Page 4 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
Esphyr stood waiting for me on the other side in her human form. She was Aidan’s aunt, and his cousin Donar’s mother. One wouldn’t know it by looking at her since she appeared no older than her early thirties. She had a large bone structure filled out with toned muscles, light olive skin, and long black hair that fell past her shoulders. This was a female who could cook a delicious meal and kill a few green dragons in a single afternoon. I respected her.
Her yellow eyes had black slits, something common to all shifters, and she narrowed them as I ran up to her. “A pendragon’s mate should not be out alone in pure dragon territory.”
Aidan had impressed upon all of us that I was not to go out fighting alone since returning. He understood and accepted that I had to hunt but wanted me to be as safe as possible. Ever since we’d reunited, he’d had more difficulty letting me out of his sight. I couldn’t blame him since I hated every time I had to leave him as well. But we both knew if I didn’t go out regularly, I’d turn on him or others in his clan.
“Conrad is transitioning to a slayer, so Rayna had to rush him to safety.”
Esphyr grunted. “They told me as much when they passed here half an hour ago, but you shouldn’t have let them leave without you.”
“We already patrolled the area, so I knew I was safe,” I argued.
She sighed. “Honestly, I know that, but I don’t enjoy explaining it to your mate. He’s cranky when you’re away.”
From what everyone told me, Aidan had proven to be the best pendragon they could recall ever having, and they werebonding with him in a way shifters had never done before with a leader. The catch was he didn’t tolerate any threat to me or our son. Everyone knew that was one line they couldn’t cross, so they did their best to protect us. It was nice,sort of.
I’d worried it would make the shifters resent me, but most said they believed I was why he didn’t let his newly acquired power go to his head. It was hard to get too cold and ruthless when you slept next to someone genetically programmed to kill you. They knew that despite being a slayer, I still thought much like a human, and I had certain expectations he had to live up to for our relationship to work and for me to hold back my instincts. Despite all the odds, most of the clan had grown to appreciate our arrangement. Other pendragons didn’t have someone like me to keep them in check.
“Don’t worry.” I smiled. “I’ll make him see reason and help him forget all about it tonight.”
Esphyr laughed. “Please. See that you do.”
Her body lit up in flames, and a few minutes later, she reappeared as a red dragon. She was smaller than Aidan in beast form but plenty strong. Esphyr grabbed hold of my body, and a moment later, we lifted into the air. I gritted my teeth against the urge to fight her. It was always there to some degree, even after freshly killing a dragon. My instincts warred with my intellectual side, but I’d developed iron control over myself. Only with my son, Orion, did I not feel an urge to kill at all. My brain didn’t even recognize his dragon side as a threat—to my relief after his first shift. For that matter, he didn’t trigger any slayer that way. It had come as a surprise to us all.
We flew over the rooftops of nearby houses. Based on the sun's position, I was running a few minutes late. She must havealso realized that because she put on a burst of speed despite the awkwardness of carrying me in her arms.
The flight south from Oklahoma City, over the town of Moore and then past Norman, took just over thirty minutes instead of my estimated forty-five. We still had to go farther south into the countryside and past Lake Thunderbird before reaching the fortress. The enormous slate-colored stone walls and inner castle emerged with the backdrop of mountain ridges a few miles beyond them. Their towering heights with blue-gray peaks weren’t there until the dragon dimension collided with ours, changing parts of the land in unexpected ways. They spanned about fifty square miles.
As soon as we touched down on the landing pad—a scorched circle of earth—a guard came to escort me while another ran toward the gate. Aidan didn’t like it when I was late, so he must have asked someone to alert him when I arrived. This evening was going to be super fun.
“Milord expected you sooner,” Boden said as I joined him, censure in his voice.
He was one of the guards assigned to me when needed. He didn’t scare easily and had a sense of humor—when I wasn’t in trouble—which made it easier to get along with him. I didn’t like killing people who could make me laugh. It also helped that he had a son Orion’s age. They often played together and practiced their wing-strengthening exercises in the field.
“It’s getting harder to find Shadowan to kill. The guards keep their distance from us, and the smart dragons avoid that border now. We had to go farther today for our hunt.”
Boden lifted a brow. “Already have an entire dragon clan afraid of you?”
“All but the young and dumb.”
He chuckled, but then his expression turned serious.
“Forgive me, but I must check you as usual,” he said, referring to the chance I’d gotten infected by dark magic while away. It hadn’t affected any slayers so far, but we never knew if the Kandoran might find a way around that immunity.
“Of course.” I lifted my camrium top to reveal the lower half of my torso. No smudges of black tainted my skin. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”
“None of us can,” he said grimly.
I gestured for us to walk so we could keep things moving along.
“Anything significant happen while I was away?”
He shook his head. “No, thankfully, all has been quiet today.”
We passed through the gate, where two guards stood at attention with swords at their sides. Both gave me a brief bow. “I suspect they’ve got their hands full elsewhere and decided it was best to avoid slayers rather than face us. We do have a highly successful kill rate.”
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Boden said, a hint of humor gleaming in his yellow eyes. “Shadowan quaking in fear at tiny women who likely get knocked over by a mere breeze.”
I scowled at him. “You’re pushing it.”
