walked over to her. “Looks like that’s the one thing you didn’t bring.”
    “I try to be prepared.”
    “Be careful, Voshkie.” Krys didn’t like this, not at all. The idea of Voshkie out there alone when faced with this kind of threat frightened her. She knew this was what Voshkie did, part of who she was, but Krysanthe hated it when she was in harm’s way.
    “You too.” Voshkie grinned. “Hey, I got this. Remember when I went to the front? I took many werewolf heads with these little knives and they never got in a bite. A ghoul’s not going to stand a chance.”
    Krysanthe put her hand over her heart and Voshkie did the same, then with a nod, she and Fabian set off into the darkness.
    They all lay quietly in the dark for a long while, no one sleeping. Krysanthe looked up at the sky and wide splash of sparkling stars. This wasn’t a view she got very often, even in all of her long years of living. She spent much of her time underground, but now suddenly saw the appeal of living topside. How amazing it would be to look at this every night.
    “What was that?” Imre sat up straight.
    The whole group was immediately on alert and Krys could feel the tension in the air, it was so thick, she could almost reach out and touch it.
    Something rustled down by the water.
    “That’s bigger than a squirrel,” Mikolas said.
    “It could be a bobcat. There are plenty of them out this way. Probably just getting a drink,” Ondrej said, still looking out toward the noise.
    “That’s not a bobcat.” Imre leapt toward the sound.
    When he emerged from the darkness, it wasn’t any kind of creature in his grasp. It was Aranka.
    Her stomach dropped like a stone. “You can’t be here. Oh my gods, what are you doing?” She grabbed her sister and held her tight, but then shook her. “It’s dangerous.”
    “You’re dangerous. You trying to rattle my eyes out of my head?”
    “I’m trying to rattle some sense into it. How are you even here?” Krys asked.
    Aranka grinned. “Gold. I can travel through the veins of gold like Father. Pretty cool, huh?”
    “I—” Krysanthe wouldn’t say it wasn’t cool. It was actually pretty cool, as she’d said. “That’s great, but Aranka, you have to go. They’re ghouls hunting us.”
    “I want to see one.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe from a distance.”
    “Does Father know where you are?” Krys asked.
    “I left him a note.” She turned to Imre. “Are you going to carry me around some more? I’m tired from following you guys.”
    Voshkie and Fabian burst back into the light—sweat soaked and bloody. “Take to the air, boys. The shit has hit the fan.”
    Behind them, a horde of ghouls followed. Too many to fight. Or so Krysanthe thought.
    Ondrej leapt into the air, Changing as he flew, and put himself between his charges and the slavering, mindless horde.
    Oh gods, it was a beautiful thing to see. He’d done it without hesitation and when sprays of fire shot from his mouth, he was all the more majestic. He was just like every fairytale dragon she’d imagined. His wide wingspan, his noble head, and the scales on his body were just like the ones she’d seen on his arm. That same shifting aurora borealis of colors.
    “Let’s move. He can’t keep that up forever. It takes a lot out of him to breath the Alpha fire,” Mikolas said. “Our fire doesn’t kill them. Only his. See?” He shot fire at one and while it burned, it still kept coming.
    Voshkie stabbed and slashed, but even after she cut off their heads, they got back up again, the heads growing a new body and the bodies growing new heads.
    Voshkie yelled at her. “Get on