Page 113 of Upon Buried Embers
Blood flows on the ground, and I realize with horror that the net attached has hooks that have penetrated in between the scales. It must be causing so much pain.
Breath catching, I run forward, Drogonah’s head whipping to me and taking a step closer as he growls like he’s telling me to stop, but I don’t.
Rohan slips a little, his head smashing against the dragon’s scales, and when I see the blood coming from his temple, my concern for him overrides my fear.
“Stop!” I say as I get close enough to the dragon, my hands held out. I sense Drogonah at my back, his shadow enveloping me.
“Elf, get away from him, now!”
“Shh, it’s alright,” I tell the dragon as its head whips to me, then Drogonah. “It’s okay.”
The dragon thrashes more, snarling, and a wave of pain hits me again. My hands go to my chest, breathing through it.
“We can help you,” I choke out, my breath catching as that pain turns to a sharp stab. “We can get the net off of you, you just need to keep still.”
The dragon halts for a moment, its eyes on me.
“Drogonah, get her out of here!” Rohan sounds furious, but there’s almost…panic in his tone.
“Please,” I plead with the dragon as he blinks his eyes at me. “We can get it off, it won’t hurt anymore.”
He looks at me and then Drogonah at my back, releasing smoke from his nose.
“Drogonah, what the fuck?! Get her away from him!”
But he doesn’t move.
The blue dragon growls low, Drogonah answers, and I realize they’re talking.
Rohan sits up, and the blue dragon jolts, his pupils widening, body tensing.
“Rohan…”
“Elf, I will—”
“You need to get off of him, you’re hurting him.”
“What?!”
“You’re hurting him.”
“I’m not—” the blue dragon roars again, but this one has a whine in it.
Rohan pauses, then slowly, he drops down off the dragon, mindful of the net, and makes his way to me. When he reaches me, anger spreading over his face, he hauls me behind him and points the axe at the dragon.
“Enough.”
“Rohan,” I dare to place my hand on his back. There are scratches I assume were caused by the dragon’s scales, and he tenses, but I think it’s from my touch and not the wounds. “He’s hurting, the net has hooks in it. I think when you climbed on him it dug it in further.”
Rohan grunts, but he looks the dragon over.
“You put yourself in danger,” he grits out.
“And so did you.”
“I’ve been around dragons all my life, I can look after myself.”
“But someone should look after you. I… I can help look after you.”
