Chapter 12
It was hard for Verrian to tear himself away from Lisa, even though he knew he had to.
It wouldn’t take long to get back to the lair and warn Taurian. Then he could come back and get her.
Except it wasn’t that simple.
He didn’t dare fly this close to all the humans and police, meaning he had to walk through the bush. No point in even trying to find the car, he wasn’t confident enough to drive it even if he could.
Adding to all that, after he’d been walking for twenty minutes, it occurred to him to wonder if he should stop and check Narrian and Bruce. He glanced a little in the direction they’d gone, but it would take him too far off course.
Anyway, hopefully they’d woken Lyrian, and were on their way back to the lair.
He’d find out when he got there.
Verrian kept trudging on, barely aware of where he was going after a while. He was so tired even his brain didn’t seem to want to think, meaning he didn’t have to keep going over the situation and wondering how he was going to solve it.
He had one goal in his mind—to get back to the lair and tell Taurian that Ultrima was trying to wake Sarian—he pushed everything else aside. He would worry about that later.
He wasn’t sure how long he walked, but eventually it hit him that he would never reach the lair at this pace. He looked back, but Ultrima’s mountain was small in the distance. Surely he could fly now? None of the humans would be able to see him at this distance.
Taking a chance, he transformed, not even bothering to remove his clothes. When he launched into the air, the torn remnants fluttered to the ground behind him.
Verrian kept as low as he could, skimming over tree tops and dunes alike, heading directly to the lair.
He wasn’t quite sure how he reached it, but eventually the wave rock appeared in front of him, and he half flew, half fell into the entrance.
Dragons clustered around him in moments, their concerned, worried voices all blending together.
“Give him some space,” Taurian commanded, and all the other dragons fell back. “What happened, brother?” Taurian demanded. “Where are the others? Were you attacked?”
Verrian’s mind turned over everything that had happened that night, confused on where to start. There was so much to tell Taurian, but he couldn’t decide which was the most important.
There was one thing he knew he had to remember. “Ultrima is planning on using a human to wake Lyrian,” he managed to get out. “Have to stop him. Must wake her… now.”
“How did you find this out?” Taurian demanded. “Where are the others? Did you wake Lyrian? Did Ultrima attack?”
“Start at the beginning,” Taurian said gently. “And tell me what happened.”
“Bruce and Narrian, they’re not back? They didn’t bring Lyrian?” Verrian demanded first. He had to know.
He’d hoped they would be back by now. Had something gone wrong?
Taurian shook his head. “We haven’t seen them. We thought they were with you.”
Verrian explained how he and Lisa had distracted the dragon while the others had gone to find the Mesmer chamber. How Lisa had been injured, and he’d flown her to Ultrima’s. He hesitated over disclosing the deal he’d made. Somehow, he didn’t feel the whole clan needed to know that one.
Taurian must have seen something in his expression, because he switched to dragon speech. “The enemy dragon, you’re sure he's dead?”
Verrian’s heart skipped a beat. “No,” he said, dragon speech conveying his guilt far more than it would have been evident out loud. “I was so worried about Lisa I didn’t think to.”
He didn’t say any more. He didn’t have to. If he’d left the dragon wounded and angry, it could well have gone after Bruce and Narrian. If it had found them before they work Lyrian, or even just after, it could have wreaked havoc, even injured.
Was that why they weren’t back yet?
He’d failed, yet again, to do the right thing.
Yet what else could he have done? He couldn’t have let Lisa die.
Verrian shook his head. It was all too much. He wasn’t ready for this.
“What happened?” Taurian asked softly, “When you took Lisa to Ultrima?”
All the other dragons around them were staring at them silently. They knew the conversation had gone private, and no one was saying anything, despite the rampant curiosity he could see on everyone’s faces.
He’d have to think of something to tell them, but later.
“Ultrima told his life dragon to heal her,” he said. Even his dragon voice choked up when he remembered back to that moment.
“And?” Taurian asked sharply.
“He would only heal her if I promised never to see her again,” Verrian said wretchedly. “I should never have agreed. I should have thought of a clever comeback, or some way to make him offer something different, but I couldn’t think of anything. I just wanted her to not die. What choice did I have?”
He could see the pity on Taurian’s face. “We all make mistakes, brother. We will find a way out of this one too. Where is Lisa now?”
Verrian explained, as quickly as he could, how Ultrima had left with the police after making sure they wouldn’t arrest Lisa as well. Instead, she was trapped inside Ultrima’s lair.
His dragon voice warmed as he explained that was how he knew about Ultrima’s plan. That Lisa had overheard the dragons talking about it.
Taurian gave a tight-lipped smile at that. “Sometimes, despite how terrible it seems at the time, things happen for a reason. If you had not made that deal with Ultrima, if he had not taken Lisa into his lair, we wouldn’t know our sister was in danger.”
Verrian stared at him, aware that his eyes were widening. Until Taurian mentioned it, that hadn’t occurred to him.
He’d had to go through this pain to discover his enemies plans and to be able to prevent them?
That knowledge only helped so much. His heart still ached at being separated from Lisa, at not knowing if he would ever see her again. But it had eased a little.
At least he was able to help his clan.
“What are we going to do?” he asked Taurian.
Taurian stood up and looked around at the dragons, all watching him expectantly.
“Ultrima is scheming to use a human to wake our sister. I have no doubt that if he is able to do so, he will attempt to force himself on her again. We cannot let this happen.”
He glanced down at Verrian, then back at the crowd. “Princess Lisa, Verrian’s beloved mate, is being held hostage in his lair. Held hostage not by force, but by a promise Verrian made to him to save her life. This is typical of our enemy’s wiles. He will use anything he can against us, even our own honour.”
There were murmurs of dissatisfaction among the crowd.
It was almost as if they’d forgotten that there had been objection to Lisa and Verrian’s mating earlier. Verrian couldn’t help a small smile, the first one he’d given in hours. His clan may question his decision, but that didn’t mean they’d brook anyone else interfering in his choice.
“We should go and rescue her,” someone called out from the back of the crowd. Verrian didn’t recognise the young, dark haired man, but he held hands with a pretty young human wearing glasses.
There were murmurs of agreement.
Taurian held up a hand. “Ultrima has been arrested. If we are going to make a move, now is the time. But we must plan it carefully. We must wake the rest of our brothers and sisters—today. Before Ultrima can get to any of them.”
Verrian’s heart rose. If they could defeat Ultrima, once and for all, then his deal would not matter.
He could be with Lisa.
He could be with his mate.
It was enough to wipe any tiredness from his mind.