Chapter Eleven
Esther
When they landed outside of Virdi and Dominique’s house, it was utterly empty. Esther rushed around looking for her friend. The baby’s room was empty. Some toys were left, some clothes, but it looked like it had been packed up in a rush and then they left. Her heart jumped into her throat, but there was no sign of a fight and so Esther tried to force herself to be calm.
She rushed back to Bryant, who was on the phone. He cursed as he slammed it back into its cradle. “I can’t get hold of Virdi or anybody else. They left in a hurry.”
“What does that mean?” Esther twisted her hands, trying desperately to keep the worst-case scenarios from her mind.
“I don’t know. Maybe they found out that somebody learned about them. The house has been empty too long for it to be Shane and Kayla. Maybe… Maybe Dunn did something.” He swore, a harsh word that Esther winced at hearing, but had to agree with. “I should never have run away. I should have come right back and—”
Esther grabbed his hands. “Stop. Okay? Stop. This isn’t your fault. All we know is that they left in a rush. They would have gone to, what, a safehouse?”
Bryant swallowed thickly and nodded. “There were several backup sites that the royal family could go to in case of emergency. Finding out which one, though…”
“Wait.” Esther dove for the phone. “I have Dominique’s number memorized. Shit, why didn’t I think of that before?”
As she dialed Bryant chuckled. “I think that’s the first time I heard you swear.”
Esther rolled her eyes as the phone started to ring. She bounced on her toes, her heart thrumming as thoughts of never seeing her friend again kept invading. Fortunately, Dominique answered soon enough, sounding both surprised and wary.
“Dom!” Esther let out a relieved breath. “Thank goodness. Are you okay?”
“Esther?”
“Yeah.”
There was a choking noise. “What the hell do you mean am I okay? You were kidnapped! Where are you? Virdi will come get you.”
“I’m fine.” Esther glanced at Bryant. “I wasn’t kidnapped. It was a… misunderstanding. I’m with Bryant at your old place.”
“What?” Dominique’s voice took on a note of panic. “Get out of there! Right now. Esther, get out of there!”
“What? Why?”
The phone went dead. Esther looked up at Bryant, who reached for her. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t decipher. In the next second, the sound of a gun blasted through the house. A whistle, a thud. A mist of red sprayed over her face and she screamed. Bryant’s eyes widened and he stumbled. Both of them looked down to where a dark hole gaped in his abdomen. He shoved her, knocking her to the floor.
Another gunshot. This one veered to one side and blasted a hole in the mantle on the opposite side of the room. Bryant threw himself behind the couch as the door was kicked open. Robert Dunn strode in, a handgun in his hand and a smile on his lips.
“This has gone on long enough, hasn’t it, Chandler?” he caught sight of Esther and smiled, aiming the gun at her. She scrambled back and dodged behind a chair. Loud thumps hit the floor as the dragon strode forward. “Did he tell you why we hate each other so much, little human girl?”
A snarl from somewhere. Bryant. Pained and furious. Esther’s mind whirled as she looked around, trying to find something–anything–to protect herself with.
“He killed my little brother. A champion’s fight between our clans. He shouldn’t have—"
A snarl and a yelp. Something hit the floor. Esther couldn’t stop herself. She peeked around the chair to see Bryant laying into the other dragon. The gun lay on the floor near their feet. Dunn punched Bryant in the face, and Bryant retaliated with a puff of fire directly in his face. The two traded blows, shouting wordlessly. Esther watched, frozen in horror, until Dunn drove his fist into Bryant’s bleeding wound. He doubled over, face going white, and Esther threw herself from her hiding place. She scrambled for the gun.
Bryant roared. Dunn elbowed him in the face and threw him into the coffee table. It shattered under his weight, but Dunn was no longer paying attention to him. As soon as Esther’s hand wrapped around the gun, a heavy boot came down on her hand. Blinding pain flashed through her and she cried out. A clawed hand grabbed the back of her arm and dragged her to her feet.
“Don’t,” Bryant groaned. He coughed, spraying blood into the air, and rolled to his knees. “Let her go, Dunn.”
Dunn twisted Esther’s arm behind her back and wrapped a hand around her throat. “Oh, look at that. Turns out you can’t protect a woman. Twice in a row the girl you love is gonna die. Huh. The only way you get the jump on someone is by acting like a coward—”
“Tough talk from you,” Esther snarled, fighting his grip. “You shot him. In a fair fight—”
“Shut up.” Dunn shook her hard, making her teeth rattle. “And to think I was feeling bad about you having to die. When I told the Emperor’s father that one of his guardsmen had kidnapped a human woman and planned on devouring her, he didn’t believe me. Not at first, at least. But better safe than sorry. He took his mate and child and left me with half a dozen guard.”
Where were they? Esther’s heart practically stopped.
“They weren’t easy to get rid of, your brothers-in-arms,” Dunn continued, sneering at Bryant. “Once I return to him and tell him how you killed them and the human woman, you’ll be executed for sure.”
“They’ll never believe that.” Esther writhed in his grip as she felt claws pressing against her skin.
“With you dead and the proof of your marriage in my hands?” Dunn pushed his nose into her hair and inhaled deeply. “Not to mention your scent all over him and his all over you. I bet I could even convince them that he—”
Bryant threw himself forward with a roar. Flames flickered in his mouth as his bulk rammed into Dunn, throwing the other dragon off balance. Bryant’s arms wrapped around Esther and in one motion he yanked her from Dunn’s grasp. He didn’t waste any more time; Esther felt his skin grow hot and rough as scales burst over him. Wings crashed into the ceiling and he tucked her close to his belly as he smashed through the wall. With a couple great beats of his wings, he took off.
Blood continued to pour from his wound, dripping to the ground as they flew. Esther wiggled around in his grasp and managed to press both hands to the wound. She could feel the ragged edges of flesh and the hot liquid submerging her hands. It made her head spin and she almost threw up twice, but she swallowed it back down and pressed her hands tighter.
Eventually, his wings faltered. He took a nosedive into a thick swatch of forest. With a cry and a jerk, he flipped onto his back. Trees crumbled as they crashed through them. The jolt threw Esther clear, and she smacked into a tree and rolled over a few times before blackness swallowed her vision.
***
Esther groaned, pain spiking through both her head and hand. The pain made her vomit, but once her stomach was empty she forced herself to her feet. Bryant lay motionless in his human form nearby and she stumbled over to him. The gunshot wound had stopped bleeding, and she could still see him breathing. The thought that Dunn might be following them crossed her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry about that. If he was following them, he’d already be there, wouldn’t he?
She curled into Bryant’s side and closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her again. When she opened them again, it was dark all around.
There was a soft moan beneath her and she lifted herself up. A flicker of flame lit the area, showing Bryant’s eyes were open. He swallowed his fire back down and reached for her. His hands patted her face and he let out another groan.
“You’re okay.”
“I think so.” Esther pulled herself up, deciding not to say anything about her aching hand. She was okay. That was all that mattered right now. “I’m going to find some wood for a fire.”
“No… just stay next to me.”
That sounded nice. Even better than any sort of flame or light source. She sank back down beside him, her arms wrapping around his waist. Her hand submerged in a hot liquid again and her heart jumped into her throat. “You’re still bleeding.”
Bryant shifted slightly and groaned. “I’ll be fine. It’s not that bad. The jackass has lousy aim…”
His voice broke. Esther remembered what else Dunn had said–he had killed Bryant’s colleagues. His friends… Fury welled in her but fear followed close behind. She suddenly felt too fragile to do anything and the possibilities of what might have happened crashed down on her, leaving her panting for breath.
“If he was following us, he would have killed us already,” Bryant whispered. “Probably wants us hunted… I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Esther buried her face into his chest and started to cry softly. “What makes you think I’m worried about myself? I thought he was going to kill you. I thought… What does he want? Why does he hate you so much? This is more than a petty grudge match over a kicked dog, what happened to his brother?”
Bryant was silent for a long moment. So long she was afraid he had lost consciousness again. But then his hand stroked her hair and he let out a shuddering breath. “I told you that Shaya was killed in the clash with another clan. It was with Dunn’s clan. To end it, his brother was chosen as a champion to fight me. We weren’t supposed to kill each other. But while we were fighting… he taunted me. He said that he was the one that killed Shaya.”
His voice broke and Esther tried to bury herself deeper into his warmth. “And you killed him.”
Silence.
“Bryant?”
“I killed him. Rage overtook me and I killed him. I didn’t mean to. I thought that he’d heal. But he didn’t and he died. I don’t know if he even killed Shaya or not. In my worst nightmares, I relive that moment… he was the first and only person I’ve ever killed.”
Esther shivered. “When you first told me about Dunn…”
“I know.” His arms tightened. “I didn’t tell you everything. And I’m so sorry that you’ve ended up in this mess. But I promise. I promise I will get you out safely. I love you, Esther Doran. I love you.”
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. “I love you, too. And I want you out safe, too. Promise me.”
There was no answer.