Page 26 of Dragon Claimed

f they want to live comfortable lives in the kingdom, this will be how we can do that," Enzo answered sadly.

He was right about that. Kaida knew there were no guarantees that everyone would return home when fighting in a war. However, this was going to be necessary. The Dark Dimension was rising, and it seemed to be starting here. There was no indication of how it started here, either. Adrien suspected that just one portal had opened when the spell was activated. Kaida didn't see any signs that the dimension had affected Dragaal, but only one city was inside the kingdom. If anything, she would have expected it to be there because it was the largest city.

"Then we need to have another meeting. I want to let them know that the dimension is only afflicting here. That would mean they would all die here if it came back. I could close it once, but it was a small portal. If it opened again and was bigger than before, maybe even had multiple openings, I don't know if my dragon would be enough on her own."

Enzo looked at her with his eyebrow cocked. "I'm sorry, but it sounds like you think you wouldn't be able to defeat something you already defeated. Do I hear that correctly?"

She could hear the humor in his tone, but Kaida didn't feel like playing into it. "Just because I was able to do it once, and I wasn’t even the one in control when I did, that doesn't mean it won't come back stronger, and there’s no telling if I could do it again."

Beckett cleared his throat. "Kaida is right. If it opens without us catching on and becomes bigger than before, the whole island could be infected with it. That will endanger the entire island faster than it had last time. We barely kept things together, and all four of us ran patrol, and Kaida helped out when people ended up being where she was. More than once, someone ended up attacking her. We managed to ensure there was no bloodshed. Next time, we might not be so lucky."

"Maybe that would be a selling point. We tell everyone that there is a chance that it could come back and affect them all. There are children here, correct?" Enzo glanced toward where the town was below them.

"Yeah, but we already mentioned all of this to them before. Not many wanted to join us."

"Call the men to the hall. Sometimes, it isn't a matter of choice. If they want to continue living the lives they’ve built, they need to fight for it. My father is not just going to let them remain here. He wanted to control us for a reason. Kaida has gained ties here, which made her connect to this place when he couldn't. That may have been why he wanted to take control so badly and was pissed when it didn't work."

The other men nodded in agreement. To Kaida, it made sense. She just wished she knew why Gemar hated Elementals the way he did. During her time here, none of them were different than Storm dragons other than having different magic. That could not have been the reason why. Gemar may have had a superiority complex, but where did it stem from? If he hated the Elementals this much, then he planned to eliminate them. He hated anyone less than himself. Being rejected had to be a part of that. He must have thought those rejected were not good enough for their mate, deserved this fate, and did not deserve to be brought back home. He didn't want Enzo to get her home because she wasn't worthy. Gemar only decided who she was when he heard she had a Plasma dragon, more potent than any other species.

He wants to eliminate this island because it is full of people he doesn't deem worthy. The longer it is here, the more chance there is of someone finally rising to see that Elementals do not belong here.

"I think you are right, Enzo," Kaida said as she pushed herself to a seated position. "Your father would not settle for this island to remain here anymore. Maybe it is because I am here, which means this place has a stronger ally than ever. That means they could manage to make their way back to the mainland. For the first time in hundreds of years, the barrier is down. He knew it was down well before we arrived. We need everyone to see that we are just trying to unite our people the way it was when dragons first roamed the earth. Now, with the barrier down, they can return where they should have been all this time."

The men stared at her with smiles on their faces. She squirmed a little under their gaze before giving a little growl at them. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"To see you speaking like that just shows us that the Great Dragon knows what he is doing," Beckett told her.

Enzo nodded. "I think she needs to be the one to speak to everyone. If she talks just like this, she can rally those troops. They need to hear something like that to bring them together. She inspires hope. More than I've ever seen my father be able to do to our men."

Kaida's eyes brimmed with tears, but she decided not to let them fall. Instead, she winked at Enzo, "Well, yeah. Don't you know that women do it better?"

That's when they heard a terrifying roar. Kaida twisted her body in the direction from which she heard it coming. She knew that roar. It rattled inside of her chest as if it were her own.

"Blaze," Kaida shrieked.

Then she ran.

The purple wings that sprouted from her back lifted her in the air with a speed she didn't know she was capable of. Kaida flapped them as hard as she could, and another terror-inducing roar sang into her ears. Kaida could hear the others behind her, but she was faster.

I need to get to him. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

As she cleared the first few buildings of the town, Kaida could see Blaze's giant ruby-red dragon spewing fire at people as they were running to escape him. A few of them were, thankfully, Tidal dragons, and they managed to put up a shield of water that exploded into steam when the blazing fire reached them. Others were blowing air in his direction to deflect his flames, while a few were creating barriers of dirt to hide behind. Blaze stomped toward individuals who chose to use their magic and blew fire at their shields. Many had to run before Blaze broke their shields because they could not fight his power.

That was the problem with dragon magic. Someone more powerful could easily overpower others’ magic. Blaze was the most powerful Ember dragon on the island. He was probably one of the top-ranking dragons in his species, just like the other princes. They were the only ones who could match him and stop him.

Kaida knew in her heart that she would need to get involved. The others would not like it, but she outranked them all. She was the key if there was a chance to get through to Blaze. If he chose to listen to her, this would end quickly. If he fought, this could get bloody.

But I am his mate. He wouldn't harm his mate, right?

"Enzo! I need you to fly ahead. Get those people out of there. Arlo, Esen, Beck! You guys will distract him so Enzo can lead them out."

Enzo flew ahead like Kaida demanded, followed by Arlo and Esen. All of them fully shifted into their dragons to handle this fight properly. Dragon against human form wasn't exactly an equal fight.

Beck flew beside her and frowned, "You need to stay here. If the dimension has a hold of him, he isn't going to recognize you."

"I'm not letting him kill a bunch of people, Beck. I'm not going to let that be on his conscience."

"If he kills you, he won't be able to face anyone. Not even himself."

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