Page 49 of Medusa

He had to make this right.

Jaden had no idea how he got down the stairs, but he was at the bottom, hanging onto the post for support.

Finley was staring at him, arms crossed.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Have… to… tell… Maddie…” Each word was a struggle to get out.

Definitely punctured a lung.

That’ll be a bitch to heal.

“Dressed like that?” Finley raised an eyebrow.

Jaden hadn’t noticed before, but he was completely naked.

Right, I wasn’t exactly wearing clean clothing when I was strung up in chains, was I.

“Thanks for keeping my bed clean,” he said, and the words were a little easier to get out.

Maybe going down the stairs took more out of me than I realized.

He pushed off the post and tried to squeeze by Finley, who didn’t move an inch.

“There’s nothing to lean against out there,” Finley pointed out. “Are you going to crawl down the street to get to her?”

“More like fly,” Jaden said, grinning. His skin rippled with green scales, and he gasped as a rush of energy accompanied them.

“Oh yeah. I’ll catch you guys later.” Already half-shifted, he pushed the rest of the way past Finley and out the front door.

Protests from his brothers rang in his ears as he fully transformed on the doorstep, taking a leap into the air before his wings had fully manifested. They caught him as he fell, unfurling and catching an updraft that made his stomach swoop with the exhilaration of flying. He scanned the neighborhood, squinting through the duskiness of the evening for Maddie’s lone form.

She was quite a lot further along than he’d thought she would have gotten, her long legs covering the ground at a rapid pace.

Or it took me longer to get downstairs than I thought.

He chuckled to himself as his wings swept down, bringing him almost above her in one motion. He dropped into a controlled fall until he was hovering above her. Gently, he wrapped one hand around her waist, making her yelp with surprise.

“It’s me,” Jaden said, his voice echoing strangely from his dragon form. It had been a while since he talked while shifted.

Maddie stopped struggling the instant she heard his voice.

“Jaden? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Jaden didn’t reply. It was suddenly becoming more of a struggle to remain aloft, and he needed to concentrate all his efforts into his wings. He also wanted to be human when they had this conversation.

Thankfully there wasn’t far to go, as a dragon flies, to get to Maddie’s house. He landed unsteadily on her front lawn, put her down, and crumpled, all the energy leaving his muscles. He felt his loss of control over his shift.

“Shit,” he muttered, face smushed into the grass.

Not the most romantic method of telling someone you love them.

Darkness invaded his vision. And then he knew no more.

CHAPTER14

Maddie stayedon her hands and knees on her lawn for a few moments, trying to catch her breath. She’d just been scooped up and carried by a dragon.

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