For three full seconds, the battlefield was silent.
The dragon stood frozen, eyes wide, tail twitching, molten pupils dilated like someone had just whispered the dirtiest secret in existence straight into her ear.
Even the moss walls from earlier would've been blushing if they'd seen this.
"…Did… we just…?" Jessy whispered.
Raven's voice cut through the stillness like a guillotine.
"Not enough. The tip barely went in."
The dragon's gaze snapped toward him, eyes wider than before under the metal cover. 'Only the tip?!'
Her mind screamed. 'What in the nine hells happens if it goes all the way—'
Raven didn't wait for her to finish the thought.
His body rippled, red-black dragon scales surging over him, claws sharpening, and a growl leaving his mouth.
He didn't activate the voidfire, as it could trigger the survival instincts of the dragon, but he kept the partial dragon form on for the strength boost.
He needed that boost.
