Page 15 of Creatures of War

The others dashed toward us almost too fast to follow. With a small curse under his breath, Landers sent us flying into the air, but the dragons already accounted for it, as some followed us into the sky. Something hit Landers, and he let out a grunt, as a spasm traveling through his body.

There was yelling below, but I was too focused on the dull look in Landers’ face. His grip on me loosened.

“Landers?” I breathed out softly.

“I can’t. Rayna.” Then he lost consciousness. In midair.

For a moment, it was like we were suspended in the air. Then, gravity caught back up with us and we fell. Fast.

I screamed as the ground came to meet me quickly, reminding me why I didn’t like flying. Arms wrapped around me tightly, more like shackles to keep me safe in reality. The scent of the person with me was all wrong. So was the feel. I turned my head enough to see black hair, and they looked at me. Dark eyes, almost black.

Not one of my guys.

I was too stunned to respond right away, and by the time my brain caught up, it was too late. We were back on the ground, and something cold had pressed against my neck. Another dragon landed with the unconscious Landers draped over his shoulder.

“If you continue to rebel, you’ll hurt Rayna,” Captain Corniz announced, causing the other two to freeze.

They had been trying to fight back against the dragons, and judging by the blood on their faces and that soaking into their shirts, they were losing.

They looked around before finally seeing us and completely stilling.

‘Rayna!’ Zilon’s voice echoed through my head.

Philit’s voice followed, ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m not hurt,’ I sent them, feeling their relief come back. ‘They knocked Landers out.’

“Tie them up,” Captain Corniz said.

Dragons surrounded me, wrapping me in thick, tight rope that glimmered silver and seemed unbreakable. Once they moved away, I noticed they’d done the same to the others. I shimmied against the bonds and grimaced as it felt like electricity was shot through the bonds and into me as a warning.

“Don’t fight them,” one of the guards warned. “You won’t like what they’ll do to you.”

All three of us stilled as we realized just how screwed we really were and the dangerous position we were caught up in.

“Let’s go.” Captain Corniz turned on his heels and marched away without looking back. The others pushed me and my guys forward, forcing us to follow.

‘What are they going to do to us?’ I asked. ‘This goes way beyond failing to keep my head down.’

‘I don’t know,’ Philit responded, sending more fear through me.

Philit was our leader, and if he was as scared as the bonds were telling me, then nothing good was about to happen to us.

Chapter Nine

The journey back was all too familiar, being the same path we took earlier that day. They were returning us to the king. Bile rose in my throat, and I forced myself to swallow it, not wanting to give these dragons the pleasure of seeing me sick.

The only good news was that while we walked back, Landers woke up. He wasn’t happy. In fact, he was furious and felt guilty but mostly just pissed off.

This time there was no fanfare as the guards opened the doors and ushered us in. The king was talking with someone, but he stopped to watch as we entered, tied up, and escorted with all the guards.

“What is going on?” he asked.

I grimaced, hating the feel of his voice, especially as it was filled with so much anger. My bones practically quaked from his power.

Captain Corniz kneeled down. “I apologize, Your Majesty. We caught them outside. After watching the situation, we realized they meant to run away from their duties.”

All the blood left my face when I realized the captain said he’d been watching us. For how long? What exactly did they see us do?

---