Above them, the first explosions began as the Order's assault commenced in earnest. But Maya was no longer the terrified analyst who had stumbled into this world. She was a High Dragon queen with seven bonded mates and forty-three subjects converging on her position.
The real war was about to begin.
Maya lifted her head, golden light pulsing from her skin in waves that matched her heartbeat. Through her newly formed bonds, she sensed her mates' readiness, each of them shifting subtly as they prepared for battle, their elemental powers humming just beneath the surface of their human forms.
"The Order doesn't know what they're walking into," Leon observed, shadows coiling around his fingertips. Through their bond, Maya felt his tactical mind calculating angles and vulnerabilities, mapping
