Page 39 of The Soul of the Dragon

I could still hear the guards going door to door in the village, but I’d gotten no sign of Magnus or a dragon. But the knot in my gut told me he was out there, and it wouldn’t be long before I’d have to deal with him.

“We have to hurry,” I said, practically pulling her into an all-out run to keep up with me. I could feel her glare at my back, but we didn’t have time to stop and rest. To her credit there were no more complaints as we traveled.

However, my mind did wander to the night before and how beautiful she looked standing in front of me with her night garment raised above her waist. The image of her rounded curves, and the soft dark hair between her thighs were going to be burned into my memory for all eternity. Probably so I could be tortured by them on a daily basis.

Silence stretched between us, until all I heard were the heavy pants as she sucked up oxygen like she’s starved for it. I pushed prickly branches and small bushes out of our way, doing my best to make a path she could follow. But it was still slow going and by the time we made it to the ridge just below the seer’s home, I heard the unmistakable flap of wings.

Big ones.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” She nearly crashed into my back as I suddenly came to a stop.

“Shhh.” I was sharp, but I needed her as quiet as possible. Whatever I could hear, he could, in return. Dragon hearing was keen and capable of picking up some sounds as far as miles away.

“We aren’t going to make it,” I whispered.

“What do you mean? Is it far? I feel like we’ve been running in circles.”

I smiled at her clever perception. “We have, and no, we are very close. Her home is just over the next ridge.”

“Then what’s the problem? We should hurry.”

I shook my head. “He’s already here. Just above us. I’m going to have to distract him.”

“And what the heck am I going to do? Hide?”

I smirked. “There would be nowhere here you could hide from us, Princess. I’m already attuned to your heartbeat, and I can hear it crashing against your chest with every beat. He probably can too.”

Her hand flew to her chest as if shielding it would make it better. “Then what are we going to do?”

“Be the fierce little beast I know you can be and finish the mission. I’m going to have to confront him and do whatever it takes to distract him while you visit our seer on your own.”

“What about the other guards?”

“They’ve already been through here. I doubt they’ll circle back unless they get warned. Which means I needed to get a move on before it’s too late. You too.” I quickly removed my clothing and shoved it into the pack I kept fastened loosely around my neck.

As the magic began to move over my body, I quickly looked back at her before the dragon took over and said, “Don’t try to run from me, Princess. You won’t like what happens if I have to chase you again.”

Of course, since we were in the deep woods of the forest instead of a nice, convenient clearing, I took out several trees with my transformation and basically announced my location. A rumble in the sky indicated my foe had heard and would soon arrive.

“Go!” The word came out like more of a vicious snarl than an actual word, but she must have gotten the message because she turned on her heel and ran towards the ridge as I’d instructed. As I lifted from the ground, I followed her progress over the downed trees and under the brush until she disappeared from sight.

I didn’t like leaving her, but there was no other choice. I had to keep her from Magnus at any cost. But the question remained as to whether I could trust her not to run. I could find her again, but that would waste more precious time we couldn’t afford. Or maybe I could let her go and find the amulet on my own…

I didn’t get to think about that any longer as Magnus swooped from the trees and headed straight for me. In answer, I gave the dragon more control and let that feral feeling I barely kept suppressed go.Not that I needed anything extra. I was already out for his blood because I would never forget finding those marks on her back.

I roared through the sky, leaving a trail of fire to color the sky in violent hues of red, orange, yellow and black. At the sight of Magnus’ giant green dragon, I flapped my wings harder to meet him. I flew as quickly as I could, my intent to hit him with the full force of my bodyweight, multiplied by my speed.

He looked to be doing the same and we were seconds from a mid-air collision. Whatever happened next, I hoped it gave my little beast enough time to get the information we needed from the seer. When I was done with this asshole, we were going to find that amulet, and get it done today.

As the wind beat against my scales and smoke blew from my nose, I could see his dragon face and the yellow slits of his eyes. This was going to hurt, but it would be worth it. Kitra deserved whatever damage I could rain down on this bastard.

Suddenly a sharp pain penetrated my side and caused me to jerk off my trajectory. What the—?

I turned to find a fucking dart sticking out of my right flank. I whirled to face my opponent before he crashed into me and he too had jerked to a near stop with a tell-tale dart sticking out of his side as well.

I’d been so focused on getting Magnus, I’d forgotten about the fucking sprites. And as before their poison moved swift and true through my blood. I could already feel my movements becoming sluggish and if I didn’t get to the ground…

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