Page 18 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

He touched her hand, stroking her soft skin.

“…a very long way away,” she said, her voice softening.

“Mages… are witches,” he said with a frown.

“Of sorts. Mages use technology along with magic,” she said.

“So, you are a mage?”

She nodded. “Yes, and… more. What happened to you? You were hurt.”

“After you disappeared, things became better for a while, but there were still attacks.” He explained as briefly as he could about his uncle before finishing with what had happened in the last few weeks. “There has been a ground-swell of rebellion against my uncle. My supporters and I rooted him out of the palace tonight, but he is not in our custody. He got away.”

She threaded her fingers through his and gently squeezed them. “War is never good, but sometimes it is necessary. I wish I could have protected your parents.”

A desire to hold her and never let her go surged through him, as ancient and primitive as time. Deep down, he knew she belonged to him—and that he belonged to her. He didn’t understand it and didn’t even bother trying. Her very existence was just as incredible as his certainty of the love they would share, and it didn’t matter how strange any of this was. She was here, and he felt what he felt.

A low growl, unearthly and dangerous reached his ears. The hair on the back of his neck rose, and he pulled Wynter behind him as he reached for his weapon. His two guards appeared from the shadows again, their weapons drawn.

The menacing rumble came again, and the men nervously closed ranks when the ground vibrated under their feet. Khalid’s gaze scanned the area, searching for the danger.

“Third-floor balcony on your right. There is a man there with a weapon,” Wynter warned.

Wynter stepped in front of him and lifted her arms just as a massive black shadow exploded from the garden toward the upper-level balcony and gunfire erupted. In seconds, the only sound was a terrified scream and crunching bones.

Khalid and his guards opened fire on the creature that was eating the attacker on the third balcony.

“Do not use your weapons!” Wynter cried.

“Follow her orders,” Khalid hoarsely relayed to his men, reluctantly forcing himself to move his own finger away from the trigger of his gun.

The‘amirat khurafiat alsahramust know what she’s doing,he thought with extreme apprehension.

The creature turned glowing green eyes toward them and spit the man out. The body landed with a heavy thud in the garden.

Farid and Mousa were praying in low, terrified voices, their eyes wide. More soldiers entered the garden, drawn by the sound of the gunfire.

“Do not fire!” Khalid ordered the newcomers, breathing deeply as he continued to trust Wynter’s judgement in the face of a giant man-eater unlike any he had ever seen. Khalid distantly felt Wynter pushing his weapon down so he was no longer aiming at the creature.

The monster released a heated snort before climbing the wall to the roof. In a burst of speed that almost knocked everyone over, the creature unfurled massive wings and took off into the night sky.

“Was that…. Was that a dragon?” he faintly inquired.

Wynter’s eyes widened as the once quiet garden filled with men. She took a stumbling step down the steps, her heart pounding as the weight of what she had done dawned on her.

ChapterEight

Khalid stared at the mangled remains of his uncle. There were deep slashes the size of dinner plates in his body. His head had been found several feet away. His automatic rifle was bent in half.

Where the creature had climbed, there were deep gouges in the marble wall. Mousa and Farid stood with Wynter between them, their eyes nervously moving from her to the rooftop and back again. She was watching him with a haunted expression.

“Adham, please dispose of Inarus’s remains,” he requested.

“What happened, Khalid? This… what could do this?” Adham demanded, his voice tense with nervousness.

Khalid couldn’t keep his eyes off Wynter. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he replied.

Adham reached toward Khalid, studying his face. “Your wounds are healed.”

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