Page 15 of Fated to the Grumpy Dragon
“Emma.”
I pushed the voice away. The voice of criticism. Of self-hatred. It called to me, showing me all I could have been. All I chose not to do as I remained comfortably ensconced in my life in my little town, afraid to spread my wings. To take a chance.
“Emma.”
The voice was more insistent now. I shook my head, trying to keep it out.
Emma.
I went still with shock. Like a sleeping person being awoken with a bucketful of ice water, I was suddenly alert and focused.
I’d heard that voice. But not with my ears. I’d heard it in my mind. A presence, reaching out, calling to me. Beckoning me.
Blinking my eyes, I found Rhyse’s face. He was human again, looking down at me, brown hair dangling to either side of his face.
“There you are,” he said.
I felt his relief.
My eyes shot wide, heart rate spiking once more. “Rhyse? I … can feel you. Your emotions. You’re in my head. Why are you in my head?”
He grimaced, and fresh emotions washed over me. “I told you there was a catch to saving your life,” he said uncomfortably. His eyes slipped away from mine toward the ruin of my shoulder.
Terrified, I slowly turned my head to see what he was staring at.
“What the fuck?” I whispered, too stunned to mind my language.
Where there should have been bloodied and torn skin was now nothing but dragon scale. Adhered to my flesh.
A part of me.
Chapter Eight
Rhyse
“What did you do?” Emma said, her voice little more than a whisper.
Her face had somehow gone even paler as she stared at the scale I’d attached to her to cover the gaping wound. A tentative, shaky hand crossed her body, index finger poised a fraction of an inch over the scale.
I watched as she gathered her courage and tapped the scale. Once. Twice. Three times.
“It’s real,” she mumbled, head shaking back and forth in tiny movements. But there was no denying the truth of it. Her head whipped back around, eyes flaring with energy. “What have you done to me?”
The pulse of anger in my mind that accompanied her words drew an answering wave as I drew back, frustrated with her attitude.
“What did I do?” I growled. “I did what you asked of me. You were lying there, blood everywhere, your life fading away, andyou begged me to save you. You said no matter the consequence. So, I did it. I saved your life.”
“I thought you meant an amputation or taking me to a hospital that doesn’t accept my insurance. Not … not this!” she exclaimed, fingers sliding over the sapphire blue scale, its surface already growing flexible as it bonded with her.
“You’re welcome,” I said to nobody in particular since Emma didn’t seem keen on thanking me.
“For what?” she glanced back up at me.
“Oh, nothing serious. Just little things. Helping you back on board the boat. Pulling the harpoon out of your shoulder. Andsaving your life.”
Emma glared at me. I gave it right back.
“Without me doing what I did, you wouldn’t be here to get angry at me. So, don’t forget that.”
