Page 106 of Something Borrowed

But I smile as I close my eyes again.

“Why are you smiling?” his voice sounds far away.

“You burned the world down for me.” I whisper. And the world sinks away from me. But I know I’m in his arms, so I don’t care. I don’t care about anything but him. He’s here.

He burned the world down for me.

I feel him lift my body, limp and heavy, into his arms.

“I’m going to get us out of here, vixen.” His voice touches the edges of my dream.

I’m being carried on the shoulders of a massive beast. He keeps talking to me, but I don’t understand the soothing words that are coming from his lips. It’s garbled and makes little sense. I struggle to hear over the loud rumble growling in the distance. Something dangerous is following us. Something big is creeping towards us and I’m terrified, but the beast is gripping me.

He jogs, and my body jolts against his broad shoulders, his arm wrapped over my back to keep me from falling off.

Sometimes when I try to take a breath into my lungs, it tastes of thick ash and I cough.

The beast pauses. Talking to me again.

I wish I knew what he was saying.

His words have the power to enchant me and transport me to a world of magic and wonder.

I open my eyes and flames above my head lick down towards my face.

I cry out in fright and Rufino digs his fingers into my side.

“It’s ok, Verity. We’re on the fourth floor now. We’re so close to the ground. We’re almost out of here.”

“Rufino.” I gasp, my words huff from my chest when he moves, and I get shifted against his shoulder. He is carrying me fireman style, slung over his shoulder, shifting on his back.

I groan. Breathing hurts.

I close my eyes and feel my head dropping.

My arms go limp and my body slumps down.

The beast shouts when a massive dragon leaps from behind a rock and blasts a tongue of fire towards us. He ducks and rolls and I fall from his shoulders. The dragon rears up, screeching a high-pitched whine and then a low rumble of anger.

This is what we were running from - and now it’s found us.

We are going to die.

“Ugh.” Rufino grunts as he lifts me back up and onto his shoulders.

To our left a room is blazing and the door from that room is lying splintered and covered in flames just in front of us.

“Ruf—” I try to say his name, but I can’t. A coughing fit steals my breath away and I fight for air as he jogs towards the stairwell.

“Three more floors, my love. We are almost there. We are almost safe.” He says, straining and sounding like he’s in pain as well.

“Ruf—”

My eyes burn and my head drops.

The dragon is right behind us, slinking over the ground, slithering and creeping and following everywhere we go.

Tears are streaming down my cheeks.

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