Page 136 of Rescued By The Dragon

The queen gasped but none of her cries stopped the guards. When they pulled Toby toward the doorframe, I yelled for him.

I tugged and pulled in his arms.

Wake up, Dorran.

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

He was right. This was a bad idea. I kicked the king in the thigh, which made him crumble toward the ground.

I scurried out into the lobby, passed the queen’s shocked face, and toward the stairs. “Get her!” he yelled behind me.

I didn’t stop. I pushed harder as I struggled to keep myself together. I needed to get to Dorran. My leg made me dizzy. I couldn’t focus on my powers. I didn’t have the strength. I pushed harder and harder until I stood on the bridge.

The guard’s footsteps thundered closely behind me. I had to keep going. Pushing myself forward, I searched the distance for the gallows. They sat at the forest’s edge, close to the mountain but too far for me to get to quickly enough.

Toby was tossed onto the platform as he fought against the guards. Tears raced down my cheeks. The sound of the guards neared. A shot of pain erupted in my side almost blinding me. There was no way I could make it to the house to get Dorran.

Stopping abruptly, I turned over my shoulder to see the guards several yards away. Closing my eyes, I leaped from the side of the bridge and attempted to catch myself.

All my strength seeped from me as I fell to the ground. Toby’s calls for help pierced my chest. He was going to die because of me. Because I went into the castle after Dorran asked me not to.

A heavy gust of wind swarmed me at the same time arms looped around my waist. I cried in pain as Dorran sat me on the ground and looked up at the bridge.

He looked like an avenging angel, daring the other guards to come after me. “Amara,” he hissed. “I can’t believe you did that. What—,”

He looked down at my bleeding side, and the tears on my face. “What happened?”

“Toby,” I whispered, pointing toward the gallows. “They are hanging Toby.”

Dorran’s body stiffened. Within seconds, I was in his arms and being flown toward the gallows. His heartbeat hammered against my cheek. I pressed my eyes closed and prayed we made it.

It wasn’t until he halted in the air that I realized we hadn’t.

“Toby,” he whispered. “No.”

Dorran’s roar rattled my ears like drums inside of my skull. I was certain everyone in the kingdom heard it. His fingertips dug into my skin as he pressed me to his chest.

I felt his tears hitting my skin, and I felt like dying.

“What happened?” he whispered.

“Your father attacked me, and Toby stopped him.”

Dorran shut his eyes, his heavy wings drumming in the air as we floated above the trees.

“Take me to him,” I said.

“No,” Dorran turned his back to the gallows. “I’m going to confront my father,” he said.

Something drummed inside of me.

A faint heartbeat.

It wasn’t my own.

“Take me to him,” I whispered again. “Now.”

Dorran seemed fed up with me for the day, his stare was hollow and angry. I was sure he was mad at me. I felt it. But I also felt something I couldn’t explain. My powers were unknown, but my body knew them.

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