Chapter 8
Lyrian sped towards Calrian’s chamber, her whole body tense. She’d been hours. Anarian would be due for another feed soon, and she’d only taken one bottle of milk out of the freezer. And it hadn’t even occurred to her to tell Brad where the nappies were.
She hadn’t expected to be away anywhere near this long.
The dried-up canyon appeared on the horizon, but that didn’t dissipate any of her tension. Even if the situation had been perfect, she wouldn’t feel good again until she was back with her baby.
And the situation was far from perfect. She pulled up at the edge of the canyon and stopped the car.
Would she find Calrian here? Or would his chamber be as empty as Taurian and Verrian’s?
There was only one way to find out, and time was short. There was no time to dawdle.
She reached for the door, just as a roar echoed through the canyon.
Lyrian froze.
She knew immediately that it wasn’t her brother. It had to be…
A silver dragon rose out of the canyon, sending a bolt of lightning straight at the ute faster than Lyrian could even wince.
The metal of the vehicle channelled it away from her, just like a metal dragon’s scales would have.
She stared at the other dragon, fear clogging her heart, making it impossible for her to think, let alone move.
The last battle came flooding back to her.
Trima dragons flying at them, lightning criss-crossing the sky. She’d tried to blow them back with her wind. Tried to tangle up their wings so that they fell. But there had been too many of them.
Fire had flickered through the lightning, and metal dragon’s scales had flashed as they raced in to attack.
But it had all been for naught. Somehow, the Trima dragons had beaten them, and the Rian dragons had slunk away to lick their wounds.
They’d planned to be back. To regroup and fight again.
Apparently, something had gone wrong. Three hundred years had passed, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find another Rian dragon.
Apparently though, the Trima dragons were still around.
That thought didn’t bring Lyrian any peace. An enemy dragon was no better than a human. In fact, it was far worse. A Trima dragon didn’t care about her or her baby. They’d destroy them if they had the chance.
Anarian.
Lyrian couldn’t die here. She needed to get back to her baby.
That thought cleared the last of the fog around Lyrian’s brain. She reached for the wheel and started the car, not even flinching as another bolt of lightning hit the ground near the ute.
She spun the vehicle around and floored the pedal, heading for home as fast as the human wheels would take her.
Unfortunately, the dragon was close behind. Another bolt of lightning hit the car, eliciting a smothered scream from Lyrian.
She shouldn’t be facing this alone. She should be with her clan. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and she fought to keep the car under control.
Where were they?
Did the dragon’s presence indicate that Calrian was still in his Mesmer chamber? She hadn’t encountered opposition at any of the empty chambers. Then again, she hadn’t seen any sign of Trima dragons at her Mesmer chamber when old Henry had woken her either.
It didn’t really matter. Even if Calrian was there, she had no hope of reaching him.
If she had another dragon to help her, she could go up against this dragon, and probably beat him. She wasn’t a shrinking violet, she was a princess, and much as she might dislike it, she knew how to fight.
But any fight came with risks. They’d learned that the hard way. Even if you thought you could easily win, you could still be defeated.
Defeat was unacceptable. She wouldn’t leave Anarian motherless as well as clanless.
She had to get home.
She had to get back to her baby.
The rental ute she’d borrowed from Brad was faster than Henry’s old ute at least, even though it was bigger. She slowly began to pull away from the Trima dragon. Far enough, at least, that she was out of range of his lightning attacks.
That eased her mind a little.
But what she had to do was leave him far behind.
Little by little she inched ahead, but she was surprised at his staying power. Surely he would get tired and drop back soon?
What would she do if she couldn’t lose him?
Lyrian’s heart couldn’t catch a break. It was still hammering in her chest, and she couldn’t see any way out of this.
She couldn’t lead him back to her baby. She turned to the left, even though it hurt to turn away from the way home. Even though it was hard.
Keeping Anarian safe was the most important thing.
For the first time, she was grateful Brad had turned up. If something happened to her, if she never came back, he would care for her, wouldn’t he? He’d love her, even once he discovered who and what she was.
The dragon followed her relentlessly.
Lyrian felt like she drove for miles and miles. Her back was aching, and her arms were tired from gripping the wheel tightly when she finally realised that she couldn’t the dragon in the rear view mirror anymore.
She drove a little further, keeping an eye out, but he didn’t reappear.
Finally, Lyrian let the car roll to a stop, and waited.
If the dragon still knew where she was, if he’d just dropped back, he would catch up again.
But no dragon appeared on the horizon.
Darkness though, did. Lyrian didn’t dare wait too long. She could easily make her way home in the dark if she were flying, she knew this area like the back of her hand, but from the ground was another matter.
She had to take the chance, and get home while she could still see enough to know where she was going.
She turned the car around, and headed home.