Axel was whipped out into the air like a ragdoll, arms flailing around. Before he realized it he was slammed on a jagged rock.
Something inside his ribs cracked with a wet snap, and pain tore through his chest like lightning. Air punched out of his lungs, leaving him gasping and wheezing as he slid onto his back, dust and grit sticking to his sweat-soaked skin.
He couldn't move. Every breath felt like knives grinding under his ribs. Even blinking hurts.
Through the haze, he caught sight of the sky twisting above him, two monsters locked in chaos.
The serpent was coiling and thrashing, scales ripped open and glistening with dark blood.
The dragon — that obsidian nightmare — had it midair, talons digging into its body. The serpent still writhed, tail cracking through the air like a whip, snapping against the dragon's scale, but it was hopeless, like an egg against a rock.
