Chapter 4
Lisa braced herself, her finger on the switch to the torch. Her eyes, not as good at Verrian’s in the dark, scanned the area ahead of her.
She needed to wait for just the right minute.
A dragon flew straight for her, the size and speed at which he approached making her knees weak. Lisa had to fight the inclination to throw the torch and run, reminding herself that this one was Verrian. She had nothing to fear from him.
It was the one following him she had to watch out for.
She felt the rush of wind as he passed over her head, his wings almost touching her. At the same time, she felt a wave of love and affection wash over her.
Love?
Had she really felt that?
Lisa was so shocked, it took her a moment to focus on the job she had to do.
The Trima dragon’s screech of anger reminded her. He was coming straight for her, his dark shape barrelling towards her position. His eyes locked on her.
He’d seen her.
Lisa’s heart gave a leap, then ratcheted up into a painfully high position. She fumbled with the torch in her hand, almost forgetting how to turn it on in her panic.
The light came on, blindingly bright on the lightning dragon’s silver scales. Even the reflection off his scales made her squint painfully. Lisa swung it around, trying to aim it into his eyes.
He was too close. Closer even than Verrian had been.
He was going to hit her. Crash into her on the sand.
Her heart thumping, it took every ounce of willpower she had not to drop it and run. Lisa forced herself to swing the torch around wildly until she saw it reflect off his slitted silver eyes, then she threw it to one side and threw herself to the other, desperately trying to avoid the dragon bearing down on her.
She hit the sand hard, winded, not game to move.
Had it worked? Had the light blinded the dragon?
She heard his roar of frustration, and her heart lifted. She started to roll over, to try to judge his position, when she felt it.
Claws, sharp as razors, raking down her side. Pain sliced through her, and Lisa heard a scream escape her lips, although it sounded eerily distant.
Then everything faded away.
*****
Verrian’s wings beat strongly, trying to get as much distance between him and the Trima dragon as he could. He needed that distance to use his sound boom. Hopefully Lisa’s gutsy move would buy him that.
He felt strong and confident as he swung around, his eyes searching for the shape of the lightning dragon. Together, he and Lisa could do anything, he was sure of it.
But the scene didn’t look right. The torch light shone up at the sky at a wild angle. And he couldn’t see the Trima dragon anywhere. He struggled to make out the scene.
Then he saw a shadow pass through the light of the torch. The Trima dragon circled around something on the ground.
A small, dark patch that wasn’t moving.
Verrian’s heart skipped a beat. In that moment, everything came crashing down around him.
Lisa.
Verrian gasped for air as though the other dragon had barrelled into him and knocked it all out. Every breath he took caught painfully in his throat. He wanted to land on the sand next to her, and scream at the moon.
But he couldn’t. The other dragon was still there.
The dragon that had done this. That had injured his mate. A rush of adrenaline flooded Verrian, overwhelming all the panic and fear. He roared in anger, not caring now if anyone, dragon or human, heard him.
His nostrils flared, and for a moment, he wondered if he’d developed the ability to breathe fire, he felt so hot.
Verrian didn’t even bother with his sound boom. He flew straight at the lightning dragon, barrelling into him, letting his weight crash them both into the sand. He raked his claws across any body part he could reach, and sank his teeth into the nearest patch of scales that weren’t his own.
The Trima dragon struggled under his onslaught, but not to attack back. Every flap of his wings or heave of his feet was an attempt to get away.
Another surge of adrenaline rushed through Verrian. He was winning.
But Verrian had no intention of letting him regroup and come back. He needed to finish this, so he could get to his mate.
Was she hurt? Would she be okay? The fear bubbled to the surface again.
“Lisa?”
There was no answer. Verrian’s heart skipped a beat.
Was she dead?
No, if she were dead, he’d know it. The mate bond would tell him.
He’d be dead himself.
She was still alive. But for how long?
Verrian roared again, and sunk his teeth into the Trima dragon, tasting the sharp tang of blood. He attacked over and over again, until the other dragon was no longer moving, no longer struggling to get away.
Only then did he pull back a little, but the other dragon didn’t move.
Verrian had beaten him.
This time, he felt no adrenaline. No excitement at having won.
All he felt was an overwhelming feeling of dread, no longer masked by anger. His heart was too filled with fear for his mate to take any pleasure in victory.
He leapt off the Trima dragon, leaving him lying in the sand while he crossed to Lisa.
Her frail, human body lay on her side in the sand, not moving. Blood glistening on her clothes in the moonlight.
Verrian’s breath caught in his throat, and for a second he thought he wasn’t going to be able to take another.
Lisa, his Lisa, was hurt. Wounded.
Barely breathing, he put a dragon paw on her side as gently as he could. She didn’t move. Didn’t even moan.
He could feel her heart beating, proving what he already knew. She was alive, but for how long? Humans weren’t as tough as dragons. If they lost too much blood, they died pretty quickly. The fact that Lisa was already unconscious wasn’t a good sign.
He needed to do something. Save her. But how?
She wasn’t a dragon. He couldn’t ease her into the Mesmer sleep. Human’s didn’t heal like that.
They went to their places called hospitals, where other humans helped to heal them.
Verrian scanned the sand, but Bruce and Narrian were long gone. There was only him. He’d have to go into the human settlement to find a hospital.
He knew it was a bad idea. The humans were already looking for Lisa, and he’d be taking her right where they could find her.
But he didn’t know what else to do.
Blood rushed in his ears, and he felt weak and shaky from the withdrawal of adrenaline. The darkness seemed to close in around him, but all he could see was Lisa, lying lifeless on the sand. He couldn’t lose his lifemate. Not when he hadn’t even had a chance to tell her he loved her.
Why, oh why hadn’t he taken Taurian’s advice and just told her?
Verrian picked up her body as gently as he could in dragon form.
He wouldn’t let Lisa die, no matter what it cost him. The humans could do whatever they liked to him, so long as they helped Lisa. They’d do that, wouldn’t they? She was one of their own, even if she was mated to a dragon.
Hopefully he could find a hospital when he got there. Probably all he had to do was land in dragon form, and then the humans would be rushing him. Someone would get Lisa to a hospital when they saw how injured she was.
Wouldn’t they?