Page 80 of The Soul of the Dragon

“Okay.” I opened my mouth to take shallow breaths, because the stench coming from whatever was coming, smelled like ass.

“We’re almost there.”

As soon as he said it, something brushed my hand at his back and I screamed, yanking it away. “It’s right there.”

“I know.” His words were hard to understand, and I had a feeling it was the dragon in charge now, not Isaac.

Goddess, if we didn’t die from whatever had touched me, then surely I would when my heart burst from fear. I looked up at Isaac’s face to keep from looking anywhere else and sure enough, his eyes glowed golden and his skin was dark from the push of scales right up against it.

Isaac was no longer Isaac. He still held me in human arms, but the rest that I could see was unrecognizable. Monstrous even.

Another brush against my arm and I was ready to fling myself away from it. I grabbed onto Isaac’s shirt and buried my face in his chest, hoping we weren’t about to die. Not like this. Please. I didn’t think there was anyone listening to hear my pleas, but I offered everything I had to the moon goddess and my mother’s spirit that I could.

But the wailing grew louder, and I was pretty sure there were a lot more than two of them about to catch us. Isaac went down, and the sludge of the swamp went up to my neck. His arms loosened and I had no choice but to turn and look. We were nearly surrounded by black mist, but through that nightmare I saw the embankment only feet away.

Yes. I slid from his loosened arms and pushed myself through the thick, sludge like liquid until my feet touched solid ground and with burning muscles and pure adrenalin I pulled myself free from the swamp. I fell onto my stomach and into the dirt, but I didn’t care. I was prepared to kiss the ground.

Isaac.

My stomach seized as I tried to turn around and find him. But the swamp was fully encased in black swirling smoke, making it impossible to see anything. Whatever it was, or they were, they must have been magically confined to the water because where I sat was now clear.

“Isaac” I screamed, but he didn’t respond, or if he did, I couldn’t hear him over the keening wails of the dead demons. What the hell kind of cursed place had Ensley dropped us into? If I lost Isaac, I would choke her with my bare hands.

I pulled myself back to the water’s edge, but when the shape of a demon broke free from the plume, I was forced to retreat. Unshed tears burned in my eyes as I called out for him over and over, desperate to hear his voice or anything that would indicate he was still alive.

I tried again to broach the liquid, prepared to give my own life for his if that’s what it took when a loud roar tore through the darkness and a shot of fire emerged from the middle of the swamp.

Isaac had managed to turn fully to his dragon form, bringing both his body out of the water and allowing his fire full reign. The smoke or demon forms or whatever it was, dissipated. Hell, maybe it had been a magical illusion designed to frighten fae to death.

Sadly, in my case, it had almost worked. My pulse still raced, and my heart still threatened to beat out of my chest as Isaac flew into the tree line and then back down to shore not too far from where I stood. The ground rattled under the force of his landing, and if his roar hadn’t woken every creature in the forest, then him shaking the earth certainly did.

I slumped to the ground in relief as Isaac’s dragon melted away under the magic that returned him to me. My pulse still fluttered erratically, but at least our deaths didn’t seem as imminent as it had moments ago. I glanced around. Now we only had to get through the rest of forest and into the palace without further incident.

“Are you okay?” Isaac bolted in my direction, his hands going everywhere seemingly to check for damage.

“I’m fine—now. You?”

“Yeah. Those demons did their best to suppress my magic with that nasty goo, but my dragon is way too stubborn and egotistical to allow a bunch of dead assholes to take us down.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Maybe I was wrong then, and your ego won’t be the death of us all.”

“Sometimes it pays to be a stubborn asshole,” he said, reaching for the side of my face where he tried to wipe it clear. But nothing short of a bath or some magic were going to clean this crap up. It clung to my clothes, my skin, even my hair.

“Did you lose your pack?” he asked, pulling his from around his neck.

“No.” I pointed to a spot in the grass where I’d dropped everything to attempt a rescue. “I managed to keep hold of it all.”

“Good girl. Then let’s get changed and get the hell out of here before something else comes along.”

We dressed in silence as I put the red dress he’d given me back on. In between our marathon sex sessions at the cottage, I’d found just enough time to clean all of my clothes, and repack my pack. I hadn’t known what we would face coming back into the realm, so I’d tried to be prepared for a little of everything.

I left my ruined clothing at the edge of the swamp as I resettled my gear on my back, and we headed in what I hoped was the direction of the palace.

The forest continued to make eerie sounds, and if the continued moaning was any indication, I couldn’t help but think we were being followed.

“Do you have any sense of how far we are from the palace?” Isaac asked. “And why is it so dark? I don’t remember a time shift when we moved from this realm to the other?”

“That’s because there isn’t one. But this forest is cursed with darkness of all kinds, including a lack of sunlight. That never changes. And we’re in the belly of the beast, so to say, so it’s the darkest yet. But I think I’ve figured out where we are and you’d be surprised how close we are to the palace. I guess Ensley knew what she was doing after all.”

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