Karina stood on the balcony of her room, savoring the warmth of her coffee as she watched the thunderstorm brewing in the north. The dark red clouds contrasted sharply against the towering trees with each bolt of lightning, and she felt familiar electricity to the one outside course through her veins, a result of the bond she shared with the storm dragon housed below the outpost. She watched the last line of patrol squads land and head to the bay below.

Nadia, wrapped in a cozy blanket, interrupted her thoughts. "You'd love to be out there right now, wouldn't you?"

The statement elicited a chuckle from her friend.

"It would certainly make for a more eventful night. We've been watching this desolate landscape for weeks. If there were any Rebels hiding in those woods, the blood storm would have driven them out by now. The wild dragons would have hunted them one by one either way."

Nadia frowned disapprovingly. "We can't take that chance."

"I've been watching the northern border since I was eight," Karina said. "The last place you want to hide on this god-forsaken island is the Stormwood."

"We'll do it for as long as it takes," Nadia replied. "If they are dead, we'll need proof of that."

"There's a big storm coming," Karina pointed out.

Nadia cast a blank look toward the unrest building in the sky beyond the forest. "There's been a storm every day since we got here. Why does this one worry you?"

Nadia could see the concern etched on her friend's face as Karina's brow creased momentarily. Storm riders, owing to their bond with storm dragons, recognized and relished the proximity of such tumultuous weather. But there was something more to this, nervousness that bordered on fear.

Nadia had never seen Karina scared of the weather in the time they had spent together as cadets. Even the first time she had arrived in Tarzar and got to witness her first blood storm, Karina had brushed it off as nothing but a mere wind and rain. There had been one every night for the past two weeks of their stay at the northern border military outpost, and Nadia no longer shivered at the sight of crimson clouds gathering in the distance.

Until tonight. Something was different tonight. For over ten days they had been ranging further northwest along the border, tracking down a particularly ruthless band of Rebels that had since disappeared within the Stormwood. Venturing into the dreaded forest proved to be a big risk for most of the troops, with them being constantly attacked by wild dragons or ambushed by Rebels. Nadia had only gone on two of these excursions so far, and each time it felt like she was being watched from the shadowy canopy, by something that would prefer her heart silent and her body cold. There were nights when she wanted nothing but to get onto her dragon and fly back east to Myrria, but those were thoughts she could not share with her friend.

Karina was the third daughter of an ancient house that controlled many of the cities in the northern territories, Tarzar included. At just twenty-three, she possessed the windswept good looks of one born beneath the warmer northern skies, with auburn hair that often escaped its braid to flare copper tinted around her face, complementing vivid green eyes that glimmered with spirits of forest and field. She was dressed in the standard fatigues of a junior dragon rider - sturdy boots, tactical pants, and a uniform t-shirt bearing her house insignia - a radiant crimson lightning bolt backlit by a rising moon, as befitting one of her status.

"Our orders were to track them down," Karina said. "They are either dead or will be very soon. Getting caught in the middle of a blood storm is something else compared to watching it from afar. We need to have left this place two days ago."

"If I need orders, I won't be getting them from you, little niece."

"Lord Zelenkov." Nadia bowed her head slightly at the newcomer.

Nikolas strode forward with his chin held high and a sly smirk on his face. His ornate doublet, embroidered with golden thread, and voluminous cloak, trimmed with fur, displayed his noble status for all to see. A jewel-encrusted dagger hung at his side, the pommel fashioned into the shape of the same crest Karina wore.

"We're safe here," he told Karina. "The shields of this outpost have withstood thousands of blood storms and this one will not be any different."

Karina smiled wistfully but remained silent.

"Justin said there's a chance the storm could turn into a hurricane," Nadia said, trying to lighten the mood. "If that happens, we get to go home early."

"Did Justin also tell you only titan dragons can fly in hurricanes without the risk of tearing their wings?" Karina questioned. "Once it comes, the majority of us will be stuck here."

Nadia looked to Lord Nikolas for a reply.

"I told you-"

He was interrupted by the dreadful sound of a claxon going off.

"Something's wrong. Get to the bunkers, especially you Karina," Nikolas told them.

Karina seemed not to hear him. She had turned back to the window, studying the reddening twilight in that half-bored, half-distracted way Nadia knew so well.

"It's too late now," Karina muttered. "The perimeter shields are failing."

Nikolas rushed to the window, and what he saw made his heart stop. The dark night sky above the outpost was quickly turning into a fiery inferno. As a storm rider, he could feel the imminent threat of the intensity of what was coming. He rushed out of the room, leaving the pair to themselves.

Nadia grabbed Karina's hand, pulled her towards the door, and then her wristband beeped.

She looked up at Karina. "I have to go."

"Why?" Karina asked. "We're supposed to go to the bunkers."

"Northern perimeter shield core just went down," she said as she glanced at the encoded message on the tiny LED screen. "We need to restart it."

"There's a hurricane on the way!" Karina exclaimed. "Can't it wait?"

Nadia shook her head.

"Without the shield, the hurricane will decimate everything above ground in Tarzar. Thousands will die. It might continue inland towards Kentauri."

Karina fidgeted with her own wristband.

"I wish I could come with you," she said.

Nadia leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried about me?"

Karina folded her arms as she replied, "I know you're an amazing rider. But a hurricane-"

"I'll be fine," Nadia insisted, laying a gloved hand against Karina's cheek. "Don't wait for me."

With that, Nadia turned and sprinted down the hallway.

She nearly bumped into her squad leader William as she got into the bay.

"You're late," he told her.

"I was-"

"Don't wanna hear it," William said, tossing a survival suit at her. "Get dressed. We're moving out in five."

Nadia paused. "No dragons?"

"Too dangerous with the storm," he told her. "Even the storm dragons are feeling antsy. We'll just have to channel their affinities."

Nadia could feel the comforting presence of Quasar, her own dragon, humming through the back of her mind.

"It's a big storm," she murmured to herself. She could communicate directly with him without having to talk out loud, but she felt more at ease with speaking as though he was there with her listening at the moment. She could almost imagine his gleaming crimson scales, rippling as though filled with golden fire, wings lazily spread out beside him.

Nadia smiled, squaring her shoulders as the bay doors shuddered open. The two other storm riders convened next to the northern bay door, both glancing at Nadia and then William, as though sharing the same thought. William himself seemed clearly worried about the necessity of their task, muttering obscenities as he made sure the three of them had worn their survival suits properly. A special foam filled the lining of the suit to protect its wearer from harsh temperatures and reduce the impact of falls or flying debris.

As he finished the final checks on her suit, William spoke to them.

"Okay, team," he spoke, his voice eerily calm but firm. "We're heading down to the shield cores. We have fifteen minutes tops before that hurricane is upon us. If the other teams make an error, they can set it right with minimal losses. If we do, everyone dies. "

With those grim words of assurance, they all donned their goggles and headed down to the bay doors.

No pressure, Nadia thought wryly. With a shuddering exhalation, she focused her thoughts inward, drawing again on Quasar's unwavering confidence.

Outside the glass window of the bay door, the winds had gotten stronger, whipping branches and debris through the air like projectiles. The rain fell in sheets, reducing visibility to a few inches. Despite the sharp spikes attached to their boots, Nadia gripped the handholds inside the bay door, instinctively bracing herself against the growing storm. The last of the patrol ships were returning, and flying behind them were two titan dragons, heavy wings flapping against the strong winds.

Nadia knew that behind each of the three other bay doors, a team of riders was getting ready to do the same as they were. Each squad's distinct elemental affinity had a role to play in order for the task to go successfully. Storm to keep the lightning out, water to prevent any of the cores from the direct rain, and air to protect them from the winds and the debris flying in them. Lastly and most importantly, Nadia's team, to power the shield cores. Quasar had been one of those to start the cores when the team had set up camp here three weeks ago. Her dragon was one of the most capable, and he was usually relied upon in tasks that required heavy firepower.

They made their way down the flare-lit path in a straight line, tethered together by a rope. William was in the lead with Nadia just behind him, with the other two riders anchoring the rear. Gusts of wind buffeted Nadia as she walked, threatening to tear her from the tether line. Walls of rain lashed against her visor, reducing her view of the path ahead to a blurry dark tunnel. With each flash of lightning, an electrical surge coursed through her survival suit, activating the embedded conductive threads woven into the fabric. The pathway they walked on had inbuilt conductive threads connected to a grounding circuit in her boot soles, providing a path for the built-up static charge to dissipate safely into the earth.

She looked back, eyes straining through her goggles to make something out of the emptiness behind them, but the outpost had all but disappeared in the darkness, except for the path back. The flare towers were dim specks, the compound walls a vague suggestion of geometry against the roiling clouds. It made sense why even the dragons were afraid of flying in this hurricane.

"Stay behind me," William shouted, his voice immediately swallowed by the wind. There was a loud hiss as a ball of flame ignited above the palm of his hand, which he sent spiraling into the sky. A signal, bright enough to be seen for several hundred meters away, maybe more. It was a marker to the other teams that they should be approaching their positions too. Moments later the wind and rain died down to a simple breeze and drizzle, a sign that the water and air teams were already in place and doing their part. The storm team would stand ready to dispel any lightning bolts that happened to come their way.

William waited a few moments, before giving the signal for them to begin. He funneled a cyclone of fire into the sky just ahead, a signal from the fire team to the other teams that they too were in position and had begun the process of restarting the cores. It would also guide them on which area to focus their protective measures.

"All right," William shouted. "Take your places, you all know what to do."

Nadia did as had been told, shifting her position and letting more rope roll out from the compartment around her waist and walking forward till she could reach out and touch the first shield core. It was the primary one, standing much taller than the other two, powering the shields that covered the center of the northern perimeter. Its nano-engineered metal surfaces had grown cold and silent without the machines humming within. Nadia placed her gloved hands upon the dull metal, and then she closed her eyes, focusing inward on the tiny spark of dragonfire burning at the center of her chest.

She fanned that spark until it grew into a flame, and then an inferno that was begging ardently to be released.

Nadia channeled the burning fury within her spirit into the lifeless machinery. Quasar's dragonfire flowed through her hands and into the metal, awakening dormant engines and sparking light within darkened chambers. With a final push, Nadia poured all of Quasar's flames still burning within her into reigniting the primary shield core. With a chorus of mechanical roars, the generator blazed to life once more, its forcefield flaring brilliant gold.

As she stared at the tower of gold streaming skyward to form the translucent perimeter shield, something odd happened. The fire disappeared as if the light had been blocked by a passing object. A moment later though, the fire reappeared.

"Here it comes," William announced, but in reality, he did not have to. The static that filled the sky would have alerted any dragon to what was about to happen, and she felt the sudden change in the flow of emotion from Quasar go from pride to worry. The lightning formed a fraction of a second later, and for a moment, Nadia's blood was burning. Her survival suit crackled and sparked, but it was built to handle residual charges, not take on an entire bolt of lightning.

Nadia collapsed to her knees, her vision blurred white with agony, every muscle spasming uncontrollably as smoke poured from her survival suit.

Just in time, Quasar had intervened - drawing the excess charge from Nadia's body into his own and shielding her from the brunt of the hit.

"Where's the goddamn storm team!" William cursed to her left as another bolt struck the ground moments where he had been standing before.

"Are you okay?" he shouted as he knelt by her.

"I'm not dead," Nadia muttered to herself as she got to her feet. She knew what it should have felt like, from the class tests during enrolment. She recalled it vividly, what being shocked for the first time had felt like, and this was not it.

This was way worse.

Something was not right about this storm.

"William," she yelled, "are there rogue dragons up here?"

"Rogue dragons only attack humans when we invade their space," he yelled back. "Like the Stormwood!"

Nadia gazed nervously into the dark. Almost immediately, she felt another buildup of static, right above the tower of fire. This time Nadia was better prepared. The night sky turned to day for the briefest of moments, and Nadia caught a glimpse of a winged silhouette burned against the clouds.

"Dragon!" she screamed, right as the second bolt struck William right beside her, shredding his survival suit and flinging him several meters into the air.

The tower of fire dissipated, in what Nadia figured was an attempt from the rider casting it not to give the attacking rogue dragon a clear target. However it was too late, and the next flash of static came faster than any of them could react. The white streak of lightning struck right where the fire team should have been, and the explosion that followed marked the destruction of the northern perimeter shield core.