Page 60 of Dragon Unleashed

A thunderous crash inside my room brings me back with a start. A cloud of dust billows into my face. That’s not right. This is the hospital. It shouldn’t… An enormous dark figure emerges from the settling debris. His fist swings at the wall, crashing into it. Through it. Plaster dust billows out from the hole, half blinding me. With a roar he turns, picking up a chair andthrowing it. My head rings with the shattering of glass and I flinch as shards fly in all directions.What the hell is going on?

“Ch-Chano?” I cough on the powder in the air.

He snaps his head toward me. He’s full demon, about half the size again of his normal frame, horns out and tail lashing from side to side. His chest heaves and his snarl reverberates around the small hospital room as he locks eyes with me. In two quick strides he’s towering over the bed, and I shrink back from the evil in his gaze. He leans down, resting his hands on either side of my head, face inches from mine. In one fluid movement he jerks the pillow from under me, then wrenches it entirely in two. Feathers explode into the air while Chano rages above me.

“Stop, boss.” Alarick tugs on Chano’s sleeve.

Chano grabs him by the neck and throws him across the room. Alarick’s body slams into the wall with a muffled crunch. I shrink down in the bed, my limbs heavy and unresponsive.

Nostrils flared, Chano rounds on me again. He brandishes a piece of paper, but my eyes struggle to focus as he waves it around, growing more agitated by the second. With a snarl he rips it up and the bits flutter to the ground excruciatingly slowly. His fists bunch.This is not the Chano I know.He grips the bedframe and the metal groans, warping under his strength. I yelp, trying to roll away.

My stupid body won’t respond. I fumble with the covers, my legs wobbly. He blinks, and for a brief moment Chano’s eyes stare back from his demon’s face. Calmer, kinder. With a grunt he steps back, a low snarl emitting from his throat. He walks across the room, feet crunching on shards of glass. He glances once over his shoulder, his piercing gaze searing my heart. Without warning, he flings himself out the broken window.

His giant wings snap open, taking him away from me in a few swift flaps.

I breathe in shakily.What a fucking disaster.Two giant holes gape in the plasterboard, and everything is covered in a fine layer of dust. The ground is covered in glass from the shattered window. The machine beside me beeps erratically. Dammit, my IV is out. I focus on the practical, my brain entirely unable to make sense of what just happened.

I press buttons at random. Something has to stop this infernal noise. “Error” flashes up on the tiny, green-tinged screen.No shit. I swing my legs cautiously over the side of the bed. My bandaged hand rests in my lap, a stark reminder.

What set Chano off? He was so calm before. Did our failed ceremony finally catch up with him? My feet touch the cool laminate and I heave myself to a standing position. Bloody Raff just bolted after Chano. I have to check on Alarick. Shuffling around the worst of the glass, I get close enough to prod him. Alarick groans and rolls over. He shakes his head, struggling to all fours. Grumbling low deep in his chest, he shifts in the next instant. Well, thank the goddesses he can still shift. He’ll heal quicker. His giant shaggy head presses against my stomach and a cold nose bops my hand. The wolf turns on a sixpence and bolts out the door.

I’m left alone in the destroyed room, the whistling wind for company. My legs tremble.

The only hospital chair still intact has my ceremony gown folded neatly on it, and tucked next to it, my handbag. I need my phone. I need to call Naeve. On unsteady legs I wobble toward it, gripping the edges of the hospital gown together with my good hand, trying to control the shivering racking my body.Where the hell are the nurses?

I run a finger over the delicate fabric of my beautiful dress, choking back a sob. This is not how it was meant to end. Reaching for my phone I stall, arm outstretched. An envelope on the ground catches my eye. The ripped-open edge staresup at me, Chano’s name clearly printed in my own blocky handwriting.

Fuck.

I land on my knees on the hard floor, ignoring the pain radiating down my shins.No, no, no.I feel around, searching for my note. My fingers touch shiny photographic paper, just under the bed. Half a photo. Half a photo of my mom. My note, my confessional. It’s gone.

Chano knows.

Chapter Twenty-nine: Lorelei

It’s been five days and my only visitors have been Naeve and Val. Chano won’t pick up his phone. He hasn’t even read my messages. I don’t know what to do. What to think. I kick angrily at the hospital bed as the nurse fusses over my bandages. At least I’ve healed quickly; the doc did a good job of removing the dead tissue, my aether healing did the rest. Today, the bandages come off.

I can’t look. It might not be there. My Aeternum mark. Naeve pats the covers and smiles nervously.

“Keep still,” my nurse admonishes as she unravels the last of the gauze bandage. “Now, see if you can move it for me.”

I stare at the ceiling, refusing to look down, as I clench and unclench my fist.

“Good. All healed. We can discharge you back to your dorm.” The tip-tap of her shoes retreats out of the room and down the corridor as I fixate on the ceiling tiles. Slowly, I bring both my hands up in front of my face, holding my breath.

It’s there. Holy crap, it’s still there. After all that. After having my skin melted off, after failing second-stage bonding, afterChano’s reaction. My Aeternum mark is still there. I let out a strangled whoop and flop back on the bed. Naeve’s smiling face swings into view above me.

“See? I told you. That means he’ll come around. He has to.” She sounds far more positive than I feel. “He’s been asking how long you knew. What do you want us to say?”

If he’s asking questions, there’s hope.

“A couple of months isn’t a long time, really. Is it?” I ask.

The moment Naeve screws up her nose my heart sinks. He’s never going to forgive me.

“Please, don’t tell him. Let me. He deserves to hear it from me.”

She nods before bustling around, packing my stuff into a bag.

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