The rain lashed harder as Jake and the Dragon Maidens climbed away from the Jiunsu stronghold, the square-mountain fortress shrinking behind them until it was nothing more than a dark smudge against the gray peaks. The wet lands of the high passes stretched in every direction, rivers swollen and fields turned to marsh, the constant downpour turning the world into a muted tapestry of silver and stone. Jake flew at the head of the formation, his serpentine body cutting through the storm with powerful, rhythmic beats of his wings. The transformation still thrummed in his blood, a living fire that made every scale feel alive, every gust of wind a familiar caress. He could feel the eyes of the Dragon Maidens on him—Raani especially, flying close on Syreth, her golden gaze never straying far from his massive form.
