Andor’s lids were heavy when he pushed them open. He looked around and it took a moment for him to figure out what was going on. He was shackled to a post inside a cavernous room that appeared to belong in an abandoned building. The only thing inside was dust and cobwebs and it had the distinct smell of age.

“So glad you could finally join me. I’d feared that I’d miscalculated the tranquilizer’s dose. It’s hard to get it right on someone who isn’t human.”

Kevin. Would this man never go away? Andor had had his fill of him weeks ago, and now he was turning up again. Just when Lyssa thought she was free of him, he was going to haunt her once more.

“I’ve grown tired of you, Kevin.”

Perhaps it was time to deal with Kevin once and for all. He would never put aside his obsession with Lyssa, and Andor could no longer protect her from him. It did not appear to matter to him when Lyssa told him that she was never going to get back together with him. He thought all he needed to do was kill Andor, and Lyssa would magically fall back into his arms. Once he was dead, there was going to be no stopping Kevin from going after her. This was one last thing he could do protect her, because Kevin would never stop unless he was dead. Perhaps it was time for Kevin to see what it was like to tangle with a dragon.

“You won’t have to put up with me for much longer. I’ve called Lyssa and once she gets here she can see me kill you. Then she’ll be free of whatever spell you have on her, and she will come running back to me.”

There was no way that Andor was going to subject Lyssa to the pain of seeing Kevin murder him. The roof of the building was just as old as the building itself, and through the holes in it, Andor could see the Hunter’s Moon peeking through. Tonight was only the first night, and his curse would not be at its peak for two more days. He did feel a certain recklessness pumping through his veins, and he made the decision that now was the time to kill Kevin and damn the consequences. This was the last act of love he could do for Lyssa and he would sacrifice all that he was to do it.

His eyes tracked his enemy as he paced around the immense room. There was a smug look on Kevin’s face, and Andor noticed the crossbow he held in a relaxed grip, pointing it at the floor. It didn’t look like Kevin had prepared it for firing, and that was his first mistake. It was obvious that Kevin had never faced a dragon in his full form, otherwise he would known that he would need to have his weapon ready along with about ten other men prepared to fight.

His second mistake was binding him with metal. The shackles around his wrists, while heavy and substantial, were not made of dragon forged iron. There was no burning sensation when they touched his skin, and they would not hold him. He turned his hand, and grasped the edge.

“What makes you think that I will let you kill me when she gets here? It is hardly in my best interest to do so.”

A dull flush crept up Kevin’s face, as if he hadn't considered the possibility that Andor might not be willing to cooperate. He’d obviously been impetuous in planning this kidnapping and murder scheme, and it would be his downfall. If Lyssa was on her way, Andor would need to accelerate his elimination of Kevin. There was no way he wanted her to see this man again.

He focused heat from his finger tips to the edge of the shackle, and his touch grew hot enough to soften the metal. Once it was pliable, he pulled until it had loosened enough to allow him to get his hand out of it. The other shackle received the same treatment, and he was free. He let the metal shackles fall to the floor as he grinned at Kevin.

“What are you doing?” Kevin’s eyes darted to the shackles on the floor and he scrambled with his crossbow. Andor rushed toward him, and while he could have faced him as a man, he wanted Kevin to see what he obsession had led him to. He was willing to risk the taking of his form accelerating his madness. It was worth it if it freed Lyssa from Kevin. He called forth his magic and his body transformed to his dragon form.

The power of the Hunter’s Moon held him in its grip, and rational thought was shoved to the back of his mind as he circled around Kevin. His talons clicked on the concrete floor as a sounds as close to a laugh as he could get in this form came rumbling out of the depths of his huge body. The supposed dragon hunter shakily put a bolt in his crossbow, and he let it fly. Kevin’s panic did not improve his aim and the bolt sailed past Andor to land in the post he’d been shackled to only a few moments before.

Kevin scrambled away toward the door and Andor snaked his body around him with a swiftness that was at odds with his immense size. He blocked the other man, and turned his head so that it was within inches of Kevin’s.

“P…please don’t kill me. I’m sorry. I’ll leave her alone and you’ll never see me again.” Even in his last moments on the planet Kevin showed the kind of man he truly was. He was a coward, who only felt strong when terrorizing a woman. Andor slowly stalked him as Kevin backed away in the opposite direction. Kevin could not be believed, his cowardice would make him say anything to save his own skin. If he was allowed to live, he would only come back to haunt Lyssa at a later time and Andor would no longer be around to shield her from him.

A deep rumble sounded in his chest as his dragon’s fire built inside him. Once he released it there was no going back to the man he had been. Perhaps there would still have been a chance for him if Lyssa loved him, but he was out of time on that score. He would be long gone before she got here, the risk of hurting her was too great to stay after he had dealt with Kevin.

“No, please.” Kevin fled to the back of the building, but there was nowhere left for him to run. He was being merciful with Kevin, since dragon’s fire was all consuming and he would not suffer as he would with regular flames. Andor’s rib cage squeezed like a collapsing bellows and flames shot out of his gaping mouth, spraying destruction in a wide swath over the entire back of the building. Flames licked greedily over the rotting wood frame of the building, and Kevin’s softer human flesh was obliterated as soon as the flames touch him, as if he’d never existed at all.

Andor turned quickly and with a fluid swoosh of magic he body resumed its human form. Any trace of the man he was only manifested in his physical form. In his head he was now fully a dragon and he felt his power thrumming through his veins. There was nothing that he could not do, and he would be glorious in his domination of those around him.

He walked through the building toward the door as the world around him burned. Flames of his own creation could not touch him and he walked out the door without so much as a speck of soot on him. The Hunter’s Moon bathed him in its light and he could feel his power rising stronger than it had when he’d loosed his killing flames. He was a mighty dragon and he would rule this world.

“Andor?”

His head turned sharply at the sound of her voice. Lyssa stood only a short distance away, flanked by his brother and Rickman. His brother held a crossbow in his hand, and Andor knew that unlike Kevin, his brother was more than capable of ending his life with it.

“You should not be here. Kevin is no longer a worry for you.” He held himself in check by only the loosest of threads, and if she did not leave now, she would see a dragon in the full grip of feral madness. It was too late for her to save him, he was certain of it. The only sliver of humanity remaining inside him was weakening with every second that passed and soon the love he held for her would be nothing but a faint relic of his past. He would not risk her being near him when it was extinguished. “You need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving you, not this time.” She took a step forward, and Iszak put his hand on her arm to keep her from moving forward. Andor’s eyes focused on his brother’s hand on his mate, and a deep rumble built in his chest. It came out in a possessive growl. The dragon recognized her as his mate, and it did not want her to go anywhere. She was his and no one was to touch her, not even his brother. The grip he held on his humanity loosened even further, and red edged at the fringes of his vision.

“Remove your hand from her, brother.” His voice had taken on the deep, molten tones of a dragons roar, and he felt himself slipping ever further into the madness that was eating away at his soul.

“You know that I do not want her for myself, but I will remove my hand if that will make you stand down. Don’t make me fought you, Andor.” Iszak slowly took his hand from Lyssa.

Andor bared his teeth. Soon as his brother would kill him, and he would take her for himself. He had to get rid of anyone who would try to take her from him.

“Do you think you can kill me? Do you think you can have her for yourself once I’m gone?” His skin grew hot, and the fire inside him burned hotter. He could now only see his brother through a pin hole of reason, the rest of his field of vision a wreath of flames that would consume those around him.

“This is the madness talking. Don’t let it take you.”

Andor swung his head to look at his minion. He was a good little minion, and he fought the urge to devour him. Very soon he would create death and destruction wherever he went. The fraction of rational thought left to him knew what he needed to do before he slipped into the abyss that he’d feared would consume him from the moment he’d woken in this time and place.

“It is too late, brother. I had to take my dragon form to kill Kevin, and I let the madness in. It will consume me before the night is over. You know what you must do.”

Andor’s madness screamed inside him and with the last of his strength he fought it long enough to spread his arms wide. He wished that Lyssa was not here to witness this, but there was no longer any time to get her out of there. He only had a few minutes left before he tried to destroy those closest to him.

Iszak raised his crossbow, and Andor knew the bolt aimed at him was made of dragon forged iron. At least his death would be swift.

* * *

“No.” Lyssa cried out as she knocked Iszak’s hand and the crossbow’s aim was broken. The bolt flew harmlessly out to the side, and missed Andor completely. “There must be something more we can do.”

“It’s too late. Rickman get her out of here. Neither of you need to see this.” Iszak’s voice was steady, but Lyssa could hear the thread of pain in it for what he needed to do. It was a pain that echoed inside her, and she was not about to give up on Andor now, not when he needed her more than ever.

Andor opened his eyes, and they had changed. There was a feral light in them as his irises were made entirely of flames. A predatory smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he looked at his brother’s useless crossbow.

There had to be a way to save him, a way to bring him back. She refused to believe that he was lost to her. A ball formed in the back of her throat and she swallowed hard to clear it away. Now was not the time to stand here full of regret over what she had done to him. Her leaving him when things got difficult had brought him to this point, but there had to be a way to bring him back.

“Andor, this isn’t you. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.” Unfortunately, her belief in him had the opposite impact than she had hoped. He laughed and it was a laugh that sent chills down her spine.

“So foolish. Did you think that you could come here, and say a few pretty words and everything would be fine? You had your opportunity to stop this and you ran away and left me. I should thank you, since now I can see things so much more clearly. It is time for me to fully embrace what I am. Your friend Kevin was right, dragons are creatures to be feared, and the world will fear me.”

The guilt she was holding at bay dug its claws deep inside her. She didn’t want Kevin to be right, she didn’t want him to be a danger to anyone. She should have believed in her love for him, she should have communicated that love to him sooner.

“Lyssa, you need to go.” Iszak’s voice was a deep rumbled beside her. She shook her head as he put another bolt in his crossbow. There had to be a way to stop this.

“I’m not leaving him here alone. You can’t kill him, not yet. There must be a way to bring him back.” Her body trembled, and she stiffened her legs to keep herself standing. Now was not the time to fall apart. Andor needed her, and this time she was going to be there for him.

“It’s too late for that. The moon has taken his mind. The Andor you knew no longer exists.”

“I have to try.” Before he could prevent her, she stepped away from him and walked toward Andor. She knew it was a risk approaching him in the state of mind that he was currently in, but she had no other choice. She had to bring him back, she had to make this right. Andor’s eyes glittered as he watched her approach, and it took every ounce of strength she had, every ounce of love for him to make herself continue forward. What if this all backfired on her? What if she made him worse?

“Keep away from him, Lyssa.” She ignored Iszak’s shout behind her. Andor needed her and she was going to do this. She hoped her body blocked most of him so Iszak could not shoot him with a crossbow.

“You should listen to him.” Andor’s lip curled a smile that oozed madness. Was it her imagination, or did his teeth look a lot sharper than usual?

“I won’t believe that the Andor I know isn’t in there. You won’t hurt me.”

She gave a cry when he took her arms in a vice grip and dragged her to him. The crash of her pulse in her ears drowned out the shouts of the others behind her. He wouldn’t hurt her. It was a mantra she repeated to herself as she bid her heartbeat to slow. She didn’t have faith in him before and that was what had brought him to this pass. She was going to believe in him now, even if it killed her.

“You won’t hurt me.”

“Repeating it will not make it true. I could snap you in half in a heartbeat. What makes you think that I won’t do it? It took a fraction of a second to kill Kevin. What makes you think that I won’t do the same to you?” His face was so close that his warm breath fanned across her cheeks, and she could see nothing of Andor remaining in his eyes. There was no warm silver left in there, only red hot flames. It came to her that she was talking to the dragon that lurked inside Andor. It had pushed aside the man, and she had to do something to bring the man back. Something that would soothe the dragon as well.

“You killed Kevin to protect yourself, to protect me. It wasn’t because you had a desire to kill anyone. You won’t kill me because you love me.” As she said it, she knew that while what was coming out of her mouth was true, it wasn’t all of it. The book that Rickman gave her mentioned the curse, and it also said what would break it. Her love for Andor would bring him back, but he had to know what was inside her. “I love you.”

His grip on her arm went slack, and he back up. His face tightened and she could see the struggle going on inside him as the dragon tried to maintain control. It was working, but he needed help. She walked up to him, placed her hand over his heart and looked up at him. All the love she felt for him flowed through her body, and she imagined it coming out of her hand into his heart.

“I love you. Please some back to me Andor. I love you.” She repeated the refrain as she willed him to feel her love. A heavy leadened feeling came over her and she fought the despair that wanted to consume her. It was taking too long for him to respond. She’d told him too late. The dragon was not soothed by her declaration, and she’d lost Andor.

“Lyssa?” He said her name, in the voice she would know anywhere, and a sob escaped her. She looked up at him, into his warm silver eyes and her lower lip trembled. She’d done it. She brought him back. “Is it true? Do you love me, even while knowing what I am?”

“Yes. I love you and I shouldn’t have left you the way I did. This is my fault. You would not have had to go through this if I’d only believed in you. If you don’t want me in your life anymore, I’ll understand. It seems like all I do is bring you trouble.”

He pulled her to him and held her close. The steady beat of his heart pulsed under her ear, and she put her arms around his waist. If this was the last time she would get to hold him, she was going to savor it.

“I’m not letting you go now. You’re my mate, we belong together and I love you.” His words whispered against her ear, and she let go of the emotion she’d bottled up inside her and sobbed her relief against his chest. He held her close, his hands moving in slow soothing circles on her back, and the comfort he offered calmed her. She pulled back and looked up at him, and he used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheek. “The time for tears is over. We love each other, and I want there to only be room for happiness between us. It is time to go home.”

She moved to his side, and he tucked her up against him. They approached Rickman and Iszak, and Andor let her go to stand in front of his brother.

“Thank you for trying to keep your word. I should knock your teeth in for letting her come near me, but I suppose that if you hadn’t, I would now have a dragon bolt in my heart.” Andor held his hand out to his brother, and Iszak gripped it.

“I’m sure you will do the same for me. Perhaps it would be a good idea if we get out of here.”

Lyssa went forward and put her arm around Andor’s waist.

“There is one more thing that needs to be done. All traces of Kevin need to be eliminated.”

“Rickman and I will take care of it.”

Lyssa remained tucked against Andor’s side as they walked toward the cars. Kevin’s car stood not too far away, and she supposed that Rickman and Iszak would have to dispose of it.

“Are we taking our car and leaving Kevin’s for them?”

“No. Once they dispose of Kevin’s vehicle they will need ours to get them back home. I have another idea for how we are to get there.”

“Another way? Don’t you think it’s a little too far to walk?” Under normal circumstances she enjoyed a hike, but tonight’s ordeal had been exhausting, and she wanted to get home where they could express their love for each other in private.

“I am not suggesting that we walk, I am suggesting that we fly?”

Fly? She stared at him for a long moment before the pieces clicked in place. He wanted to take his dragon form and fly them both back to his house. Nervous excitement raced through her veins at the possibility of seeing him as a dragon. What would it be like to soar through the air on his back? One concern held her back.

“Are you sure it isn’t dangerous for you? You’ve only just come back to yourself. Will it be safe for you?” She looked up at him as he came toward her and took her hands.

“I would not have suggested it if there was any danger to you or to myself. Your love has broken my curse and taking my dragon form is quite safe.”

“Then I’d love to fly home with you.”

He smiled at her as he stepped away from her and put some distance between them. She didn’t know what she expected to see, but his transformation into a dragon was gentle and beautiful. He closed his eyes, and in an instant he was surrounded by a whirling mist that enveloped him and grew bigger until he stood before her, in the form of a red dragon.

She gasped when she saw him, and tentatively came forward. With a trembling hand she reached out to touch him. His skin was warm to the touch, and smooth like fine leather. The tiny scales on his body shimmered in the moonlight. He nuzzled his head against her, and she put her arms around his neck for a moment.

Any doubt that may have lingered disappeared. Even in this form, he was beautiful.

“I guess we should fly home.”