Chapter 22

Tulia wasn’t a quitter. She never had been, but when she heard the gunshot and saw Austin crumble to the ground, all her struggles ceased. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t dare make a sound. She had to think—had to get back. Austin needed her. Reyn had looked too calm—too confident—for his weapon to be a simple gun. She’d seen him shoot game, then laugh as the animal had died and ugly and painful death, unable to move as the dragon had torn it to pieces. Maybe if she returned to the cottage fast enough, she could help Austin somehow.

Deep inside, her dragon roared. The fear and pain radiating from the beast echoed her own. She didn’t know the first thing about formulating an antidote even if she had the supplies needed—which she didn’t.

“We should keep her,” a gruff whisper came from the head on the dragon’s right, startling her from her desperate thoughts. Very few dragons could throw their voices while in dragon form. She’d only seen it once in her life, and that had been when she’d been a child.

She shoved her hair from her face and stared it down. What did she know about the beasts? Although their bite was deadly with their venom, their fire wasn’t particularly strong. They couldn’t hold their collective breaths long enough to garner much power. The ground whizzed by down below. They were fast, she’d give them that. Often at odds with each other, the two heads that took turns looking at her carried the scars of their own personal battles, so obviously, their venom didn’t affect them, or if it did, not to the extent it would another dragon.

“She’s not for us. We get a mate once the mission is done,” the other head snapped.

“How? We have no women.”

“Shut up. We’ll find one, or we’ll steal one.”

The first head opened its mouth and snapped its teeth toward the other. The move wasn’t a threatening one so much as one of annoyance.

That she could use.

“I’d rather be yours than Reyn’s,” she said softly. “He’s nowhere near as handsome as you, or as powerful.”

The head to the right nodded. “See, even she knows we’re better.”

“She’s tricking you, idiot. She doesn’t want us.” The rumbling growl that erupted from the beast next had her heart thundering against her ribs. Maybe being in the middle of a fight between the two wasn’t such a good idea, but it was all she had.

“Why couldn’t we be together? I mean, Reyn’s not going to come back to Eldurcrest. The Dragon Blood clan will have killed him by now. He’s not following, is he?” She curled her hand around one of its claws and stroked its length.

“She’s right, he’s not. He’s weak. He won’t be back. Let’s take her. We can live in the caves,” he said, leering at her with the one yellow eye it could point in her direction.

The other roared, turning toward the first. Smoke curled from its nostrils just before a plume of pale yellow flame shot from its mouth, singeing its scales along its neck.

“You fucking bastard,” her admirer roared. A second later, it shot forward, snapping its sharp teeth inches from the other’s face.

She caught a glimpse of two dragons in the distance, closing in fast. One silver and white, and one purple.

Joy exploded from her soul. Austin and her dad were coming for her. All she had to do was give them a bit more time to catch up. “Can you live on your own? I’m sure you’re man enough to keep me satisfied all by yourself. Then you wouldn’t have to share me at all,” she suggested, directing her gaze toward the one that resisted.

Whether one could live without the other or not, she had no idea, but it was worth a shot.

A vicious growl rumbled from the beast again. Smoke blasted from two sets of nostrils. The one she’d been encouraging charged first. Its teeth sank into the other’s neck, making them jerk in the sky. They dropped altitude, tumbling fast. Heart pounding, she braced herself for impact, but when the shimmering waters of a lake came into view, she could have cried. If they could get above the water, she’d have a chance.

***

The antidote Jace forced down his throat burned like acid, peeling layers off the tender tissue the whole way. If it weren’t for the fact that the stuff would save his life—and possibly Tulia’s—he would have spit it out.

“Swallow it, damn it,” Jace said as he poured more liquid fire into his mouth. His voice, tight with emotion, forced Austin to focus on the instructions rather than the sleep threatening to claim him.

Even as the lethargy fogging his brain receded, his body refused to move—not for lack of trying. Minutes ticked by as he lay helpless on the ground while Tulia was in the hands of the enemy. Over and over, his dragon roared, until finally, his body responded, bringing the sound out into the world rather than in his own mind.

“Tulia,” he croaked out when he could formulate the simple word.

“Mason and Jeff have gone after her.”

Jeff wasn’t strong enough to be flying, much less go after a beast like the one who had taken his daughter. “Have to get to her.”

“You’re in no shape to go. Mason will handle it.”

The hell he would. By the time he rose on shaky feet, sweat poured down his face and back. With a grunted curse, he called his dragon forward, ignoring the searing agony tearing through each one of his muscles. Our mate is in danger. We have to save her, he told the beast when it faltered under the poison still coursing in his veins.

Although his reserves were depleted, power and strength poured into him as the dragon rallied. Churning heat boiled in his chest as he threw his head back and roared, flames shooting from his mouth. His body jerked, and pain ripped through him as his body expanded, but he welcomed it. Muscle snapped and sinew popped. The moment the transformation was complete, he was in the air, pushing his beast forward.

Austin flew as hard as his injured body would allow, roaring in frustration when he couldn’t go fast enough. He ignored the gaping wound in his belly and the warm trickle along his scales of what could only be blood.

Every second that dragged by enraged the dragon further. A red, thermal haze covered his vision, pulsing with every heartbeat.

Dragons, still too far to identify, loomed in the distance. He counted three. Each beat of his wings narrowed the gap, bringing him closer. After a few moments, he was close enough to make out color through the haze. Reyn’s erratic flight took him close to the treetops, then ascending into the sky at an angle designed to throw a dragon into a spin if he weren’t agile in the air. Fortunately, Mason could outmaneuver just about anyone, and he was reckless enough not to care even if his ability didn’t quite match up to the task at hand.

The third dragon didn’t slow down. Didn’t hesitate. Jeff.

Mason missed hitting his prey with the first and second blasts of flames that exploded from his mouth, but the third hit its mark.

Reyn’s bellow tore through the sky. His sudden drop in altitude could only mean one thing—a wing hit. Mason didn’t spare him a glance as he approached, circling around, he launched another attack, this time with his teeth, tearing into the side of the enemy’s neck. At the same time, he brought his claws forward mid-flight, tearing into Reyn’s side.

As much as he wanted to stay and watch the male who had terrorized his mate die, Austin kept going. Reyn was as good as dead already anyway.

It didn’t take him long to catch up to Jeff. The dragon looked him over for a beat, then tipped his head in his direction.

Another minute, maybe two, and the black beast that held his mate prisoner came into view. With more energy than he had to spare, he put on a burst of speed, leaving Jeff to catch up.

The two-headed dragon lurched to the side, jerking hard left, then right. What the hell was it doing? The closer he got, the heavier the stone in his stomach became. One head had the other’s neck in its jaws. It lurched again. The unpredictable beast would kill itself mid-air, bringing Tulia down with it.

They flew over a lake, coming perilously close to the surface before the head attacking its counterpart released it and they gained more air.

Austin soared high, using the currents to bring him closer, conserving what little energy he had left until he was within striking distance. Tulia lay in the beast’s grip, her eyes wide. As far as he could tell, she wasn’t injured, but the scent of her fear burned his nostrils, infuriating him further.

From his vantage point above, Austin spotted Jeff circling to the side, then with a roar louder than Austin could have imagined an older dragon making, he drew the enemy’s attention.

Both heads hissed at once. Jeff came at them, darting underneath, then over to the other side, effectively steering them to the deepest part of the lake.

As soon as the waters beneath darkened, Austin struck. He didn’t make a sound as he swooped to intercept the beast. He already had his talons extended before either head noticed him, and by then, it was too late. He’d hoped to get both heads at once, one in each claw, but the one furthest from him curled his serpentine neck at the last second, evading his clutch.

Had it been only him, he would have battled the beast, tearing it apart bit by bit for daring to threaten his mate, but he couldn’t risk Tulia getting hurt.

Austin tucked his wings close to his body, letting gravity take his full weight. The creature’s neck snapped. In a last-ditch effort to dislodge him, the beast reared its head back and struck hard. Its fangs pierced through the scales in Austin’s thigh, releasing its venom into his body.

With the blood he’d lost and the poison in his system, it didn’t take long for the weakness to overcome him.

Tulia’s terror-filled scream obliterated all sound. He wasn’t going to make it, but he’d be damned if she died along with him. Faster and faster they fell, the water getting closer with each second. He’d use his body as an anchor and send the bastard to his watery grave.