Page 79 of Blue Embers
“Go!” I shouted.
Lukan glanced back at me, a moment of indecision brightening the fire in his eyes, but it only lasted a second or two. I watched the flame burst in his gaze as it took over. Stepping away, the blue fire began to consume him, birthing a magnificent, silvery beast. I watched him take off after the fleeing car before I spun around and saw one of the newcomers staring straight at me, his dark, umber body hunched with ferocity.
Unsure what was happening around me outside that moment, I stepped back, unable to blink or even breathe as the beast crawled forward across the ground. Large hind legs pushed him in my direction, claws digging into the dirt while his folded wings pulled his broad body closer. He drew his head back, the length of his throat brightening as the fire swelled inside him. I really didn’t want to die, but in that moment I found myself thinking I was about to.
33
Persephone
. . .
I ran as fast as I could, my body still a bit numb from the effects of Haera’s poison. There was so much going on around me that I could barely fathom any of it. Everyone was fighting their own battles against our offenders. I felt insignificant as far as my ability to defend myself or anyone else went.
I took off toward the woods, hoping the trees would make it more difficult for a dragon to follow. As soon as I slipped through the foliage, a burst of white flames rose up behind me. The heat of it brushed painfully across my back as my attacker changed form to give chase on foot. Looking over my shoulder I saw a burly, dark skinned Draak sprinting in my wake. He was just as menacing without his teeth and claws. It took him all of four seconds to catch up to me and before I could dodge his reach, he had his fingers wrapped around my hair.
I screamed as he yanked my body back and lifted me effortlessly off the ground. I kicked and flailed, trying to struggle from his grasp, but he was as solid and unmoving as any Draak and my human strength meant little to nothing. I didn’t know if he wanted to kill me or to question me or take me somewhere, but what I did know was that I needed to escape.
My captor dragged me out of the woods and back toward the cabin where it seemed Draven had shed his dragon form, but aside from that, I had no idea what was happening and wasn’t given any freedom to look. My captor, however, took one glance at the scene and hesitated. He grew tense and suddenly turned back around as if to run. One of the black SUV’s was headed our way and fast, a spray of melted snow and mud splashing out from beneath the tires.
“No!” I shouted, thrashing wildly. “Let me go!”
The car stopped, sliding across the slick ground, and a man in the back threw the door open to pick us up. I screamed, pulling and wriggling as much as my exhausted body would allow. The Draak spun me toward the car as the other man reached out to drag me inside. A massive shape suddenly crashed down onto the SUV. I was thrown to the ground before I could get a look at what it was and the failing light of the evening wasn’t helping.
I rolled onto my back, bracing myself and sitting up on my hands. I saw the silvery-blue form of a dragon perched on top of the car, it’s rage-filled eyes piercing the night and fixed on the dark-skinned Draak who’d assaulted me. Killian.
Killian hunched forward, the clawed tips of his wings digging into the ground. He stared at the Draak for some time, the tension building in the air. The Draak waited for him to make a move. As one of the injured occupants from the car slipped out of the wreckage, Killian turned his head downward like a snake and devoured the man with one, ferocious clamp of his jaws. With a violent toss, the man’s body went flying across the ground and the other Draak took that moment to shift into his dragon form once more...or at least he tried.
As the white flames took over, Killian quickly shed his dragon in an array of blue embers that rushed away on the twilight breeze. I watched as he leaped from the sapphire light and onto his Draak opponent with an animal roar. He collided with the Draak like a boulder into a wall. His opponent didn’t go down until Killian swiped his foot across his ankle and threw him to the ground.
I watched them rip at each other for a moment before Killian skillfully rolled on top of the other Draak. He grabbed hold of his head and with a swift flick of his hands, he twisted it until there was a thick snap. The sound churned my stomach. Suddenly everything was quiet, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I was shaking, a storm of fear and adrenaline whirling inside of me. Finally, as Killian dropped the now lifeless body to the ground, I turned my eyes up to see him.
I was elated to see Killian, but I still couldn’t move. I was frozen in place, staring up at a man who’d suddenly transformed from the suav, suit-wearing Englishman to something primal and furious. He was breathing like a bull who’d just charged, his nostrils flared. His eyes were bright with energy and his sharp fangs seemed even more pronounced in his angered state. Blood stained the front of his light-blue button up and yet somehow he still looked proper. He was panting for a while before he began making an effort to calm himself. I wasn’t afraid of him, though. I suspected that he was worrying over the idea that I was, but this was awe, not fear.
My breath quivered from my chapped lungs as Killian stepped over the body of his opponent and made his way toward me. I could see his gaze wandering the multiple burn wounds along my body with concern before he extended a hand to help me up.
Catching my breath, I reached up and took Killian’s hand, relieved to feel his touch. He curled his fingers tight around mine and lifted me to my feet with enough force to pull me into his arms in one single motion. He cocooned me in his warm embrace like a tight blanket. I felt his heart racing against my body. His hardened muscles shielded me with tense yet loving worry, his hand pressed against the back of my head as he kissed my hair. Having thought I was going to die multiple times in the last few hours, feeling him there with me almost brought me to tears.
We savored each other’s touch for a while before Killian gently pushed me away from him, his eyes once more focused on the burns along my neck. His brows furrowed with concern.
“She did something to me,” I said. “Something to take the mark away.”
Killian gently spun me around and lifted the hem of my shirt. He stared for a while before letting it fall back down over my waist and turning me to face him again.
“It’s only temporary,” he said, his voice a sweet, comforting hum in my ears. “It’s a weapon the witches have used for centuries in order to rob us of our mates even faster. It’ll pass.”
“She was trying to find the kid,” I said. “She still thinks we know something.”
“She knows one thing,” I heard another voice say.
Glancing over, I saw Draven walking up with a long, stern stride, his shoulders squared. Anger was almost attractive on these men. The faint traces of smoke that seeped from Draven’s mouth following the first few words he said reminded me howinhumanthey were, though.
“She knows Saxon is the one looking for the child.” His eyes settled on me. “She picked that from your brain at some point.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“It means everyone knows what they’re looking for,” Killian explained. “Haera could have birds all over the world keeping an eye out. Saxon being a Red just narrows down their search. They tend to stand out.”
“Which means she can find the child,” Draven added.
