Page 93 of Rescued By The Dragon

“Positive. I took her to The South Kingdom, a person in town led us toward a river, and we found out very shortly after that they were looking for the long-lost hybrid siren. The previous King banned hybrids, so they wanted to kill her. I need to end this, but he isn’t going to back down. He disappeared—,”

Zerk swiped his palm down his face. “They can do more than that. They’re powerful, but standoffish because they’re afraid the world will turn on them. Take their land. How did Amara get to our kingdom?”

I sat down and rested both elbows on the table. “Her mother got pregnant by a human—which they don’t approve of—and she went on the run. By the time they found her, she’d already given birth to Amara. That’s all we know.”

“Have you spoken to her stepmother?”

“Tomorrow,” I said. “We’ve had one hell of a day, and I need to gather myself before I speak to Helena. She’s a pain in the ass, and I don’t trust myself around her right now.”

Zerk glanced toward the hallway. “Has she had any more powers show up?”

“No. She’s with her friend Sasha right now. They are down the hall.”

Zerk leaned forward and lowered his voice an octave. “This may not end well, Dorran. I don’t want to ruin your mate bond or depress you, but from what I know of sirens, they are ruthless. They’re worse than elves. This man will come for her.”

My fingers curled into a fist on top of the table between us. Fire licked my insides, and sent me down to my knees.

“Dorran,” Zerk said, getting up to help.

“Get back,” I whispered.

Zerk watched as I struggled with my dragon. I slowly lost the battle, and crawled toward the front door, hearing soft footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Stay back!” I shouted, climbing to my feet. I flung the door. “Watch her,” I told Zerk before my dragon ripped from me.

I soared over the mountain’s edge.

The taste of freedom leaked over into my veins, erasing the fear of facing this unknown species, and fueling his need to fly. I had no destination in mind, but I made sure he didn’t take me to The South Kingdom.

My dragon flew for what felt like hours, until the sun began to rise over the east side of the kingdom, drawing me back home.

I knew leaving Amara with Zerk while she was distressed was a dick move, but my dragon wasn’t always the nicest. I landed on the mountaintop, and I felt her gaze on me.

My dragon lowered to his belly, watching as Amara stood from the front steps and walked over. The guards surrounding us, all found somewhere else to be.

Amara was barefoot. She wore a soft summer dress that blew in the chilled wind. I wanted to shift and wrap her in my arms. She didn’t need to be outside in such a thin dress, but I knew she was worried.

I could feel it.

Amara stopped in front of me and ran her fingertips against my scales. The dark scales looked out of place against her pale skin. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered.

My dragon snorted, loving the feel of her, and her compliment. The time began to lengthen, so slowly, not to startle her, I shifted.

Her lips pressed into a hard thin line. “You left without saying goodbye. I thought something happened to you.”

Brushing my knuckles against her jawline, I traced down to her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m sorry. My dragon needed to fly. He’s ...”

“Scared?” she asked. “Because I am.”

There was no reason to lie. “Don’t stress,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I’ll protect you no matter what.”

I carried her into the house, and away from the cold. Zerk stood in the kitchen, making breakfast for them, and Sasha sat at the table with a cup of coffee. She shrieked and covered her eyes. I’d forgotten my clothes were long gone.

“My bad.”

I walked down the hallway with Amara’s soft footsteps behind me. The bed was unmade, and by looking at Amara, I figured she hadn’t slept. “You need to sleep, Little Mouse. My father is coming, and we’re bringing Helena up. You’ll need your wits about you to get through both of those conversations.”

Amara sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s so odd. I couldn’t sleep without you. I’ve always slept alone. I kept tossing and turning.”

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