Page 49 of Dragon His Heels
This needed to end. He still had no idea if Talia was alive, and his dragon was growing impatient. He dove at his wounded enemy, spraying fire and slashing with his talons at the same time, much like his adversary had done earlier. Soon, the other dragon’s blood poured from his wounds, mingling with the rain, and his wings flapped slower and slower, and Gabe knew he had his chance to kill the guy.
But the dragon dropped his head in submission, and stayed like that, suspended in air. Then he twisted his head, exposing his neck. If Gabe wanted to, he could finish him.
Shit.
With an impatient nod, he indicated the dragon should fly to the ground. The Rojo obeyed his unspoken command, and when they touched the grass, they both shifted and magicked clothing onto their bodies.
It was Darius, the one who claimed Ruby was his.
He dropped to his knees, the various cuts and burns he’d sustained in flight still visible on his skin. The blood from the burn on his stomach was already soaking through his shirt. He needed medical attention, but Gabe’s forgiveness only went so far. Especially since he didn’t know Talia’s status.
“She’s mine,” Gabe said, standing over the Rojo dragon. “She’s my daughter. My heir. And her mother belongs to this colony, too. Take what’s left of your cronies and get the hell off my land. Know that, from this point forward, if you ever come back, we will immediately assume you mean us harm, and we will act accordingly.”
The guy nodded once without looking up.
“Go.”
He struggled to his feet and limped to his nearest comrade. Arm in arm, they walked away, and a few moments later, they both shifted, flying across the sky and disappearing into the clouds. The shift would hasten the healing of their wounds. Not to mention, they’d get home a hell of a lot faster.
Gabe should shift again, too, but he needed to know first.
“Talia,” he asked the nearest dragon, who pointed toward the house. He took off at a run, his bare feet slapping the grass, his wounds forgotten.
He burst through the back door, gasping for breath, and then skidded across the tile floor, his hip slamming into the counter before he righted himself and headed toward the front of the house.
“Upstairs,” Julian, who stood in the middle of the foyer, said. Gabe didn’t waste time asking how he knew who he was looking for.
Gabe found her, lying in her own bed, several dragons in human form hovering around her, including Yari, their healer, who was in the process of applying some sort of salve to Talia’s throat.
Which meant she was alive. Right?
“She’s…”
“Going to be fine,” Yari said, straightening and dropping the jar into her bag.
Gabe let out a breath as Talia’s eyes fluttered open. “Good,” he said. Then he narrowed his eyes at the woman lying in the bed.
“Now get up and get the hell out of my house.”
